Alexey Leonov is a name that speaks for itself. The first person to go into outer space! A crater on the Moon, an airport in Kemerovo, a street in Perm and a school in the city of Gagarin are named after him.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, a man of legend. We seemed to know everything about him and his life! But there is another Leonov and another life...
In our film, we found a man who was involved in rescuing Leonov when he landed in the remote taiga, two thousand kilometers from the desired point! And for the first time, Leonov spoke about the fact that he was consulted by the producers of the Hollywood film Gravity. After all, he, like no one else, knows what emergency situations in space can threaten. How many of them he himself experienced!
Many myths are associated with Leonov's work. We will show the chronicle of Leonov's spacewalk. The announcer speaks in an enthusiastic voice about the feat of the Soviet cosmonaut. The next news release - Leonov and the commander of the ship Belyaev are already being greeted as heroes in Moscow. But what's left behind the scenes? It turns out that Leonov almost died during that flight!
The astronaut will tell you that his spacesuit was so swollen that he could not enter the ship's airlock. Then, contrary to all instructions, he bled pressure in the spacesuit and pulled himself into the hatch not with his feet, but with his head forward. Further more. The ship lost its automatic orientation. The astronauts had to land the ship further than the landing point - over 2000 kilometers! Leonov will remember how they tried to keep warm by the fire in the remote Permian taiga, without warm clothes and food.
Leonov has been on the verge of death more than once! So, in 1969, Leonov was in the motorcade of Leonid Brezhnev - everyone went to the Kremlin for a reception in honor of the astronauts. On the same day, an attempt was made on Brezhnev. The Secretary General himself was not affected, but the driver, with whom Leonov was sitting next to, was killed. The bullet flew only 20 centimeters from the astronaut! “Unless a miracle saved me,” says Leonov.
Together with Leonov, we went to the town of Kirzhach - the place where Gagarin died. We visited the research and production enterprise "Zvezda", where its engineers showed us the same airlock of the ship, which Leonov could not enter, and the same capsule in which he descended to earth.
We will also see a painting of an astronaut! Leonov has been painting for more than half a century!
The film features:
Alexei Leonov - cosmonaut, twice Hero of the USSR;
Iosif Kobzon - singer, People's Artist of the USSR;
Viktor Gorbatko - cosmonaut, twice Hero of the USSR;
Viktor Blagov - chief specialist in space flight control;
Boris Mikhailov - head of the testing department of NPP Zvezda;
Viktor Naumkin - pilot of the search and rescue service;
Natalia Koroleva - daughter of Sergei Koroleva;
Anatoly Gushchin - actor;
Yuri Lonchakov - Head of the Cosmonaut Training Center;
October 11, 2019 was the day of the death of twice Hero of the Soviet Union Alexei Leonov - the man who was the first in the world to go into outer space. Today Izvestia recalls this flight by publishing pages from the 1965 newspaper issues that informed the Soviet people and the whole world about the feat of the legendary cosmonaut.
hello from space
“Greetings to the readers of Izvestia! Having returned from space, we are pleased to announce that the task has been successfully completed! We take this opportunity to thank all the Soviet people for the attention that was shown to us, ”these words of Alexei Leonov and his flight partner Pavel Belyaev were published in the newspaper Izvestia on March 20.
But the first issue with large portraits of astronauts was released on the day of the flight - March 18. Already in the evening, articles, photos, poems, flashes from foreign agencies, as well as interviews with famous astronauts, which were taken even before departure, were posted in the newspaper.
At the top, in large letters: “This has never happened before! The man in space got out of the ship! The Soviet people have opened a new bright page in the conquest of the stellar world.
Below: “Today, March 18, 1965, at 11:30 Moscow time, during the flight of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft, a man exited the ship into outer space for the first time. On the second orbit of the flight, the second Pilot-Cosmonaut Lieutenant Colonel Leonov Alexei Arkhipovich, in a special spacesuit with an autonomous life support system, made a spacewalk, retired from the ship at a distance of up to five meters, successfully carried out a set of planned studies and observations and safely returned to the ship. With the help of the onboard television system, the process of Comrade Leonov's exit into outer space, his work outside the ship and return to the ship were transmitted to Earth and observed by a network of ground stations.
“The American news agencies AP and UPI interrupted their usual broadcasts to broadcast as the most urgent news the announcement of the launch of the Soviet spacecraft Voskhod-2, piloted by cosmonauts Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov, into orbit”
“Everything is simple, except for the fact that a person who needs warmth, needs pressure on all points of the body, needs oxygen to breathe, will find himself where deadly cold reigns, where there is such a void that all living things in it instantly die, where no life-giving oxygen"
“Yesterday I took a quick look at the full house - they announced the sensational news that Alexei Leonov, a Russian, for the first time went overboard a ship into space.<...>What could we say, except for obvious truths: fantastic, incredible, implausible ”(English writer James Aldridge)
“Please convey my personal congratulations to cosmonauts Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov, as well as to the team of Soviet scientists and engineers who made this historic feat possible.” (UN Secretary-General U Thant)
The second page is devoted to the greetings of completely different people - poets, writers, workers, a former instructor from the school of Alexei Leonov, hockey players, a soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, a retired major general in Tbilisi, a Lvov collective farm chairman and even the whole city of Khabarovsk, where people took to the streets to rejoice and rejoice.
“The TASS message about the launch of a new space crew came to Khabarovsk at the moment when the city had just finished its working day. Young people were crowding at the entrance to the Giant cinema, listening to radio advertisements about new films, when suddenly: “Attention! Moscow is speaking! The crowd immediately moves to another speaker, which is 100 meters from the cinema. On the faces of curiosity, then joy and, finally, delight. Applause, laughter, exchange of views.
Flight inspiration
Many verses attract attention. They are placed on each page of the newspaper. Different styles, different aspects of flight are reflected in these texts, but you can see: people are proud, people are inspired. And it's impossible to fake it.
Our records are broken again.
Earth, put on a smart dress.
Moscow brought tomorrow into the orbit of humanity.
The whole world rumbles in admiration with its palms, sings the glory of labor and courage,
The era winds the turns of the Voskhod ship on the mustache.
Arthur Moreau. Translation from Mordovian by Enna Dedova.
Alexei suddenly clapped his hands on his knees and laughed:
- I will definitely take paints with me to the ship or, at worst, colored pencils. You see, everyone who flew admired the colors of the dawn, as it is visible from space. I tried several times: I will put a flying person near me and, at his prompt, draw a cosmic sunrise. Everything turns out right - according to the story, but in general - not that. I'll try now from nature!
The moment when Leonov was offered to go to the cosmonaut corps is also interestingly described in the interview. For a long time he was not told what exactly he would do, but they hinted at a very interesting job. Alexei could not figure out that she would be connected with space. And so he asked the most important thing:
- Will it be possible to get married?
The whole commission rolled like that ...
- Of course you can!
- Well, then it's all right.
Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov died in Moscow at the age of 85. This became known on Friday, October 11th. In 1960, he was enrolled in the first cosmonaut corps along with Yuri Gagarin, and in 1965 he became the first man to go into outer space. More details - in the gallery "Izvestia"
In the spring of 1960, first-class military pilot Alexei Leonov was enrolled in the first detachment of the Cosmonaut Training Center. Together with him, Yuri Gagarin and German Titov were included in this detachment. In the photo: from left to right - members of the detachment Yuri Gagarin, Alexei Leonov, Boris Volynov and Viktor Gorbatko at a picnic in Dolgoprudny near Moscow
Photo: wikipedia.org/Aliev Alexander Ibragimovich
Alexei Leonov made his first space flight in 1965 as co-pilot of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft. Then he became the first man to go into outer space. Outside the ship, he was a little over 12 minutes
Photo: Global Look Press/Polska Agencja Prasowa
Marked with "Lightning"
On the third lane of the message of foreign news agencies. All of them "scream" about the new success of Soviet science and technology. London, Tokyo, New York, Paris, Bonn, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Berlin are delighted with the feat of the astronauts.
Reuters stresses: "By launching their new spacecraft, the Russians have again beaten the United States in the space competition." The US, the agency points out, plans to launch its first spacecraft with two astronauts on board next week.
The fourth page of the issue is devoted to the everyday life of astronauts. There are many photos here: Belyaev is with his family in the forest, in another photo his daughter plays the piano. Alexei Leonov before a night training flight, Alexei Leonov with an easel and with his daughter.
And the main photo on the right is a blurry, barely visible white spot on a black background in the frame of a television screen. Underneath is the signature:
“The man got off the ship. Millions of viewers saw the feat of Alexei Leonov with their own eyes. This picture was taken by our correspondent from the blue screen.
Theorist with a capital letter
“The door to the Universe is open” - these are the words that open the issue on March 19th. Here is the official part. Under the opening photograph of the cosmonauts in spacesuits is Leonid Brezhnev, who was captured at the time of the call to Belyaev and Leonov.
And with him: “G.I. Voronov, A.P. Kirilenko, A.N. Kosygin, A.I. Mikoyan, N.V. Podgorny, D.S. Polyansky, M.A. Suslov, V.V. Grishin, P.N. Demichev, L.F. Ilyichev, B.N. Ponomarev, A.P. Rudakov, V.N. Titov. Also present here are the Deputy Chairmen of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, comrades D.F. Ustinov, V.E. Dymshits, M.A. Lesechko P.F. Lomako, I.T. Novikov, K.N. Rudnev, L.V. Smirnov.
The second strip is interesting because in the basement conversation with the Theorist of astronautics. It is important that the word "theorist" is capitalized, but his name is missing. It is clear that our scientists working in the space industry were then completely classified, but Izvestia still found the opportunity to display them on its pages.
Here is The Theorist of Cosmonautics tells Izvestia about why Alexei Leonov had to go into outer space:
“We had to make sure what are the reactions to weightlessness in free space. Yesterday, when you and I saw Leonov in space outside the cockpit, it became obvious that our scientists imagined this side of the matter correctly, - answers Theorist.
Man in space is deprived of any support. Will any means be needed to help him stabilize himself?
In my opinion, the main thing is to develop the appropriate skills. Judge for yourself. Indeed, on Earth, a person, it would seem, should have been very unstable: the center of gravity of his body is much higher than the support, that is, the feet. However, as you know, there is no balance problem for humans on Earth.”
It seems strange, but scientists are still discovering for science the secrets of human balance on Earth, his ability to walk without falling. Theorists of that time were already asking this question. They also argued that someday the first space station might appear in orbit.
Izvestia, March 18, 1965: Today, March 18, 1965, at 11:30 Moscow time, during the flight of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft, a man exited the ship into outer space for the first time
Izvestia, March 19, 1965: On March 19, at 12:02 Moscow time, the Voskhod-2 spacecraft, piloted by the crew of the ship's commander, Colonel Pavel Ivanovich Belyaev, and co-pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov, landed safely near the city of Perm . Comrades Belyaev and Leonov feel good Izvestia, March 20, 1965: It is to them, the Soviet heroes of space - Pavel Ivanovich Belyaev and Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov, that the whole world applauds, it is they, the glorious sons of the Land of Soviets, who opened the door to the Universe
“Spaceships will be able to exchange crews when they meet, when a person is able to go into space. We will live to see the time when orbital stations appear in space - something like research institutes in near-Earth space.
Let's go back to Leonov, - says the Izvestia correspondent. Was there any danger that a meteorite would hit him?
It must be said that the meteorite danger turned out to be generally less than it was believed before it appeared in space.
The third and fourth pages on March 19 are completely devoted to space science. Here the question of using the principles of biofeedback is also raised - those same robots operating in copying mode that went into space only in 2019(meaning the flight of the robot "Fedora"). Here we are already talking about satellites that can be launched in order to transmit a television signal. A separate article is devoted to space clothing. Until now, our designers of spacesuits occupy a leading position in the world.
Gagarin on the wire
On March 20, Izvestia opens again with a large photo of Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov. On the first page there is also an interview with Yuri Gagarin. During Leonov's spacewalk, Gagarin, who was at the Mission Control Center, kept in constant contact with the Voskhod-2 crew. He told Izvestia journalists about the details of the flight, the landing of the spacecraft, and his last conversations with the Voskhod crew.
On the fourth page is a note by the British writer and journalist James Aldridge.
“What do I usually think about on the way home? I rarely dream of exploring the Universe, I am more often worried about whether I can pay the bills, what fate awaits my work, whether my children will be able to receive the necessary education ... I am infinitely glad that I was lucky enough to live at a time when we are not only standing on the threshold of cosmic discoveries, but we are also entering a new world, before which an infinite future has opened up. It is difficult to put into words the impression that Soviet achievements make on the rest of the world. Nothing, in fact, could prove so clearly and tangibly the correctness of the socialist system.
“When I opened the exit hatch, I was directly hit by a powerful stream of light. As if from an arc of electric welding. I had to listen to my comrades more than once about what space looks like. It seemed that I was prepared. But the picture looked very different. Not the way I imagined, ”Leonov says on the pages of Izvestia.
Below he continues:
I sent greetings to everyone, and separately to the lilies of the valley, - Lyosha smiles. (Lilies of the valley means fellow astronauts. This is not a code name, but a joke that has taken root in the detachment).
Here are the mean lines about the return. Of course, Leonov did not say a word about the situation that happened to him with the suit.
- How was the return to the ship? - asks the correspondent of "Izvestia".
- It's a bit more difficult. First, I had more work to do. I'm a little tired. But everything went well! According to the program, I had to wind the halyard around my hand and go in like that. I see - it's tricky. I thought about it, pulled myself mentally by the ear - and figured out how to manage quickly. Then the commander quickly closed the hatch and applied pressure.
Did it feel like you were returning to your own home?
The feeling is similar.
- (to Belyaev) By the way, what did Lesha say when he returned?
Both look at each other, laughing.
- Say? .. Do not? Belyaev laughs.
We'll tell you later! - asks Lesha.
On March 18, 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov made the first spacewalk in the history of mankind.
The event occurred during the flight of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft. The commander of the ship is Pavel Ivanovich Belyaev, the pilot is Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov.
The ship was equipped with an inflatable lock chamber "Volga". Before the launch, the chamber folded and measured 70 cm in diameter and 77 cm in length. In space, the chamber was inflated and had the following dimensions: 2.5 meters in length, inner diameter - 1 meter, outer - 1.2 meters. Camera weight - 250 kg. Before deorbiting, the camera fired back from the ship.
The space suit "Berkut" was designed to go into space. He provided a stay in outer space for 30 minutes. The first exit took 23 minutes 41 seconds (outside the ship 12 minutes 9 seconds).
It is interesting that the training before this flight was carried out on board the Tu-104AK aircraft, in which a life-size model of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft with a real lock chamber was installed (it was she who flew into space later). During the flight of an aircraft along a parabolic trajectory, when weightlessness set in for several minutes, the cosmonauts practiced exit in a spacesuit through an airlock.
Voskhod-2 launched on March 18, 1965 at 10:00 Moscow time. The airlock was already inflated on the first turn. Both astronauts were in space suits. According to the program, Belyaev was supposed to help Leonov return to the ship in the event of an emergency.
The spacewalk began on the second orbit. Leonov moved into the lock chamber and Belyaev closed the hatch behind him. Then the air from the chamber was vented and at 11:32:54 Belyaev opened the outer hatch of the lock chamber from his remote control in the ship. At 11:34:51 Alexei Leonov left the airlock and ended up in outer space. 
Leonov gently pushed off and felt the ship tremble from his push. The first thing he saw was the black sky. Belyaev's voice was immediately heard:
- "Diamond-2" began to exit. Movie camera on? - the commander addressed this question to his comrade.
- Understood. I am Almaz-2. I take off the lid. Throw away. Caucasus! Caucasus! I see the Caucasus below me! Began to withdraw (from the ship).
Before throwing the lid away, Leonov thought for a second whether to send it into satellite orbit or down to Earth. Thrown to the ground. The astronaut's pulse was 164 beats per minute, the moment of exit was very tense.
Belyaev transmitted to Earth:
-Attention! The man went into outer space!
The television image of Leonov soaring against the background of the Earth was broadcast on all television channels.
12 minutes… The total weight of the “exit suit” was close to 100 kg… Five times the cosmonaut flew away from the spacecraft and returned on a 5.35 m long halyard… All this time the “room” temperature was maintained in the suit, and its outer surface was heated in the sun to + 60 ° and cooled in the shade to -100 ° С ...
The flight of Vostok-2 went down in history twice. The first, official and open, said that everything went brilliantly. In the second, which was revealed gradually and was never published in detail, there are at least three emergency situations.
Leonov was observed on television and broadcast the image to Moscow. When leaving the ship for five meters, he waved his hand in open space. Leonov was outside the airlock for 12 minutes and 9 seconds. But it turned out that getting out was easier than going back. The suit swelled in space and could not fit into the airlock. Leonov was forced to relieve pressure in order to “lose weight” and make him softer. Still, he had to climb back not with his feet, as was planned, but with his head. All the vicissitudes of what happened during the return to the ship, we found out only after the landing of the astronauts.
A.A.Leonov's spacesuit, after being in space, lost its flexibility and did not allow the astronaut to enter the hatch. A.A. Leonov made attempt after attempt, but to no avail. The situation was complicated by the fact that the supply of oxygen in the spacesuit was designed for only twenty minutes, and each failure increased the degree of risk to the astronaut's life. Leonov limited the flow of oxygen, but from excitement and stress, his pulse and breathing rate increased sharply, which means that more oxygen was required. S.P. Korolev tried to calm him down, instill confidence. On Earth, they heard the reports of A.A. Leonov: “I can’t, I couldn’t again.”
According to the cyclogram, Aleksey had to swim into the chamber with his feet, then, having fully entered the airlock, close the hatch behind him and seal it. In reality, he had to bleed the air from the spacesuit almost to critical pressure. After several attempts, the cosmonaut decided to "float" into the cabin face forward. He succeeded, but at the same time he hit the glass of the helmet against its wall. It was scary - because the glass could burst. At 08:49 UTC, the airlock exit hatch was closed and at 08:52 UTC pressurization of the airlock began.
TASS message dated March 18, 1965:
Today, March 18, 1965, at 11:30 Moscow time, during the flight of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft, a man's exit into outer space was carried out for the first time. On the second circuit of the flight, co-pilot pilot-cosmonaut Lieutenant Colonel Leonov Alexei Arkhipovich, in a special spacesuit with an autonomous life support system, made an exit into outer space, retired from the ship at a distance of up to five meters, successfully carried out a set of planned studies and observations and safely returned to the ship. With the help of the onboard television system, the process of Comrade Leonov's exit into outer space, his work outside the spacecraft, and his return to the spacecraft were transmitted to Earth and observed by a network of ground stations. The state of health of Comrade Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov during his stay outside the ship and after returning to the ship is good. The commander of the ship, comrade Pavel Ivanovich Belyaev, is also feeling well.
After returning to the ship, the troubles continued.
The second emergency was an incomprehensible pressure drop in the cabin pressurization cylinders from 75 to 25 atmospheres after Leonov's return. It was necessary to land no later than the 17th orbit, although Grigory Voronin, the chief designer of this part of the life system, reassured that there would be enough oxygen for another day. Here is how Alexei Arkhipovich describes the events:
... the partial pressure of oxygen (in the cabin) began to grow, which reached 460 mm and continued to grow. This is at a rate of 160 mm! But after all, 460 mm is explosive gas, because Bondarenko burned out on this ... At first we sat in a daze. Everyone understood, but they could do almost nothing: they completely removed the humidity, removed the temperature (it became 10-12 °). And the pressure is growing ... The slightest spark - and everything would turn into a molecular state, and we understood this. Seven hours in this state, and then fell asleep ... apparently from stress. Then we figured out that I had touched the boost switch with a hose from the spacesuit ... What actually happened? Since the ship was stabilized relative to the Sun for a long time, then, naturally, a deformation arose; after all, on the one hand, cooling to -140 ° C, on the other, heating to + 150 ° C ... The sensors for closing the hatch worked, but a gap remained. The regeneration system began to build up pressure, and oxygen began to grow, we did not have time to consume it ... The total pressure reached 920 mm. These several tons of pressure pressed down the hatch - and the pressure growth stopped. Then the pressure began to drop before our eyes.
Further more. TDU (brake propulsion system) did not work in automatic mode and the ship continued to fly. The crew was given the command to land the ship in manual mode on the 18th or 22nd orbit. Here is another quote from Leonov:
We went over Moscow, inclination 65°. We had to land exactly on this turn, and we ourselves chose the area for landing - 150 km from Solikamsk with a heading angle of 270 °, because there was taiga. No businesses, no power lines. They could land in Kharkov, in Kazan, in Moscow, but it was dangerous. The version that we got there due to imbalance is complete nonsense. We ourselves chose the landing site, as it was safer and possible deviations in the engine operation shifted the landing point also to safe areas. Only it was impossible to land in China - then relations were very tense. As a result, at a speed of 28,000 km / h, we sat down only 80 km from our calculated point. This is a good result. And then there were no reserve landing sites. And we weren't expected...
Finally, a report came in from a search helicopter. He discovered a red parachute and two astronauts 30 kilometers southwest of the city of Bereznyaki. The dense forest and deep snow made it impossible for helicopters to land near the astronauts. There were no settlements nearby either.
Landing in the deep taiga was the last emergency in the history of Voskhod-2. The cosmonauts spent the night in the forest of the Northern Urals. Helicopters could only fly over them and report that “one is chopping wood, the other is putting it on the fire.”
Warm clothes and food were dropped from helicopters to the cosmonauts, but Belyaev and Leonov could not be pulled out of the taiga. A group of skiers with a doctor, who landed one and a half kilometers away, reached them through the snow in four hours, but did not dare to take them out of the taiga.
A real competition unfolded for the salvation of the astronauts. The landfill service, encouraged by Tyulin and Korolev, sent its rescue expedition to Perm, led by Lieutenant Colonel Belyaev and the foreman of our plant, Lygin. From Perm, they got by helicopter to a site two kilometers from Voskhod-2 and soon hugged the astronauts. Marshal Rudenko forbade his rescue service to evacuate astronauts from the ground to a hovering helicopter. They stayed in the taiga for a second cold night, although now they had a tent, warm fur uniforms and plenty of food. It came to Brezhnev. He was convinced that lifting astronauts into a helicopter hovering near the ground was a dangerous business.
Brezhnev agreed and approved a proposal to cut down trees nearby to prepare a landing site.
When we landed, we were not immediately found ... We sat in spacesuits for two days, we had no other clothes. On the third day we were pulled out of there. Because of the sweat, my suit was knee-deep in moisture, about 6 liters. So in the legs and bubbling. Then, already at night, I say to Pasha: "Well, that's it, I'm cold." We took off our suits, stripped naked, wrung out our underwear, put it back on. Then the screen-vacuum thermal insulation was sporulated. They threw away all the hard part, and put the rest on themselves. These are nine layers of aluminized foil, covered with dederon on top. Parachute lines were wrapped around the top like two sausages. And so they stayed there for the night. And at 12 noon a helicopter arrived and landed 9 km away. Another helicopter in a basket lowered Yura Lygin directly towards us. Then Slava Volkov (Vladislav Volkov, future cosmonaut of TsKBEM) and others came to us on skis. They brought us warm clothes, poured brandy, and we gave them our alcohol - and life became more fun. The fire was lit, the boiler was put on. We washed. In about two hours they cut down a small hut for us, where we spent the night normally. There was even a bed.
On March 21, a helicopter landing site was prepared. And on the same day, on board the Mi-4, the cosmonauts arrived in Perm, from where they made an official report on the completion of the flight.
And yet, despite all the problems that arose during the flight, it was the first, very first exit of man into outer space. Here is how Alexey Leonov describes his impressions:
I want to tell you that the picture of the cosmic abyss that I saw, with its grandeur, immensity, brightness of colors and sharp contrasts of pure darkness with the dazzling radiance of the stars, simply struck and fascinated me. To complete the picture, imagine - against this background, I see our Soviet ship, illuminated by the bright light of the sun's rays. When I was leaving the gateway, I felt a powerful stream of light and heat, reminiscent of electric welding. Above me was a black sky and bright, unblinking stars. The sun seemed to me like a red-hot fiery disk ... 
Alexei Leonov forever entered the history of the exploration of near-Earth space - the Soviet cosmonaut became the first who visited outer space. It was originally planned that Leonov would be sent into orbit as part of the Vostok-11 mission, but the fateful launch was postponed for 18 months, and as a result, Alexei flew on March 18, 1965 on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft, together with his partner Pavel Belyaev .
Voskhod-2
When the cosmonauts reached orbit, preparations began: Leonov put on a specially designed spacesuit with a supply of oxygen for 45 minutes, and Belyaev set about installing a flexible airlock through which Alexei was supposed to go into space.
After all the necessary precautions were taken, Leonov left the ship and spent a total of 12 minutes and 9 seconds outside it. When it was time to return, an unexpected problem arose - the astronaut's spacesuit in a vacuum was greatly swollen and did not fit into the airlock.
At first, Leonov wanted to report an emergency situation on Earth, but he realized that they would not help him with advice, because he was the only person who had ever encountered something like this. The first prisoner of outer space in history quickly found a way out of the situation: in order to get inside the ship, it was necessary to reduce the size of the spacesuit, and this could only be done by bleeding off excess oxygen.
Leonov decided to take this step, realizing that every additional minute spent in thought could be his last. He began to release oxygen from the suit, squeezing inch by inch into the airlock. What he had to go through in those few minutes, the astronaut prefers not to tell, but the impressions were certainly not pleasant.
When the episode with Leonov who was stuck was successfully resolved, it turned out that the orientation system had failed - the cosmonauts had to land manually, and after the capsule with Belyaev and Leonov entered the Earth's atmosphere, it began to rotate rapidly due to the fact that the orbital module did not separate from the landing, as the calculations suggested.
On this “carousel”, the astronauts experienced overloads up to 10G, but when the cable that did not allow the landing and orbital modules to disconnect burned out, the capsule was stabilized. Because of all these troubles, the landing did not take place at all where it was calculated - the astronauts found themselves in a dense forest about 180 km north of Perm.
Belyaev and Leonov spent two nights in the taiga, the temperature sometimes dropped to -30 ° C, and the lander fell into disrepair, so the astronauts could not use it to warm themselves. When they were discovered, the rescuers first of all lit a huge fire to warm the heroes, and later the whole company ran for another 9 km on skis to get to the helicopter.
The feat of Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov is a convincing example of what strong-willed and courageous people are capable of, even in open space conditions or with 10G overloads. For the successful implementation of the flight, its participants were awarded the high titles of Hero of the Soviet Union.
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