On October 11, 2019, Alexei Leonov died. He was 85 years old. This text about him was published in March 2014.

“The silence struck me. Silence, extraordinary silence. And the opportunity to hear your own breathing and heartbeat. I heard my heart beating, I heard my breathing”, - Alexei Leonov

On March 18, 1965, at 10:00 Moscow time, the Vostok spacecraft was launched from Baikonur. On board were two Soviet cosmonauts: commander Pavel Ivanovich Belyaev and pilot Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov. An hour and a half later, one of them stepped into the abyss, got rid of the strong shell of the ship and went out into outer space. It was connected with the planet Earth only by a halyard 5.5 meters long. No one has ever flown so far from their homeland.

Training

Almost four years have passed since the flight of Yuri Gagarin, the whole world was fascinated by the space race of two superpowers - the USSR and the USA. They have already sent several manned ships; in 1964, for the first time on a new type of Soviet Voskhod, three people went into space at once, now the next fundamental step was coming - a spacewalk.

Both powers, intensively engaged in the space program, simultaneously came to obvious problems that needed to be solved. Sooner or later, during the planned long-term flights, preventive and repair work will be required outside the ship, except for the astronauts themselves, there will be no one to perform them, therefore, it was necessary to develop a safe and efficient system for their implementation. In the USSR, Korolev dealt with this problem, and the young cosmonaut from the first detachment, Alexei Leonov, became the main specialist-executor. According to the program, an improved version of the latest Voskhod spacecraft, an airlock system and a special protective suit were developed. By February 1965, everything was ready, the last throw remained.

Ship

"Voskhod-2" became an improved version of the first ship, on which in 1964 for the first time three cosmonauts flew simultaneously: Vladimir Komarov, Konstantin Feoktistov and Boris Yegorov. The cockpit was so crowded that they had to fly without spacesuits, and in the event of a depressurization of the ship, they were threatened with imminent death. The weight of Vostok-2 was almost 6 tons, the diameter was 2.5 meters, and the height was almost 4.5 meters. The new ship was adapted for the flight of two people and equipped with a unique inflatable gateway for spacewalk "Volga" - there the chamber was inflated and was ready to receive the astronaut. Its outer diameter is 1.2 meters, the inner diameter is only 1 meter, and the length is 2.5 meters. In preparation for landing, the camera shot back and the ship landed without it.

It is worth noting that the flight of Voskhod-2 with an airlock and a crew on board was risky, since it was not possible to pre-check the operation of all systems. On February 22, 1965, less than a month before the flight of Belyaev and Leonov, the unmanned spacecraft Kosmos-57 (a copy of Vostok-2) was blown up during a test flight due to an erroneous command to self-destruct. Despite this, Korolev (chief designer of the entire program) and Keldysh (President of the USSR Academy of Sciences), after consulting with the cosmonauts, decided not to cancel the planned flight.

Armor

The first spacesuit for spacewalks was called "Berkut" (by the way, all Soviet and Russian spacesuits are named after birds of prey: "Orlan", "Hawk", "Falcon", "Gyrfalcon"), together with a satchel it weighed 40 kilograms, which, of course, does not matter in zero gravity, but gives an idea of ​​the seriousness of the design. All systems were as simple as possible, but effective. For example, the designers decided to do without a regeneration plant to save space, and exhaled carbon dioxide was released through a valve directly into outer space.

However, at that time, several of the latest technologies of that time were used in the spacesuit: screen-vacuum insulation from several layers of metallized fabric protected the astronaut from temperature changes, and a light filter on the helmet glass saved his eyes from bright sunlight.

The Berkut was used only once during the flight of Voskhod-2 by the crew of Belyaev and Leonov and is currently the only universal spacesuit, that is, intended both for rescuing pilots during ship depressurization and for spacewalks.

Threats

Of course, you have all seen the movie "Gravity", which received 7 Oscars, and therefore you should have a good idea of ​​all the dangers that threaten the astronaut in open space. These are the danger of losing contact with the ship, the danger of colliding with space debris, and, finally, the danger of running out of oxygen before returning to the ship. In addition, there is a risk of overheating or hypothermia, as well as radiation damage.

Connection

Leonov was tied to the ship with a strong halyard five and a half meters long. During the flight, he repeatedly stretched to its full length and again pulled up to the ship, fixing all his actions on the movie camera. In the 60s, there were no rocket packs (a device for moving and maneuvering an astronaut) that allowed completely free separation from the ship and return to it, so a thin strong rope on two metal carbines was literally everything that connected Leonov with life and opportunity to return home.

wreckage

the probability of encountering any space debris orbiting the Earth in 1965 was still very small. Before the Voskhod-2 flight, only 11 manned spacecraft and several satellites had been in space, while in fairly low orbits with a relatively high density of atmospheric gases, respectively, most of the smallest particles of paint, debris and other debris remaining after these ships, soon burned down, not having time to harm anyone. Before formulation Kessler's syndrome it was still far away, and the Soviet space program did not take this danger seriously.

Oxygen

The Berkut suit, designed specifically for spacewalks and having full autonomy, had a supply of only 1666 liters of oxygen, and to maintain the necessary gas pressure and the life of the astronaut, it was necessary to spend more than 30 liters per minute. Thus, the maximum time spent outside the ship was only about 45 minutes, and that's all about everything: entering the airlock, spacewalk, being in free flight, returning to the airlock and waiting for its closing time. The total exit time of Leonov was 23 minutes 41 seconds (of which 12 minutes 9 seconds were outside the ship). No margin for error correction or rescue was provided.

Temperature and radiation

Leonov actually miraculously managed to complete his exit before the ship fell into the shadow of the Earth, where low temperatures could complicate all his actions and lead to death. In total darkness, he would not have been able to cope with the halyard and the entrance to the airlock. Being on the sunny side for some 12 minutes made him sweat. “Patience was gone, sweat flowed down his face not in hail, but in a stream, so caustic that it burned his eyes,” recalls Leonov. As for radiation, then he was relatively lucky. At the apogee of the orbit, almost 500 kilometers above the ground, Voskhod-2 touched only the lower edge of the radiation-hazardous zone, where the radiation can be up to 500 roentgen / hour (a lethal dose in a few minutes), a short stay in it and a good set of circumstances did not led to dire consequences. Upon landing, Leonov received a dose of 80 millirads, which is significantly higher than the norm, but does not lead to health damage.

Flight

On the very first turn of the flight, the airlock was inflated. Both crew members took their places and put on their space suits. On the second orbit, Leonov climbed into the airlock, and the commander tightly closed the hatch behind him. At 11:28, air was bled from the Volga - time had passed, now Leonov was completely autonomous. At 11:32 an external hatch was opened from the control panel, two minutes later at 11:34 Leonov left the airlock and went into outer space.

At the time of exit, the astronaut's pulse was 164 beats per minute. Leonov moved away from the ship by a meter, and then returned again. The body freely unfolded in space. Through the glass of his helmet, he looked at the Black Sea passing right under him, at the ships sailing on its dark blue surface.

He repeated his withdrawal and approach maneuver several times, spinning freely and spreading his arms, all the while talking on the radio with the ship's commander and ground services. Over the Volga, Belyaev connected the phone in Leonov's space suit to the transmissions of the Moscow Radio, on which Levitan read the TASS message about a man's spacewalk. At that time, the whole world, with the help of television broadcasts from the ship's cameras, could see how Leonov was waving his hand to all mankind directly from outer space.

Leonov's record flight lasted 12 minutes and 9 seconds.

Unseen circumstances

In preparation for the flight on the ground, 3000 different emergency situations and their solutions were worked out. But Leonov said that, according to the law, the 3001st would also happen in space, and it would also need to be resolved. And so it happened.

In outer space, the soft space suit swelled up due to excess pressure (inside 0.5 atm, outside - zero). “My hands jumped out of gloves, and my legs out of boots,” Leonov recalls. The astronaut was inside a large inflated balloon. Lost tactile sensations and sense of support. And yet it was necessary to collect the halyard into the bay, so as not to get entangled in it, pick up the movie camera, which he held in his hands and enter the narrow hatch of the inflatable lock chamber. The decision had to be made very quickly, and Leonov succeeded.

“I silently, without reporting to the Earth (this was my very big violation), make a decision and relieve pressure from the spacesuit by almost 2 times, by 0.27 instead of 0.5. And my hands immediately fell into place, I was able to work with gloves.

But it gave rise dire consequences- due to the drop in the partial pressure of oxygen, it fell into the nitrogen boiling zone ( decompression sickness known to divers). And I had to hurry. The commander of the ship Belyaev, seeing that the shadow was inexorably approaching, and nothing could help Leonov in complete darkness and at the limit minus, hurried his pilot.

Leonov made several attempts to enter the airlock, but they were all unsuccessful, the suit did not obey and did not allow him to go forward with his feet, as it should be according to the instructions. Each failure brought a terrible death closer: oxygen was running out. From excitement and hard work, Leonov's pulse quickened, he began to breathe more often and deeper.

Then Leonov, in violation of all instructions, made the last desperate attempt - he relieved the pressure in the spacesuit to the minimum with the help of a valve, pushed the camera into the airlock and, turning his head forward, pulled himself in on his hands. This was done only thanks to excellent physical preparation - the exhausted organism gave its last energy to this effort. Inside the chamber, Leonov turned around with great difficulty, battened down the hatch, and finally gave the command to equalize the pressure. At 11:52, air began to enter the lock chamber - this was the end of Alexei Leonov's spacewalk.

Homecoming

Leonov's struggle for life was over; the hatch behind him slammed shut, separating the cramped, light, cozy little world of the Voskhod-2 cabin from the dark, endless cold of outer space. But here another problem arose. Start to rise partial pressure oxygen in the cabin, it has already reached 460 mm and continued to grow, and this is at a rate of 160 mm. The slightest spark in the electrical circuits of the devices could lead to an explosion. Later it turned out that due to the fact that Voskhod-2 had been stabilized relative to the Sun for a long time, it heated up unevenly (+150°С on the one hand, and -140°С on the other), which led to a slight deformation of the body. The hatch closing sensors worked, but there was a small gap from which air escaped. The automation system regularly provided life support for the astronauts by supplying oxygen to the cabin. The crew was unable to deal with this on their own, and the astronauts could only watch with horror the readings of the instruments. When the total pressure reached 920 mm, the hatch slammed shut under its pressure, and the threat passed - soon the atmosphere inside the cabin returned to normal.

But the troubles of the astronauts did not end there. In normal mode, the ship was supposed to start the landing program after the 17th orbit, but the brake propulsion system did not work in automatic mode, and the ship continued to rush along the orbit at breakneck speed. The ship had to be landed manually, Belyakov oriented it to the correct position and sent it to a deserted area in the taiga near Solikamsk. Most of all, then the commander was afraid to get into a densely populated area and touch power lines or houses. There was also a risk of flying into the unfriendly territory of China at that time, but all this was avoided. After turning on the brake engines and braking in the atmosphere, painful seconds of waiting stretched out. But everything worked out: the parachute system worked normally, and Voskhod-2 landed 30 kilometers southwest of the city of Berezniki in the Perm Region. The commander brilliantly coped with the task, deviating from the calculated point by only 80 km, given that the ship was flying at a speed of about 30,000 km/h.

From the helicopter, red parachutes hung on the tops of the trees were very quickly discovered, but there was no way to find a place to land and pull out the successfully landed crew. For two days Belyaev and Leonov sat in the snowy taiga, waiting for help to arrive. Without getting out of their spacesuits, they wrapped themselves in a heat-insulating lining, wrapped themselves in parachute lines, lit a fire, but failed to warm up on the first night. In the morning they dropped food and warm clothes (the pilots took off their jackets from their shoulders), a group with a doctor was lowered on the ropes, which, having reached the landed cosmonauts, was able to provide them Better conditions. All this time, a landing site for an evacuation helicopter was cut down nearby, where the astronauts could reach on skis. Already on March 21, Belyaev and Leonov were in Perm, from where they reported on the successful completion of the flight personally to the Secretary General of the CPSU, Leonid Brezhnev, and on March 23, Moscow met the heroes.

***

P. Belyaev and A. Leonov

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.

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 exertion, 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 Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov, 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 on-board 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 ...

On March 18, 1965, for the first time in the world, a man went out into open space. It was made by the USSR pilot-cosmonaut Alexei Leonov during a flight on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft on March 18-19, 1965. The commander of the ship was Pavel BELYAEV, Alexei LEONOV was the co-pilot.

The launch vehicle with the crew of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft was launched on March 18, 1965 at exactly 10:00 Moscow time from the Baikonur cosmodrome. Immediately after entering orbit, already on the first orbit, the airlock was inflated and preparations began for entering outer space.

The airlock of the ship communicated with the cockpit by a hatch with a sealing cover, which opened inside the pressurized cabin both automatically (using a special electrically driven mechanism) and manually. The drive was controlled from the remote control.

In the airlock were placed two cameras for filming the process of the astronaut entering and exiting the chamber, the lighting system, and the assemblies of the airlock system. Outside, a movie camera was installed for filming an astronaut in outer space, cylinders with an air supply to pressurize the lock chamber, and cylinders with an emergency supply of oxygen.

After the astronaut went into space, before descending to earth, the main part of the lock chamber was fired, and the ship entered the dense layers of the atmosphere almost in its usual form - having only a small build-up in the area of ​​​​the entrance hatch. If the "shooting" of the camera for some reason did not take place, then the crew would have to manually cut off the lock chamber that interferes with the descent to Earth. To do this, it was necessary to put on spacesuits and, having depressurized the ship, lean out into the hatch.

To enter outer space, the Berkut spacesuit was developed with a multi-layer hermetic shell, with the help of which excess pressure was maintained inside the spacesuit, ensuring the normal life of the astronaut. Outside, the suit had a special coating white color to protect the astronaut from the thermal effects of sunlight and from possible mechanical damage to the sealed part of the spacesuit. Both crew members were equipped with space suits so that the spacecraft commander could, if necessary, assist the astronaut who went into space.

The locking was controlled by the commander of the ship, Pavel BELYAEV, from the control panel installed in the cockpit. If necessary, the control of the main locking operations could be carried out by LEONOV from the console 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, and the commander of the ship, having closed the hatch into the chamber, began to depressurize it.

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. Alexei LEONOV stepped out of the airlock into outer space.

The cosmonaut was connected with the spacecraft by a 5.35-meter-long halyard, which included a steel cable and electric wires to transfer on board the ship the data of medical observations and technical measurements, as well as to carry out telephone communication with the ship's commander.

In outer space, Alexei 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 camera and telemetry, monitored the work of the co-pilot in space and was ready, if necessary, to provide the necessary assistance to him.

After performing a series of experiments, Alexei Arkhipovich was given the 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.

The suit shrunk, and contrary to the instructions to enter the airlock with his feet, he squeezed into it headfirst. LEONOV began to turn around, since it was still necessary to enter the ship with his feet due to the fact that the lid that opens 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 feet first, as expected.

Aleksey Arkhipovich 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 moment he enters back into the chamber. Therefore, the time spent by Alexei LEONOV in open space outside the spacecraft is considered to be 12 minutes 9 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 the cabin of Alexei LEONOV, 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 a failure of the automation caused by the “shooting off” of the lock chamber, they had to leave for 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 landing site of the crew, 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 site 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 the world record for the duration of a person's stay in outer space outside the spacecraft of 12 minutes 9 seconds, and the absolute record for the maximum flight altitude of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft above the Earth's surface - 497.7 kilometers. The FAI awarded Alexei Arkhipovich LEONOV the highest award - the Gold Medal "Cosmos" for the first spacewalk in the history of mankind, and the USSR pilot-cosmonaut Pavel BELYAEV was awarded a diploma and a medal from the FAI.

First spacewalk Soviet cosmonauts spent 2.5 months earlier than American astronauts. The first American to be 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.

The first spacewalk, performed by Alexei Arkhipovich LEONOV, became another starting point for world cosmonautics. Thanks in large part to the experience gained on this first flight, spacewalks are now a standard part of expeditions to the International Space Station.

Today, during spacewalks, Scientific research, repair work, installation of new equipment on the outer surface of the station, launch of small satellites and a number of other operations.

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. The film was created by the film company "Bazelevs" with the support of the State Corporation "ROSCOSMOS".

"The Time of the First" is not a documentary in which the events of the flight of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft would be scrupulously restored. This is more of a sci-fi film based on the real flight of Pavel BELYAEV and Alexei LEONOV. The film will be released on April 6, 2017.

Also, today, March 18, 2017, many publications and Internet portals marked a historic date. Thus, the editors of the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper issued a special issue, with a title page designed in the style of a 1965 newspaper.

And the main page of the Russian communication portal mail.ru was decorated with a thematic banner.

Going into space in just a spacesuit is a risky business in itself. However, of the more than a hundred spacewalks that have taken place since 1965, there are a few that stand out, for example, in their duration or in what the astronauts have been doing "outside" the spacecraft. Here are the most memorable ones.

Alexei Leonov became the first man to go into outer space. The Soviet cosmonaut spent about 20 minutes in a vacuum, after which he ran into a problem: his spacesuit was swollen and did not fit into the airlock of the ship. Leonov had to bleed some air to get back on board.

“It was really dangerous. But, fortunately, Leonov's first spacewalk was not his last,” Nicolas de Monchaux, a professor at the University of California, later wrote in his book.

First spacewalk by an American astronaut (June 3, 1965)

Three months after Leonov, astronaut Ed White became the first American to walk into outer space. White's exit also lasted about 20 minutes, and the photo of a man floating in vacuum was actively used by propagandists during the Cold War.

The most distant spacewalks from Earth (1971-1972)

The astronauts of the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions ventured outside on their way back from the Moon. These exits were also unique in the role of the second crew member. While one astronaut was doing outdoor work, the second one stood, leaning out of the airlock to the waist, and could enjoy the beauty of the surrounding Universe.

McCandless exit in 1984

NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless became the first person to walk in outer space without a harness. During the flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger STS-41B, McCandless used a jetpack to distance himself from the space shuttle by 100 meters and then return back.

The shortest spacewalk (September 3, 2014)

The shortest spacewalk was just 14 minutes, when American astronaut Michael Fincke suffered a depressurization of his oxygen tanks during outdoor work on the ISS. He and his partner Gennady Padalka were forced to return on board ahead of schedule. space station. Padalka and Fincke used the Russian Orlan spacesuits because the American spacesuits had a cooling problem earlier.

Longest spacewalk (March 11, 2001)

The longest spacewalk lasted 8 hours and 56 minutes and took place during the Space Shuttle Discovery mission on March 11, 2001. NASA astronauts Susan Helms and Jim Voss worked on the construction of the International Space Station.

The most massive spacewalk (May 13, 1992)

Space Shuttle Endeavour's primary objective, STS-49, was to capture the Intelsat VI satellite, which had failed to enter geostationary orbit and was instead "stuck" in low Earth orbit. During the first two spacewalks, the two astronauts were unable to capture and repair the satellite, so a third crew member joined them for the third time. This is the only case in history when three people worked in space at the same time.

One of the most respected spacewalks was carried out by Soviet cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyov and Alexander Balandin from the Mir orbital station. The exit, the main purpose of which was to repair the damaged insulation of the Soyuz spacecraft, turned into a danger to the life of the astronauts when, upon returning to the station, its airlock broke and could not close. The cosmonauts were able to use the spare airlock in the Kvant-2 module and return to the Mir.

The most dangerous spacewalk in an American spacesuit (July 16, 2013)

A couple of minutes after European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano left the ISS, he felt water running down the back of his helmet. Parmitano could hardly get back, because the water got into his mouth, eyes and ears. The Italian astronaut's companions later estimated that about two liters of water had accumulated in his helmet. Space exploration was suspended for many months while NASA investigated the cause of the failure of the spacesuit.

The most difficult space station repairs (Skylab and ISS)

In the history of spacewalks, there were two of the most difficult repairs performed by astronauts when fixing orbital stations. The first took place in May and June 1973, when members of the first crew of the American Skylab station repaired the station, which was damaged during launch. Among other things, the astronauts installed a solar "umbrella" to cool the overheating station. The second incident occurred on November 3, 2007, when an American astronaut, riding on the Space Shuttle's robotic arm, reached the damaged ISS solar panels and repaired them while they were energized.

In March 1965, the flight of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft took place. The crew consisting of cosmonauts P. I. Belyaev and A. A. Leonov faced a difficult, but very responsible task - to carry out the first human spacewalk in history.

The direct implementation of the experiment fell to the lot and on March 18 he successfully coped with it. The cosmonaut went into open space, moved away from the ship by 5 meters and spent a total of 12 minutes and 9 seconds outside it.

The flight of the Voskhod was not without emergency situations and curious cases. It is difficult to describe how much mental and physical strength the people who were preparing this grandiose experiment - man's exit into outer space had to spend. Interesting Facts and little-known details of the flight and its preparation became the basis of this article.

Idea

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 normal operation The ISS would not have been possible at all 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. 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.

There was another, more serious problem. Such a dangerous experiment had to be tested on animals first. However, this was abandoned, considering that the development of a special space suit for the animal was too troublesome and costly. Besides, he would not answer the most main question: how will a person behave in outer space? It was decided to conduct experiments immediately on humans.

Today, astronauts are able to leave the ship for several hours and perform very complex manipulations in outer space. But in the 1960s, it seemed completely fantastic, or even suicidal.

Crew

Initially, the group of cosmonauts preparing for the flight consisted of Leonov, Gorbatko and Khrunov. Belyaev was on the verge of expulsion from the cosmonaut corps for health reasons, and only at the insistence of Gagarin was he included in the flight preparation group.

As a result, two crews were formed: the main one - Belyaev, Leonov - and the backup - Gorbatko, Khrunov. Special requirements were imposed on the crews of this expedition. The team had to work as a whole, and the astronauts had to be compatible with each other in terms of psychology.

The test results showed that Belyaev has great endurance and composure, is able not to lose his head in any situation, and Leonov, on the contrary, is impulsive, impulsive, but at the same time unusually brave and courageous. These two people, so different in character, could perfectly work in pairs, which was a necessary condition in order to carry out the first manned spacewalk.

Workout

For the first three months, the cosmonauts were engaged in studying the design and devices of the new spacecraft, followed by lengthy training in weightlessness. This required a maneuverable aircraft and a very experienced pilot who could perform with confidence. For an hour-long flight, the aircraft was able to simulate weightlessness for a total of about 2 minutes. It was during this time that the astronauts had to have time to work out the entire planned program.

Initially, they flew on MIG twins, but the astronauts tied with belts were unable to move. It was decided to take a more spacious Tu-104LL. Inside the aircraft, a mock-up of a part of the spacecraft with an airlock was installed, on this impromptu simulator, the main training took place.

Uncomfortable space suits

Today in the Museum of Cosmonautics you can see the same spacesuit in which Leonov carried out a man's spacewalk. A photo of a smiling cosmonaut in a helmet with the inscription "USSR" spread all over the newspapers of the world, but no one could imagine how much effort this smile cost.

Especially for Voskhod-2, special spacesuits were developed, which bore the formidable name Berkut. They had an additional hermetic shell, and a satchel was placed behind the cosmonaut's back. For better light reflection, even the color of the spacesuits was changed: white was used instead of the traditional orange. The total weight of the Berkut was about 100 kg.

All trainings took place already in spacesuits, the supply system of which left much to be desired. The air supply was extremely weak, which means that at the slightest movement the astronaut immediately became covered with perspiration from tension.

In addition, 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.

demonstration performance

In the midst of training, Charles de Gaulle, a great friend of the USSR, flew to Moscow, and Khrushchev decided to brag to him about the successes of Soviet cosmonautics. He decided to show the Frenchman how astronauts work out a man's spacewalk. It immediately became clear that it was the crew that would participate in this “performance” that would be sent on a real flight. By order of Gagarin, at this crucial moment, Khrunov is replaced by Belyaev. According to Khrunov, he did not understand the motives for this replacement and for a long time retained a grudge against Gagarin for this inexplicable act.

Later, Gagarin explained his position to Khrunov, he believed that it was necessary to give Belyaev one last chance to fly into space. Young Khrunov could do this more than once later, besides, Belyaev was better suited to Leonov from a psychological point of view.

Trouble before the start

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.

Spacewalk

Concerning human behavior in open space, there were detractors who argued that an astronaut who stepped outside the spacecraft would immediately be welded to it, would be deprived of the ability to move, or even very difficult to imagine what else a person’s exit into outer space could turn out to be. 1965 could easily have been a year of great failure. However, only practice could confirm or refute these pessimistic theories.

In addition, no rescue systems had yet been developed at that time. The only thing that was done for the astronauts was the permission, in which case, just open the hatch and put your hand out of it.

When the spacecraft entered its assigned orbit, Leonov began to prepare for the exit. Everything went according to plan, when the X-hour came, the astronaut gently pushed off and floated out of the airlock into outer space.

The most terrible predictions of skeptics did not come true, and the astronaut felt quite well. He completed the entire prescribed program, and it was time to return to the ship. There were some problems with this. The suit, swollen in weightlessness, did not allow Leonov to enter the airlock. Then he, without consulting anyone, independently lowered the pressure in the suit and rushed into the airlock head first, and not vice versa, as planned. The first manned spacewalk was completed, and Alexei Leonov forever inscribed his name in the history of astronautics.

Incident on the way down

"Voskhod-2" had many shortcomings, and after the successful completion of the flight program, an emergency occurred. When the exit airlock was fired, the solar-star orientation sensors were stuck. When the ship made its 16th orbit around the Earth, an order was received from the control center to descend. But the ship continued to fly, as if nothing had happened. When he went on the 17th revolution, it became clear that the automatic attitude control system did not work, and the crew had to switch to manual control. The flight, the main task of which was the exit of man into outer space, could end in disaster.

At the cost of incredible efforts, Belyaev and Leonov regained control of the ship, but they were still almost a minute late in shutting down the engines. As a result, the planned landing site was left far behind and the descender landed in the dense forests of Perm.

Rescue operation

The astronauts remained in the winter forest for two long days. True, one helicopter still tried to throw off their warm clothes, but missed, and the bundle was lost in the snowdrifts.

The helicopter could not land in deep snow among the trees, and the astronauts did not have the necessary equipment to cut down trees, or to fill the snow with water and make a makeshift ice landing site. In the end, the rescue team reached the frozen astronauts on foot and was able to get them out of the thicket.

Despite all the difficulties of preparation and unpleasant incidents during the flight, Belyaev and Leonov coped with their main task - they carried out a manned spacewalk. The date of this event became one of the most significant milestones in the history of Soviet cosmonautics.