One of the greatest events of the 20th century is the first flight and spacewalk of a man. The population of the planet learned from Gagarin that the Earth is round. Leonov became a pioneer. It turned out that the first people in space were from the USSR. On March 18, 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov made the first spacewalk from the Voskhod-2 spacecraft. This event was followed by the whole country. Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was outside the Voskhod-2 spacecraft for only 12 minutes, but these minutes have gone down in the history of cosmonautics forever. You will learn about how the preparations for the first spacewalk took place, what difficulties the crew of the spacecraft experienced in this article.
Preparations for the first human spacewalk
The idea that it is possible for a man to go into outer space came to Korolev as early as 1963. The designer suggested that soon such an experience would not only be desirable, but absolutely necessary. He turned out to be right. In the following decades, astronautics developed rapidly. For example, maintaining the normal operation of the ISS in general would have been impossible without external installation and repair work, which once again proves how necessary the first manned spacewalk was. The year 1964 was the beginning of official preparations for this experiment. But then, in 1964, in order to implement such a daring project, it was necessary to seriously consider the design of the ship.
Voskhod-2 spacecraft
As a result, the well-proven Voskhod-1 was taken as the basis. One of its windows was replaced with an exit lock, and the crew was reduced from three to two. The lock chamber itself was inflatable and located outside the ship. After the completion of the experiment, before landing, she had to separate herself from the hull. This is how the Voskhod-2 spacecraft appeared.
Voskhod-2 spacecraft suit
The created suit became a real miracle of technology. According to the firm belief of its creators, it was a product more complicated than a car
Suit "Berkut" Especially for Voskhod-2, special spacesuits were developed, which bore the formidable name Berkut. They had an additional sealed shell, and a satchel with a life support system was placed behind the cosmonaut's back. For better light reflection, even the color of the suits was changed: white was used instead of the traditional orange. The total weight of the Berkut was about 100 kg. the suits were very uncomfortable. They were so dense that in order to clench the hand into a fist, it was necessary to apply an effort of almost 25 kilograms. To be able to make any movement in such clothes, he had to constantly train. The work was worn out, but the astronauts stubbornly went to the cherished goal - to make it possible for a man to go into outer space. Leonov, by the way, was considered the strongest and most enduring in the group, which largely predetermined his main role in the experiment.
Later, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov recalled:
For example, to squeeze a hand in a glove, a force of 25 kg was needed.
The color of the suit has also changed. "Berkut", in order to better reflect the sun's rays, was made white, not orange. A special light filter appeared on his helmet, which was supposed to protect the astronaut's eyes from bright sunlight.
The crew of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft
It was not immediately decided on whom to entrust this responsible mission. Multiple psychological compatibility tests were carried out. After all, the crew must act as a single mechanism.
Belyaev is self-possessed and cool-headed and could quickly make decisions in non-standard situations. Leonov, his complete opposite, is hot and impetuous, but very brave and courageous. These two such different people made an excellent tandem for the experiment.
For 3 months, the cosmonauts got acquainted with the device of the new spacecraft. The spacewalk training was carried out on board the Tu-104 aircraft, in which a life-size model of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft was installed. Every day, Soviet cosmonauts ran cross-country skis or cross-country skis, intensively engaged in weightlifting and gymnastics.
Cosmonauts Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov
From the memoirs of Alexei Leonov about preparing for a spacewalk: “On Earth, we carried out tests in a pressure chamber with a vacuum corresponding to an altitude of 60 km ... In reality, when I went into space, it turned out a little differently. The pressure in the suit is about 600 mm, and outside - 10 - 9; it was impossible to simulate such conditions on Earth ... "
At that moment, when Alexei Leonov climbed out of his spaceship on March 18, 1965 and saw himself at an altitude of 500 kilometers above the surface of our planet, he did not feel movement at all. Although in fact he was rushing around the Earth at a speed that was many times higher than the speed of a jet aircraft. Before Alexey, a panorama of our planet, unprecedented by anyone, opened up - like a giant canvas, which was saturated with contrasting textures and colors, lively and bright. Alexey Leonov will forever remain the first person who was able to see the Earth in all its splendor.
The Soviet cosmonaut at that moment simply took his breath away:
It's hard to even imagine what it was. Only in space can one feel the greatness and gigantic dimensions of the human environment - you will not feel this on Earth
In outer space, Alexei Leonov began to carry out the observations and experiments envisaged by the program. He made five exits and approaches from the lock chamber, with the very first withdrawal made at a minimum distance - one meter - for orientation in new conditions, and the rest for the full length of the halyard. All this time, the spacesuit was maintained at “room” temperature, and its outer surface was heated in the sun to +60°C and cooled in the shade to -100°C. Pavel BELYAEV, using a camera and telemetry, monitored the work of the co-pilot in space and was ready, if necessary, to provide the necessary assistance to him.
At that moment, when Alexei Leonov saw the Yenisei and the Irtysh, he received a command from the commander of the ship, Belyaev, to return back. But Leonov did not manage to do this for a very long time. It turned out that his spacesuit in a vacuum was greatly swollen. So much so that the astronaut simply could not squeeze into the hatch of the airlock, and there was no time to consult with the Earth about this situation. Leonov made attempt after attempt, but they all ended in vain, and the supply of oxygen in the spacesuit was only enough for 20 minutes, which inexorably melted away (the astronaut spent 12 minutes in space). In the end, Alexei Leonov decided to simply relieve pressure in his spacesuit and, contrary to the instructions issued, instructing him to enter the airlock with his feet, he decided to “swim” into it face first. Fortunately, he succeeded. And although Leonov spent only 12 minutes in outer space, during this time he managed to get wet as if a whole tub of water had been poured on him - the physical load was so great.
Photo of the first human spacewalk
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Video
Video of the first human spacewalk with video footage inserts
Feature film "Time of the First"
The heroism of the crew members of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft inspired the creative team of Timur BEMKAMBETOV and Yevgeny MIRONOV to create a large-scale production film project, the heroic drama Time of the First, dedicated to one of the most risky expeditions into orbit and Alexei LEONOV's spacewalk
Documentary film by the Roscosmos television studio “Alexey Leonov. Jump into space"
The film is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the first cosmonaut who went into outer space.
Interesting facts about the first human spacewalk
- Critical situation during exit from orbit. The crew of Voskhod-2 could have been the first crew to die on return from orbit. Before landing, the automatic orientation system failed. Belyaev manually oriented the ship and turned on the brake engine. As a result, Voskhod landed in the taiga (180 km north of the city of Perm). In the TASS report, this was called "landing in the 'reserve area'", which in fact was the remote Permian taiga. After landing, the huge canopy of the parachute, stuck on two tall fir trees, fluttered in the wind. Soon an IL-14 was already circling above them. Radio contact was immediately established from the aircraft and the astronauts were informed that they had been found and help would be sent soon. The astronauts spent the night in the forest. 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. From the memoirs of Leonov: “When we landed, they didn’t find us right away ... We sat in spacesuits for two days, we didn’t have 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
- The day before the start there was a big trouble. Due to the negligence of a security guard, an inflatable airlock, hung out of the ship to check the tightness, unexpectedly fell and broke. There was no spare, and therefore it was decided to use the one on which the astronauts trained for a long time. This incident could have turned out to be fatal, but, fortunately, everything worked out, the reused airlock survived, and the first manned spacewalk successfully took place.
The dangers of spacewalks
Spacewalks are dangerous for many different reasons. The first is the possibility of a collision with space debris. The orbital speed at an altitude of 300 km above the Earth (typical flight altitude of manned spacecraft) is about 7.7 km/s. This is 10 times the speed of a bullet, so the kinetic energy of a small particle of paint or a grain of sand is equivalent to the same energy of a bullet with 100 times the mass. With each spaceflight, more and more orbital debris is introduced, which is why this problem continues to be the most dangerous. 
A potential danger is the possibility of loss or unacceptable removal from the spacecraft, threatening death due to the depletion of the supply of breathing mixture. Possible damage or punctures of spacesuits are also dangerous, the depressurization of which threatens with anoxia and rapid death if the astronauts do not have time to return to the spacecraft in time.
On October 20, 1965, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) marked the record for a man to stay in open space outside of a ship - 12 minutes and 9 seconds. Alexei Leonov received the highest FAI award - the gold medal "Cosmos" for the first spacewalk in the history of mankind. Crew commander Pavel Belyaev also received a medal and a diploma.
Leonov became the fifteenth person in space, and the first person to take the next fundamental step after Gagarin. To be alone with the abyss, the most hostile space for a person, to look at the stars only through the thin glass of a helmet, to hear the beating of your heart in absolute silence and go back is a real feat. A feat behind which stood thousands of scientists, engineers, workers and millions of ordinary people, but it was accomplished by one person - Alexei Leonov.
In preparation for the flight, Belyaev and Leonov worked out all the actions and possible emergency situations during spacewalks during ground training, as well as in short-term weightlessness on board an aircraft flying along a parabolic trajectory.
On March 18, 1965, at 10:00 Moscow time, the Voskhod-2 spacecraft with cosmonauts Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov successfully launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome. Immediately after the ascent into orbit, already at the end of the first orbit, the crew began to prepare for Leonov's spacewalk. Belyaev helped Leonov to put on the back of an individual life support system with oxygen supply.
The locking was controlled by the commander of the ship Belyaev from the control panel installed in the cockpit. If necessary, Leonov could control the main locking operations from a remote control installed in the lock chamber.
Belyaev filled the lock chamber with air and opened the hatch connecting the cabin of the ship with the lock chamber. Leonov "floated" into the lock chamber, the commander of the ship, having closed the hatch into the chamber, began its depressurization.
At 11 hours 28 minutes 13 seconds, at the beginning of the second orbit, the ship's lock chamber was completely depressurized. At 11:32:54 a.m., the airlock hatch opened, and at 11:34:51 a.m. Leonov left the airlock and entered outer space. The cosmonaut was connected to the spacecraft by a 5.35-meter-long halyard, which included a steel cable and electrical wires for transferring data of medical observations and technical measurements to the spacecraft, as well as for telephone communication with the spacecraft commander.
In outer space, Leonov began to carry out the observations and experiments envisaged by the program. He made five withdrawals and approaches from the lock chamber, with the very first withdrawal made at a minimum distance - one meter - for orientation in new conditions, and the rest for the full length of the halyard. All this time, the spacesuit was maintained at "room" temperature, and its outer surface was heated in the sun to +60°C and cooled in the shade to -100°C. Pavel Belyaev, using a television camera and telemetry, followed Leonov's work and was ready, if necessary, to provide the necessary assistance to him.
After performing a series of experiments, Alexei Leonov received a command to return, but this was not easy to do. Due to the difference in pressure in space, the suit swelled up, lost its flexibility, and Leonov could not squeeze into the airlock hatch. He made several unsuccessful attempts. The supply of oxygen in the suit was designed for only 20 minutes, which ended. Then the astronaut depressurized the spacesuit to emergency pressure. If by this time he had not had nitrogen washed out of his blood, he would have boiled and Leonov would have died. The suit shrunk, and contrary to the instructions to enter the airlock with his feet, he squeezed into it headfirst. Having closed the outer hatch, Leonov began to turn around, since he still had to enter the ship with his feet due to the fact that the lid that opened inwards ate up 30% of the cabin volume. It was difficult to turn around, since the inner diameter of the airlock was one meter, and the width of the suit at the shoulders was 68 centimeters. With great difficulty, Leonov managed to do this, and he was able to enter the ship with his feet, as expected.
Alexei Leonov at 11:47 entered the ship's lock chamber. And at 11 hours 51 minutes 54 seconds, after the hatch was closed, the pressurization of the airlock began. Thus, the pilot-cosmonaut was out of the ship in outer space for 23 minutes 41 seconds. According to the provisions of the International Sports Code, the net time of a person's stay in outer space is calculated from the moment he appears from the lock chamber (from the edge of the exit hatch of the ship) to the entrance back into the chamber. Therefore, the time spent by Alexei Leonov in open space outside the spacecraft is considered to be 12 minutes 09 seconds.
With the help of the onboard television system, the process of Alexei 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.
After returning to Leonov's cabin, the cosmonauts continued to carry out the experiments planned by the flight program.
There were several more emergency situations in flight, which, fortunately, did not lead to a tragedy. One of these situations arose during the return: the system of automatic orientation to the Sun did not work, and therefore the braking propulsion system did not turn on in time. The cosmonauts were supposed to land in automatic mode on the seventeenth orbit, but due to the failure of the automation caused by the “shooting off” of the lock chamber, they had to go to the next, eighteenth orbit and land using the manual control system. This was the first manual landing, and during its implementation it was found that it was impossible to look into the porthole from the cosmonaut's working chair and assess the position of the ship in relation to the Earth. It was possible to start braking only while sitting in a seat in a fastened state. Due to this contingency, the accuracy required during the descent was lost. As a result, the cosmonauts landed on March 19 far from the calculated landing point, in the deep taiga, 180 kilometers northwest of Perm.
We did not find them right away, tall trees prevented the landing of helicopters. Therefore, the astronauts had to spend the night near the fire, using parachutes and spacesuits for insulation. The next day, in the undergrowth, a few kilometers from the place where the crew landed, a rescue party descended to clear the site for a small helicopter. A group of rescuers on skis reached the astronauts. Rescuers built a log hut, where they equipped sleeping places for the night. On March 21, the platform for receiving the helicopter was prepared, and on the same day the cosmonauts arrived in Perm aboard the Mi-4, from where they made an official report on the completion of the flight.
On October 20, 1965, the International Aviation Federation (FAI) approved a world record for the duration of a person's stay in outer space outside a spacecraft of 12 minutes 09 seconds, and an absolute record for the maximum flight altitude of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft above the Earth's surface - 497.7 kilometers. The FAI awarded Alexei Leonov the highest award - the Gold Medal "Cosmos" for the first spacewalk in the history of mankind, the USSR pilot-cosmonaut Pavel Belyaev was awarded a diploma and a medal from the FAI.
The first spacewalk was performed by Soviet cosmonauts 2.5 months earlier than the Americans. The first American in space was Edward White, who performed a spacewalk on June 3, 1965, during his flight on the Gemini-4 spacecraft (Gemini-4). The duration of stay in open space was 22 minutes.
Over the past years, the range of tasks solved by cosmonauts outside spaceships and stations has increased significantly. The modernization of space suits has been constantly carried out and is being carried out. As a result, the duration of a person's stay in space vacuum for one exit has increased many times over. Today, spacewalks are an obligatory part of the program of all expeditions to the International Space Station. During the exits, scientific research, repair work, the installation of new equipment on the outer surface of the station, the launch of small satellites, and much more are carried out.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
Alluring abyss, disturbing blackness and the beginning of the universe. As soon as people did not call space, but the essence was always the same - a person wanted to get into it. The first human spacewalk has become the main goal for a civilization that has mastered the latest technology. And on March 18, 1965, the dream became a reality. , while on the Vostok spacecraft, he stepped into the abyss and ended up as far from the Earth as none of the people of that time could manage. But what events preceded this?
Just a goal or reality?
Since Yuri Gagarin became the first in space, the world space race began, the main participants of which were the USA and the USSR. In a few years, both powers sent three ships into space, and now it was up to a small but extremely important step - to go into outer space. And on the way to solving this problem, there were many problems that countries understood and tried to solve.
The first thing that prompted the achievement of the goal was the problem of the possible repair of spacecraft, which would have to be carried out from the outside. It was obvious that no one except the astronauts could cope with this task, which means that it was necessary to develop a system that would allow such work to be carried out without risk. Human spacewalk was the only option. The USSR entrusted this task to the Queen, and Alexei Leonov became the main performing specialist. To solve the problem, a modified ship "Vostok" and a special spacesuit were used. By 1965, everything was ready and only the last steps remained to be taken.
Ship Upgrades
The first spacewalk would not have been possible without a reliable spacecraft that could stay in space for a long time and take on board several astronauts at once. This ship was the second version of Voskhod, on which three cosmonauts had already flown: Komarov, Feoktistov and Yegorov. But at that time, they were so cramped in the cockpit that they had to not put on spacesuits, which threatened instant death at the time of a sudden depressurization of the ship. The new version received an inflatable airlock and free space for two people to fly. As soon as landing was made, the inflatable chamber was separated and the ship landed.
But the risk still remained, since there was less and less time and the United States was literally stepping on its heels, it was necessary to decide to launch the ship without checking all the systems. The situation was aggravated by the fact that exactly a month before the launch of Leonov, a copy of the ship that made an unmanned flight was mistakenly destroyed. Blame it all - a command to self-destruct. The first human spacewalk might not have taken place at all, but Korolev and Keldysh (head of the USSR Scientific Academy) consulted with the astronauts and decided that the planned flight would happen exactly on time.
suit
Leonov's smile, captured in a spacesuit located in the Museum of Cosmonautics, immediately flew around all the newspapers of the world, but the efforts hidden behind it were not visible to anyone. The thing is that spacesuits were developed for the flight under the code name "Berkut". Engineers added an additional layer of airtight shell and placed a satchel with a life support system behind the astronaut's back. And to improve the reflective properties, the traditional orange color was changed, which was replaced by white. All these innovations seriously weighed down the already massive armor, bringing it to a figure of 100 kg.
Cosmonauts were trained in space suits. And then global shortcomings became clear. The vital system worked properly, but extremely weakly, because of this, the air supply was not enough, and with any movements, the person experienced weakness and began to sweat intensely.
It is worth adding to this the inconvenience of the design itself, due to which, for a simple clenching of the fist, it was necessary to strain and make an effort of 25 kilograms, it immediately becomes clear that the first astronaut in space did not experience the best feelings. Only to perform the simplest movements, constant training was required, so the astronauts often worked hard, but did not stop before their goal. It is worth noting that colleagues considered Leonov the strongest and most enduring of all, which made him a key figure in the experiment.
Arrival of Charles de Gaulle
In order for the cosmonauts to go out into outer space, daily training sessions were held, at the height of which Charles de Gaulle arrives and Khrushchev lights up with the idea to show off the achievements of the country and show France how the exit is being worked out. At that moment, the astronauts realized that the crew would include exactly those who would participate in the "performance". And then something happens that became the reason for Khrunov's long-term grievances against Gagarin. The latter decided to replace Khrunov with and did not explain his motives in any way.
Later, he said that Belyaev was supposed to get the last chance to fly into space, and the young and ambitious Khrunov would get the opportunity to do this more than once in his later life. In addition, it was Belyaev who suited Leonov much better in terms of psychological compatibility. But the fact remained - the offense was serious.
Space Threats
Those who first went into space were warned in advance about all the possible dangers that await them on the way to their cherished goal. This is the possibility of losing contact with the ship, and the likelihood of a collision with space debris, which was already in bulk at that time, as well as the most unpleasant thing - death from lack of oxygen and the inability to return to the ship. Such unpleasant outcomes as overheating, hypothermia and radiation poisoning also persisted. But the cosmonauts and the leadership firmly stood their ground and stubbornly moved forward towards achieving the global dream.
It is worth noting that Leonov's spacewalk was also dangerous and the fragility of the structure connecting him with the ship. He was tied with a strong rope to two carabiners, one on him, the second on the deck, only this allowed him to return back. Rocket packs had not yet been invented.
No one took the danger of a collision with debris seriously, since at that time only 11 satellites and several ships had been in space, from which only small space debris remained, burning up in the layers of the atmosphere.
Steps to outer space
Space is still an extremely unexplored and dangerous area, but in 1965, only the laziest skeptic did not put forward his own theory regarding the failure of the Soviet spacewalk mission. Many people talked about the impossibility of taking a step outside the spacecraft, and if Leonov did make a spacewalk, he would instantly weld to the aircraft or go crazy. Indeed, it was hard to imagine what the unknown element could do with a small person, and each step could become a fatal mistake and failure of the USSR, but only practice could verify the guesses.
Passions were added by the fact of the absence of any rescue systems, which at that time, no one had yet invented. The only emergency measure was to allow a hatch to be opened through which one could stick one's hand out. But Leonov and Belyaev, the cosmonauts of the USSR, were not afraid of any difficulties, and as soon as the ship was able to enter orbit, Leonov prepared to leave. The fateful hour came, the astronaut pushed off the ship and smoothly found himself in outer space. The question "who was the first to go into outer space?" got a clear answer. USSR!
Trouble in flight
As soon as Leonov left the ship, his pulse was 164 beats per minute and everything was under control. He sailed away from the ship for a meter, then returned, and then moved as far as possible from the side, turned to the cameras, broadcasting everything that was happening online, and waved his hand to humanity. Levitan read out the message and reported "Belyaev and Leonov in space." 12 minutes and 9 seconds have passed. It was time to go back, and the trouble was just beginning.
The fact is that training by an astronaut includes working out various options for unforeseen situations. Leonov constantly said that if you work out at least 1000 options, 1001 will definitely happen. And so it happened. Due to the excess pressure, the spacesuit swelled and the astronaut found himself enclosed in a large balloon, inflated from the inside. There was no more sense of support and no more tactile sensations. But then it was necessary to wind up the rope, take the camera and enter the hatch of the ship.
Leonov says: “I committed the biggest violation when I did not report my actions to Earth, but I knew that it was impossible to delay. I dropped the pressure almost twice, to 0.27, instead of the prescribed 0.5, and my hands immediately fell into place, the opportunity to work returned.
But it was impossible to hesitate, because nitrogen could begin to boil at any second, which means that the occurrence of decompression sickness was not far off. Belyaev saw that the shadow side was approaching, he understood that very soon no one would be able to help the cosmonaut and began to rush the pilot.
Leonov made several attempts to enter, but the airlock did not allow walking forward, as the instructions say, due to the fact that the suit was still inflated. It was necessary to act, because there was less and less oxygen. Leonov decided to break all the instructions and lowered the pressure to the limit, turned his head forward and pulled himself inside with his hands. After laying down, turned around and gave the order to batten down the hatch. As soon as air began to enter the chamber, Leonov completed the spacewalk.
Time to go home
As mentioned above, the ship did not pass a series of tests, which means that it had many problems that could prevent the completion of the mission, but none of this happened in space, but an emergency happened on the descent. During the shooting of the inflatable airlock, the stellar orientation sensors were stuck, the ship could not descend, during the 16th orbit around the planet, the USSR headquarters ordered to descend. And the ship began to enter the next turn, then it became clear that automatic orientation did not work and everything would have to be done manually. The flight threatened to end in tragedy.
Belyaev and Leonov are really masters of their craft, who were able to regain control of the ship and their only mistake was the delay in turning on the engine, however, by only one minute, which as a result led to a sudden change in the landing site. The aircraft, together with the cosmonauts on board, who answered the whole world the question "who was the first to go into outer space?", ended up in the dense winter forests of Russia.
The rescue
The cosmonauts were in the forest for two days, they were found almost immediately and even tried to drop warm clothes from the helicopter, but a mistake was made and the bundle was lost in the snowdrifts. The rescuers had no way to land anywhere nearby. Trees interfered. But Leonov and Belyaev could not cut down trees or fill in the snow to create an impromptu landing site. The rescue group had to walk to the astronauts, who were approaching a cold death, and independently take them out of the thicket of the forest.
The triumph of the country is the triumph of mankind!
The flight and preparation for it were fraught with enormous difficulties, which, it seemed, could not be overcome by anyone. But the cosmonauts of the USSR did the impossible and coped with the task. They did what everyone tried to do, but no one could. We went out into outer space, making a fundamental step for all mankind. This event went down in the history of Soviet cosmonautics.
Leonov received a prestigious award from the International Aviation Federation - the gold medal "Cosmos" and history will forever remember him. Belyaev was awarded a medal and a diploma, and in the same way entered the milestones of history.
The feat of thousands of scientists, workers and millions of ordinary people was accomplished by only one person who was not afraid to go into the abyss, to be left alone with open space and look at the stars through only one thin glass, to hear the heart in the silence of silence and return back under , inaccessible to him, the applause of the whole world. Alexey Leonov is a great person!
“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 ... "
TASS MESSAGE
On March 18, 1965, at 11:30 am 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.
IN A SUIT ABOVE THE PLANET
To ensure a man's spacewalk, NPO Energia created a special transitional gateway, code-named Volga. It had a cylindrical structure and consisted of 36 inflatable sections, divided into 3 groups isolated from each other. The gateway retained its shape even if two of them failed. An astronaut going out into outer space was connected to the ship by a halyard, through which communication was provided with the ship's side, and oxygen was supplied, however, an additional emergency oxygen cylinder was attached to the astronaut's spacesuit. Before Alexei Leonov went into space, Pavel Belyaev also put on a spacesuit.
In the event of any accident, he was supposed to help Leonov return to the ship. The entire EVA procedure was tested during ground training and simulated in zero gravity on board a parabolic aircraft. Immediately after entering the assigned orbit, the cosmonauts began preparations for the spacewalk. Belyaev helped Leonov put on a spacesuit and reinforce an emergency oxygen tank. Then Leonov went into outer space. Alexei Leonov gently pushed himself away from the ship, carefully moving his arms and legs.
The movements were carried out relatively easily, and, spreading his arms like wings, he began to soar freely in an airless space high above the Earth, while a 5-meter halyard reliably connected him with the ship. Two television cameras constantly watched Leonov from the ship (and although their resolution was not high, then a quite decent film about the first spacewalk of an earthling was mounted on Earth). Belyaev transmitted to Earth: “Man has entered outer space!” Leonov flew about a meter away from the ship, then returned to him again. The Black Sea floated right below, Leonov could see a ship going far from the shore, brightly lit by the Sun.
When they flew over the Volga, Belyaev connected the phone in Leonov's spacesuit to the transmission of Moscow radio - Levitan read the TASS message about a man's spacewalk. Five times the astronaut flew away from the ship and returned. All this time, the spacesuit was maintained at “room” temperature, and its outer surface was heated in the sun to +60°C and cooled in the shade to -100°C. When Leonov saw the Irtysh and the Yenisei, he received a command from Belyaev to return to the cockpit, but this was not easy to do. The fact is that in a vacuum, Leonov's spacesuit swelled up. The fact that such a thing could happen was expected, but hardly anyone imagined that it would be so strong. Leonov could not squeeze into the airlock hatch, and there was no time to consult with the Earth. He made attempt after attempt - all to no avail, and the supply of oxygen in the suit was designed for only 20 minutes, which inexorably ended. In the end, Leonov relieved pressure in the spacesuit and, contrary to the instructions that ordered to enter the airlock with his feet, he decided to “float” face forward, and, fortunately, he succeeded ... Leonov spent 12 minutes in open space, during this short time he was sweating like as if a tub of water had been poured on him - the physical exertion was so great. Enthusiastic reports about the new Soviet experiment continued to be heard over the receiver from the Earth in different voices, and the crew began to prepare for the descent. The flight program provided for the landing in automatic mode on the seventeenth orbit, but due to the failure of the automation caused by the “shooting off” of the lock chamber, I had to go to the next, eighteenth orbit and land using the manual control system.
This was the first manual landing, and during its implementation it was found that it was impossible to look into the porthole from the cosmonaut's working chair and assess the position of the ship in relation to the Earth. It was possible to start braking only while sitting in a seat in a fastened state. Due to this contingency, the accuracy required during the descent was lost. The delay of the command to turn on the brake engines was 45 seconds. As a result, the cosmonauts landed far from the calculated landing point, in the deep taiga, 180 km northwest of Perm, in a snowy forest. They received first aid only a day later from local lumberjacks. Helicopters arrived for them only on the third day.
MAN WENT INTO SPACE!
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 moment 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.
MEMORIES OF A SEARCH GROUP COMMANDER
The three of us sat down - Artemiev, Volkov and I, not making out for the noise of the engine, so that one was dropped off - the Mi-1 does not take more than two people. Loaded skis, axes, saws and flew. On the way, seeing that there were three of us, the pilot said that he would not be able to hover, but would land us two kilometers from the astronauts. Next you need to go skiing. He hovered over a birch grove; tree height - 20 meters. He threw away the rope ladder and told us to go down. We dropped the load and all three went down.
Unpleasant were the sensations when jumping down the stairs. He showed us the direction and flew away. We put a compass in this direction and wanted to move. But it turned out that the ski bindings fit well with my boots, and Volkov and Artemyev were in fur boots, and therefore there were difficulties with their bindings. After walking 100 meters, I was forced to give the command to return and prepare a place for the helicopter to land, and I myself moved to the desired place alone.
After a while, I heard shots and continued to follow them. At 9:00 we landed, and I came to them at 2:00 in the afternoon. Walking 2 km for five hours, having the first category in skiing, is a shame, of course ... but very difficult: loose snow 1.5 m deep.
When I felt the smoke, saw the ship, my strength somehow increased. I drove up. Belyaev was sitting on the ship and spoke in an expressive language with the plane that was patrolling over them. I went. He looked at me so indifferently at first. I grabbed his leg. He touched me, and then rushed to hug. He later said that he thought he was hallucinating. "How it is? Followed us and ended up here. Did you come here before us?"
Leonov was aside by the fire. He heard voices, rushed to us. There they had a path made, and the fire itself was on the ground. The snow melted and how they were in a well. Rejoiced, began to question. I took the walkie-talkie from P. Belyaev and reported to the Joint Venture: "Belyaev has arrived, everything is in order, we are taking measures for evacuation." After that, he said through the plane that, first of all, the crew needed warm clothes, sleeping bags, tents and food. Soon the helicopter dropped us 8 "seats". We only found two. But, fortunately, there were sleeping bags and tents. And they began to prepare a place to rest. The astronauts were exhausted. For them, this was the second night without sleep. Leonov began to joke.
... I was very thirsty - I spent a lot of energy on the road. I sucked on the tank of water and drank almost everything they had left. “You see, we have nothing to eat, and you took away the water.” They ate all the food, and adapted a container from NAZ to get water. The second approach from the helicopter dropped products: pasta, crackers. I managed to tell them to make hot food. And the next day they threw out a 40-liter tank of tea and began to deliver hot food.
By the end of the day, a group arrived, which was intended for evacuation from the Air Force. Doctor Tumanov came. Another fire was lit. Tumanov had meat broth tablets. We boiled them, and one should have seen with what pleasure Belyaev and Leonov volley drank the hot broth. For example, I could not touch this mug.
The doctor examined them, listened. Leonov immediately turned: "Can't we get warm?" Tumanov said that as an exception, of course, he poured them half a glass. They drank with pleasure, and we put them to bed. Leonov, on this metal flask, drew Tumanov the landing site along with the ship and wrote his wishes.
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 moment 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, fully entering 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 vital 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 ... 
