Valentin Bondarenko, Soviet aviator and cosmonaut (died 1961)

Valentin Vasilyevich Bondarenko was a Soviet fighter pilot selected in 1960 for training as a cosmonaut. He died as the result of burns sustained in a fire during a 15-day low-pressure endurance experiment in Moscow. The Soviet government concealed the death, along with Bondarenko's membership in the cosmonaut corps, until 1980. A crater on the Moon's far side is named after him.

February 16 is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 318 days remain until the end of the year.