The first cosmonaut in outer space. Leonov's first spacewalk: history of exploration

Space is a vast and unexplored space. However, human curiosity is limitless, and people are exploring more and more. This is especially true for our solar system. About 50 years have passed since the first man's spacewalk.

When was the first spacewalk performed?

On March 18, 1965, the first spacewalk was performed by Alexei Leonov. From the ship "Voskhod-2" and in the suit "Berkut" Leonov conquered for the first time " open space". By the way, due to the difference in pressure, the spacesuit swelled very strongly and prevented Leonov from returning to the ship. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to get back on board. The supply of oxygen in the suit was designed for only 20 minutes. Leonov depressurized the spacesuit to emergency, which led to a decrease in the spacesuit. In addition, contrary to instructions, Leonov had to squeeze head first into the airlock.

Preparation and spacewalk

Preparations for the flight were carried out very carefully. All Leonov's actions were worked out, and all emergency situations that could happen to an astronaut when trying to go into outer space, even at the cosmodrome, were played out, however, this did not help to completely avoid emergency situations.
From the Baikonur cosmodrome, at 10 am Moscow time, on March 18, 1965, the Voskhod-2 spacecraft successfully launched. After lifting into orbit, the crew began to prepare for the exit of Alexei Leonov into space.
The total time of the first spacewalk was 23 minutes, 12 of which Leonov spent in open space in a space suit. As a result, it was concluded that a person is able to perform work in outer space.


Despite the assurances of the American cosmonauts, the Soviet cosmonauts made a spacewalk 2.5 months earlier than the Americans. Edward White went out into the open on June 3, 1965. And the duration of his stay was only 22 minutes.

This step allowed Soviet scientists to improve spacesuits, which ultimately increased the duration of a person's stay in outer space. And for science, it was a huge step to install new equipment, launch satellites and much more.

Alexei Leonov is the first cosmonaut to go into outer space.

Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov

Out in outer space

March 1965 is forever imprinted not only in history national cosmonautics. The 18th day of this month was hardly a less glorious milestone for the entire earthly civilization on the way to conquer space than Gagarin's flight:

Alexei Leonov, USSR cosmonaut number 11, left the airlock of the spacecraft, made a spacewalk. For the successful completion of his mission, Leonov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. It is difficult to overestimate the achievements of those years in the field of peaceful space exploration, because that was the time of the first.

Biography of cosmonaut Alexei Leonov

On the penultimate day of May 1934, the Leonov family, who then chose permanent residence a small Siberian settlement, replenished with another child, who was named after Alexei. The head of the family, Arkhip Leonov, moved to Siberia from Ukraine after he retired Civil War, following his father, whom the tsarist government sent into exile here back in 1905.

The wave of mass repressions and political persecution that swept across the country in 1937-1938 also affected the Leonov family: the entire family was declared “enemies of the people” and deprived of their homes. A temporary shelter was found in the regional center - the city of Kemerovo. After the rehabilitation of 1939, the Leonovs moved to Kaliningrad, where the father of the family was offered a job in his profile (electrician).

Alexey Leonov, being an extremely inquisitive child, had diverse hobbies: fencing, Athletics, engineering sciences, plumbing, painting. In almost all sports areas, he has achieved serious success, confirmed by the relevant categories. In 1953, having received an average general education, Alex decided to go to the Kremenchug aviation school. Then the young pilot continued his studies at the Military Aviation School in the city of Chuguev, Kharkov region.

On March 18, 1965, having been selected for the team of the first cosmonauts, Alexei Leonov took a direct part in the flight beyond the earth's atmosphere, which lasted a little over 2 hours. Cosmonaut Pavel Belyaev became his partner. During this event, Leonov filmed a video while outside the Voskhod-2 spacecraft for a little more than 12 minutes.

After this significant event, cosmonaut A. Leonov participated in the preparation of programs for the exploration of the moon, which were subsequently curtailed due to the loss of the USSR championship in the "lunar race" with the United States.

Aleksey Arkhipovich always strived to have the most up-to-date knowledge in the technical field: in parallel with his main job, he received additional education at the Air Force Academy named after N. E. Zhukovsky.

In 1971, Leonov was given command of the crew of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft. In 1975, he flew into Earth orbit together with cosmonaut Valery Kubasov on the Soyuz-19 spacecraft. At the same time, the first docking with an American spacecraft was made.

From 1976 to 1991, Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov worked at the Cosmonaut Training Center. In 1992, he retired with the rank of Major General of Aviation. Since then he lives in Moscow, leads scientific activity related to ensuring the safety of space flights. The choice of this vector of research may be due to the problems that Alexei Leonov had to face during the flight on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft

Voskhod-2

The feat of Yuri Gagarin was the first step on the difficult path of exploration of near-Earth space. The astronaut's spacewalk was the next mission, technical support which involved advanced Soviet enterprises. The Berkut space suit was developed at the Zvezda Research and Production Enterprise taking into account the specifics of the planned event: its purpose was not only to ensure safety during spacewalks, but to save the astronaut in the event of a depressurization of the spacecraft. Having passed the required preparatory procedures, the crew of two (Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov) went into orbit on March 18, 1965 at 10:00 Moscow time. Everything was running normally. Having made two orbits around the planet, the cosmonauts decided that Leonov would leave the spacecraft. At 11:34 he, having passed the lock chamber, found himself in an airless space, where he stayed for 12 minutes. When we returned, the problems began.

Difficult return

For safety reasons, the astronaut kept in touch with the spacecraft via a 5-meter connecting cord. According to Leonov, staying in the vacuum of space was overshadowed by severe physical discomfort (tachycardia, shortness of breath, increased sweating, fever). Trying to return to the airlock, Aleksey ran into a problem that could not even be imagined during the preparation of the flight: the spacesuit was swollen and did not allow the astronaut to get on the ship. The entrance to the airlock became possible only after the pressure was released from the suit. Not having time to take a breath after such a test, the astronauts received a signal about the depressurization of the ship: after the regular disconnection of the airlock, the hatch was damaged and did not fit snugly into the grooves. By turning on the oxygen supply from spare tanks, Leonov managed to put an end to this problem. But a new one was already looming on the horizon: automatic system landing control failed, and P. Belyaev had to take control. Because of this, it was not possible to proceed to the landing site on Earth at the given coordinates: we had to land in the taiga far from settlements. The astronauts were found only a day later with the help of a helicopter. On March 21, they were already at the spaceport.

The time of the first is the time of people who longed to conquer the hostile space, glorify their country, and most importantly, open new horizons for all mankind. And they succeeded! After a safe return, cosmonaut Leonov made a report to the state commission, which he concluded with the words: “You can live and work in outer space!”.

Historical video: the first minutes spent by man in outer space.

Interview with Alexei Leonov - the first man to go into outer space

When in 1961 Yuri Gagarin went to conquer space, the entire population of the planet was surprised and shocked by his feat. The following achievements of the USSR astronautics continued to amaze the whole world. Just a few years later, the first human spacewalk took place. Leonov Alexei Arkhipovich was the very cosmonaut who went down in history. The ship's crew commander was Pavel Belyaev.

the day before

Four years have passed since Yuri Gagarin's historic flight. All this time, humanity continued to watch with enviable interest the race of 2 superpowers in space - the USA and the USSR. They have already managed to send several manned spacecraft into orbit. And in 1964, the leadership of the Communist Party informed the world that three Soviet cosmonauts had flown to the stars at once. Accordingly, the next fundamental step should be an exit into open space.

Meanwhile, both states continued to pursue their own space programs. For example, experts understood that during long-term flights the astronaut would sooner or later have to carry out certain work outside the spacecraft. It was also clear that they would be carried out exclusively by the pilots themselves. Therefore, it was urgently necessary to develop an efficient and, most importantly, safe system for carrying out such work. In the Soviet empire, Academician Korolev dealt with these issues. And the thirty-year-old cosmonaut from the 1st detachment, Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov, turned out to be the main and direct executor of these undertakings.

To do this, scientists began to improve the Voskhod spacecraft. In February 1965, all work was already completed ... When was Leonov's first spacewalk? We will talk about this further.

advanced spacecraft

The ship "Voskhod-2" is an improved version of the device, on which three pilots flew at once in the distant 1964, as mentioned above.

The new spaceship was adapted for the flight of two astronauts. On it, cosmonaut Leonov was supposed to make a spacewalk. A special inflatable lock chamber was provided on board for access to outer space. The system of the device was as follows: the chamber was inflated, which was already ready to receive the pilot. When preparations were made for landing, the camera automatically "shot back" and the spacecraft itself descended without it.

By the way, this whole experiment with the camera and the astronauts was pretty risky. The fact is that the specialists did not have time to thoroughly check the operation of absolutely all systems. One month before the flight, the unmanned spacecraft was blown up by mistake. After this incident, S. Korolev and M. Keldysh had a long conversation with the pilots. As a result, the planned spacewalk by cosmonaut Leonov was not cancelled.

The versatility of the "golden eagle"

All domestic spacesuits were called names birds of prey. So, there is a space suit "Orlan". There is "Krechet", there is "Hawk", "Falcon" ... The very first spacesuit for entering outer space was called "Berkut". He weighed about 40 kg. In conditions of weightlessness, this indicator absolutely did not matter. But, however, this figure gave an idea of ​​the seriousness of the whole structure.

The spacesuit systems were very efficient and quite simple. So, the specialists abandoned the regeneration unit, and when exhaling carbon dioxide directly released into outer space.

This suit was used once when the Belyaev-Leonov crew went into space. Experts say that Berkut is still considered not only the only and unique spacesuit, but also universal. And the versatility consisted in the fact that it is intended both for rescuing astronauts in case of depressurization of the spacecraft, and for leaving a person into open space.

Obvious Threats

Our contemporaries are well aware of the dangers that a priori may threaten a pilot in outer space.

  1. The pilot may lose contact with the craft. So, Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov was tied to Voskhod-2 with a reliable halyard. Its length is 5.5 m. During the historical exit of man into open space, the cosmonaut repeatedly stretched out to the length of the cable, and then pulled himself up to the apparatus. In fact, it was only thanks to the strength of this safety line that the pilot could actually return home.
  2. In open space, an astronaut could encounter the so-called "space debris". True, in those days such a possibility was negligible. Recall that before Voskhod-2, only eleven manned spacecraft and a number of satellites were in orbit. All of them were quite in low orbits and, accordingly, the lion's share of the debris that remained after them quickly burned out. Thus, they did not have time to harm anyone.
  3. Of course, the pilot has a serious risk that he will run out of oxygen. The Berkut suit was designed specifically for spacewalking. He has complete autonomy. Air supply - 1666 l. The maximum duration of stay outside the apparatus is 45 minutes. During this time, the pilot must have time to enter the airlock, go into space, go into free flight and return to the airlock. No resource to fix possible errors or rescue was not foreseen at all.
  4. The astronaut may be in danger of hypothermia or overheating. So, Leonov successfully managed to complete his exit before the spacecraft fell into the shadow of our planet. Otherwise, such low temperatures could seriously complicate all the actions of the astronaut. In addition, in pitch darkness, he would not be able to cope with the safety cable and the entrance to the airlock.
  5. In open space, an astronaut could receive a certain dose of radiation. When cosmonaut Leonov made the first spacewalk, he, according to him, was very lucky. The fact is that in his exit into space, he only touched the edge of the radiation-dangerous zone. When Leonov returned, experts recorded a rather large dose of radiation from him, but this, fortunately, did not lead to damage to his health.

mission accomplished

The date of the spacewalk of Aleksey Arkhipovich Leonov is March 18, 1965. A spacecraft called Voskhod-2 took off from the ground from Baikonur. As soon as the ship entered orbit, the airlock was inflated on the very first orbit. When Voskhod was already entering the second orbit, Leonov moved into the chamber. After that, the crew commander finally battened down the hatch behind his colleague.

A few minutes later, air began to bleed in the chamber. And two minutes later the pilot had already decided to go into an abyss unknown to him - into outer space.

He began to conduct experiments and observations, which were provided by the program. He moved away from the apparatus by a meter and returned. He constantly talked on the radio station not only with Belyaev, but also with employees of ground services.

After some time, the commander managed to connect the phone in the Leonov spacesuit to the broadcasts of the capital's radio. At this moment, the announcer Levitan was reading an informational message about the exit of the Soviet man into outer space. And the entire population of the planet, through television broadcasting from the cameras of the apparatus, could see that Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov nevertheless made a spacewalk. He waved his hand to the whole world right from there...

3001 problem

Leonov's spacewalk could end very badly. When the astronauts carefully prepared for the flight, they worked out three thousand different emergency situations. Of course, they found the same number of solutions. However, Alexei Leonov has repeatedly admitted that in outer space, according to the law, the 3001st unforeseen situation will also arise. And that is what needs to be addressed urgently. So, in fact, it happened.

When the outer space experiment program ended, Leonov was ordered to return. But it was very difficult to do so. Due to the pressure in space, the suit lost its flexibility. Besides, he was bloated. In other words, the astronaut was inside an inflated and rather large balloon. And, accordingly, he was not able to climb into the airlock. In addition, the supply of oxygen in the "Berkut" was running out. Thus, Leonov had to make a certain decision. And urgently. First, he wanted to report an emergency situation on Earth. But then he realized that advice would not help him, since he was the only person who had ever encountered something like this.

Be that as it may, the astronaut found a way out of the apparent impasse. In defiance of all instructions, he vented excess oxygen to reduce the size of the suit and pulled himself head first into the airlock. By by and large, he managed to do this only thanks to his excellent physical training.

After that, Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov, with tremendous efforts, was able to turn around, lifting the hatch. Air began to enter the chamber. It seemed that all the dangers had finally passed ...

Long way home

So, the struggle of the Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov for life, fortunately, has already ended. However, at least serious problem. The fact is that the partial pressure of oxygen was recorded in the cabin. And it kept growing and growing. And, accordingly, if the smallest spark appears in the instrument circuits, then all this could lead to a real explosion.

Later, the cause of this problem was found out. For a long time, the apparatus heated up unevenly, as it was corrected relative to the Sun. Because of this, the hull of the ship was slightly deformed.

In addition, as it turned out, air was escaping from a small gap in the hatch of the cell. Unfortunately, the Soviet cosmonauts could not deal with the problem and therefore watched the instrument readings with horror. However, when the pressure returned to normal, the hatch slammed shut, and the threat finally disappeared.

True, the troubles of the crew did not end at all. Voskhod 2 should start landing after the seventeenth orbit. However, braking technology automatic mode for some reason it didn't work. The spacecraft was in orbit. The crew members had to carry out the landing program in manual mode. Belyaev was able to orient the ship in the correct position, sending it to a deserted taiga area. According to the recollections of the commander, at that moment he was most afraid that the device would fall into a densely populated area or touch power lines.

There was also the danger of landing in then unfriendly China. Fortunately, this did not happen.

The ship landed in a dense snow-covered taiga, thirty kilometers from the town of Berezniki, in the Perm region.

Unfortunately, the astronauts were not immediately found. From the helicopter, rescuers quickly found the parachutes, which hung on the branches of tall trees. But landing the aircraft was very difficult. And at that time it was not possible to pull out the landing crew members. Thus, for two days the astronauts sat in the forest and waited for help. At the same time, thirty-degree frosts began.

For insulation, they used parachutes and spacesuits. They also lit a fire. In the morning, a rescue party arrived a few kilometers from the landing site of the spacecraft. They were clearing the area for the helicopter. In addition, they managed to throw warm clothes and food off him. And a group of specialists went down on the ropes together with a doctor. It was they who were able to provide the astronauts Better conditions. So, they erected a hut, equipped sleeping places, and the next day the platform for receiving the helicopter was finally prepared. True, everyone had to ski another nine kilometers to get to it.

Some time later, the cosmonauts flew to Perm aboard a helicopter. First of all, they called the head of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev. They reported that the first spacewalk of Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyaev had been successfully completed. A day later, they were already met by the capital ...

well deserved glory

Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov was the 15th pilot who went into space. In addition, he is considered the person who was able to take a fundamental step after the great Gagarin.

In the fall of 1965, the FAI (International Aviation Federation) officially confirmed the record for a man in space. Leonov's spacewalk lasted a little over twelve minutes. He was awarded a prestigious medal called "Cosmos". This award of this federation is considered the highest. In addition, the commander of "Voskhod-2" P. Belyaev was also awarded a diploma and a medal.

At home, Leonov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. However, the merits of the Soviet cosmonaut were marked by many other awards. By the way, one of the lunar craters bears his famous name.

Followers

The first spacewalk was carried out by the Soviet crew 2.5 months earlier than the US astronauts.

The first US pilot who was in open space was E. White. It happened at the very beginning of the summer of 1965. The duration of stay in outer space is twenty-two minutes.

And in the spring of 2001, White's compatriot S. Helms broke the record for longest stay in space. This American woman was in space for almost nine hours!

The national cosmonaut A. Solovyov became the undisputed champion in the number of exits. Sixteen times he had to go into outer space. At the same time, the total duration of his stay there is more than eighty-two hours, which, in fact, is also a record.

The first person who went into interplanetary space was A. Warden from the USA. He was one of the participants in the famous lunar expedition. The astronaut had to go into space in order to transfer the finished negatives from one module to another.

Well, the first woman who went into space was Svetlana Savitskaya. Her exit into the open space took place in the middle of the summer of 1984 ...

"Time of the First"

A film was made about the events associated with the first manned spacewalk. The film was released in the spring of 2017. The producers of the project were T. Bekmambetov and E. Mironov, including. According to them, they were inspired by the heroism of the Voskhod-2 crew members. As a result, the producers created a large-scale motion picture called "Time of the First". Naturally, the state corporation Roskosmos supported this project in every possible way.

In fact, the events of those historical days are not scrupulously restored in this tape. And the goal of the producers was still different. They were not even filming a feature film, they were working on a sci-fi film based on a real and legendary flight on March 18, 1965.



    Legendary Astronaut
    Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Alexei Leonov.


    March 18, 1965 Soviet cosmonaut
    Alexey Leonov made the first exit in history
    into outer space from the Voskhod-2 spacecraft
    piloted by Pavel Belyaev.

    Leonov Alexey Arkhipovich
    Ordinal number 15 - (11)
    Number of flights - 2
    Flight duration is 7 days 00 hours 33 minutes 08 seconds.
    EVA 1 - The first person to walk in outer space.
    The duration of the release is 23 minutes 41 seconds.

    Born on May 30, 1934 in the village of Listvyanka
    Tisulsky district of the Kemerovo region, RSFSR.
    In 1955 he graduated from the 10th Military Aviation School
    initial training of pilots in the city of Kremenchug
    entered the Komsomol recruitment .. From September 1961
    to January 1968 he was trained in the Air Force
    Engineering Academy (VVIA) named after N.E. Zhukovsky, specialty
    "Design and operation of aerospace
    devices and engines for them. "After its completion
    received the qualification "Pilot-Engineer-Cosmonaut."
    Leonov became the first person in the history of astronautics,
    Out in open space.
    From March 18 to March 19, 1965 as the second
    pilot of spacecraft Voskhod-2, together with Pavel Belyaev.


    During the flight he made the world's first exit into the open
    outer space lasting 23 minutes 41 seconds..
    of which 12 minutes 09 seconds outside the ship, moved away from the ship by 5.35 meters ..
    When exiting, there were dangerous situations when the astronaut
    was unable to board the ship and several
    minutes his life hung in the balance, because in
    any minute he could die.


    The flight of Alexei Leonov forever entered the history of the exploration of near-Earth space, the Soviet cosmonaut became the first who visited open space. It was originally planned that Leonov would be sent into orbit as part of the Vostok-11 mission, but the fateful launch was postponed for 18 months, and as a result, Alexei flew on March 18, 1965 on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft, together with his partner Pavel Belyaev .


    When the cosmonauts reached orbit, preparations began: Leonov put on a specially designed spacesuit with a supply of oxygen for 45 minutes, and Belyaev set about installing a flexible airlock through which Alexei was supposed to go into space.
    After all the necessary precautions were taken, Leonov left the ship and spent a total of 12 minutes and 9 seconds outside it. When it was time to return, an unexpected problem arose - the astronaut's spacesuit in a vacuum was greatly swollen and did not fit into the airlock.


    At first, Leonov wanted to report an emergency situation to Earth, but he realized that they would not help him with advice, because he was the only person who had ever encountered something like this. The first prisoner of outer space in history quickly found a way out of the situation: in order to get inside the ship, it was necessary to reduce the size of the spacesuit, and this could only be done by bleeding off excess oxygen.


    Leonov decided to take this step, realizing that every additional minute spent in thought could be his last. He began to release oxygen from the suit, squeezing inch by inch into the airlock. What he had to go through in those few minutes, the astronaut prefers not to tell, but the impressions were certainly not pleasant.

    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:
    "Almaz-2" has started its release... Is the movie camera turned on? The commander addressed this question to his comrade.
    Got it... I'm Almaz-2. I take off the lid... I throw it away... The Caucasus! Caucasus! I see the Caucasus below me! Began to move away from the ship...
    Before throwing the lid away, Leonov thought for a second where to send it - into the satellite's orbit or down towards the Earth... He threw it towards the Earth... The astronaut's pulse was 164 beats per minute, the moment of exit was very intense...

    Belyaev transmitted to Earth:
    Attention! The man went into outer space!


    When the episode with Leonov who was stuck was successfully resolved, it turned out that the orientation system had failed - the cosmonauts had to land manually, and after the capsule with Belyaev and Leonov entered the Earth's atmosphere, it began to rotate rapidly due to the fact that the orbital module did not separate from the landing, as the calculations suggested.

    On this "carousel" the astronauts experienced overloads up to 10G, but when the cable that did not allow the landing and orbital modules to separate burned out, the capsule was stabilized. Because of all these troubles, the landing did not take place at all where it was calculated - the astronauts found themselves in a dense forest about 180 km north of Perm ...


    Belyaev and Leonov spent two nights in the taiga, the temperature sometimes dropped to -30 ° C, and the lander fell into disrepair, so the astronauts could not use it to warm themselves. When they were discovered, the rescuers first of all lit a huge fire to warm the heroes, and later the whole company ran for another 9 km on skis to get to the helicopter.

    The feat of Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov is
    a convincing example of what strong-willed people are capable of
    and courageous people even in open
    space or at overloads in 10G.
    For the successful implementation of the flight to its participants
    awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union!

The twentieth century gave us the world's first man in space, the first woman astronaut and the first man to go into space. In the same period of time, man took the first steps on the moon.

First man on the moon

First spaceship, which delivered people to the surface of the moon, was the American research manned spacecraft Apollo 11. The flight began on July 16 and ended on July 24, 1969.

Almost a day on the surface of the moon spent the pilot and crew commander: Edwin Aldrin and Neil Armstrong. Their time there was twenty-one hours, thirty-six minutes and twenty-one seconds. All this time, the command module was controlled by Michael Collins, who, while in orbit, was waiting for a signal.


Astronauts made one exit to the surface of the Moon. Its duration is almost two and a half hours. The first step to the surface of this planet was taken by the commander of the crew, Armstrong. Fifteen minutes later, Aldrin joined him. During the exit to the surface, the astronauts set the US flag on the moon, took several kilograms of soil for further research, and also installed research instruments. They took the first photographs of the landscape. Thanks to the installed equipment, it became possible to determine with maximum accuracy the distance between the Moon and the Earth. This significant event happened on July 20, 1969.

Thus, America won the lunar race by being the first to land on the surface of the earth's satellite, and the national goal set by John F. Kennedy was considered fulfilled.


It should be noted that some researchers call the landing of American astronauts on a natural satellite of the Earth the biggest hoax of the twentieth century. They also provide a number of evidence that there was no such landing at all.

First man in outer space

Man first went into outer space in 1965. It's about the Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. On that significant flight, he set off on March 18 together with his partner Pavel Belyaev on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft.


Upon reaching orbit, Leonov donned a spacesuit designed for spacewalks. The supply of oxygen in it was enough for forty-five minutes. Belyaev at that time began to install a flexible lock chamber, through which Leonov was supposed to carry out a spacewalk. Having taken all the necessary precautions, Leonov left the ship. In total, the astronaut spent 12 minutes 9 seconds outside of it. At this time, Leonov's partner transmitted a message to Earth that a man had gone into outer space. An image of an astronaut hovering against the background of the Earth was broadcast on television.

During the return, I had to worry, because in the vacuum conditions the suit swelled up greatly, because of which Leonov did not fit into the airlock. Being a prisoner of outer space, he independently found a way out of this situation, realizing that in this case, advice from the Earth would not help him. To reduce the size of the suit, the astronaut vented excess oxygen. He did this gradually, at the same time trying to squeeze into the cell. Every minute counted. Leonov prefers not to tell anyone about his experiences at that moment.


Difficulties with the suit were not the last troubles of that significant flight. It turned out that the orientation system did not work, and for landing the astronauts were forced to switch to manual control. The result of such a landing was that Belyaev and Leonov landed in the wrong place where it was supposed. The capsule ended up in the taiga, 180 kilometers from Perm. Two days later, the astronauts were discovered. This successful flight was marked by Leonov and Belyaev being awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

First female astronaut

The first woman to travel in space was Valentina Tereshkova. She made her flight alone, which in itself is an unprecedented case. Tereshkova for this flight was chosen from a large number paratroopers.


The ship "Vostok-6" was in Earth's orbit on June 16, 1963. Soviet Union became not only the first country to send its astronaut into space, but also the first country to send a woman into space. This move was politically motivated.

Surprisingly, the relatives of the world's first female astronaut learned about her flight into space from radio messages only after she made a successful landing. Knowing that the flight could well have ended in tragedy, the girl chose to keep the upcoming event a secret.

Tereshkova's flight lasted 22 hours 41 minutes. During this time, the first female astronaut made forty-eight orbits around our planet. Her call sign is "Seagull".

First person in space

Yuri Gagarin is known to be the first person to go into space. His historic flight, which thundered all over the world, was made on April 12, 1961. This date is called "Cosmonautics Day".

During the time spent in orbit, Gagarin completed the entire planned program. According to his recollections, he carefully recorded all his observations, examined the Earth and even ate.

Well, to the largest star in the universe, whose radius is one and a half thousand times greater than the radius of the sun, not a single astronaut will go in the near future. According to the website, there are no plans to send people outside solar system.
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