# What's The SD on The "Missing Cosmonauts"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 6, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-sd-on-the-missing-cosmonauts/552793 "2010-09-06T14:14:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-sd-on-the-missing-cosmonauts/552793/21 "2012-03-09T11:05:15Z")
I have read both sides of the story, and I do belive that Oberg is right. What I find hard to believe: how does a satellite in low earth orbit gain energy (so as to spiral away from the earth)? I can see how a Soviet space craft cold get stuck in the wrong orbit-but withot a boost from firing the engines, how could the craft leave earth orbit? About the female cosmonaut “burning up”-a re-entering space capsule is enveloped in a plasma cloud, that prevents radio transmissions. The brothers could not have heard such a thing. What did they hear? Who knows. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-sd-on-the-missing-cosmonauts/552793/22 "2012-03-09T17:03:33Z")
What I’ve never understood is with all of their successes, why would the Brothers need to forge the “lost Cosmonauts” recordings. I know that the Russians tested communication relays but the I doubt the communications the Brothers intercepted like the burning woman would have been used to test the satellite’s communication relay. Not saying I believe the Cosmonauts were lost but I don’t think it can be easily dismissed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-sd-on-the-missing-cosmonauts/552793.md?page=1)