Alexei Leonov

Alexeï Arkhipovitch Leonov (in Russian: Алексе́йАрхи́повичЛео́нов ), born the May 30th 1934, is a Soviet cosmonaut who was the first to carry out a Sortie extravéhiculaire.

Flights carried out

Alexei Leonov was the 18th man in the space (11th Soviet) of the history of the space conquest. It carried out 2 flights.

Voskhod 2

This flight made it return in the history while enabling him to carry out the first walk in the espace.
The March 18th 1965, connected to the space Capsule Voskhod 2 by a cord, it floated during more than 15 minutes in space. The mission was difficult and the exhausting return in the cabin, the diving-suit (Berkut class) being dilated. Alexei Leonov kept its cold blood and succeeds by depressurizing its diving-suit a little to be returned in the hopper to join then its fellow-member Pavel Belyayev. Lastly, the return to earth was a test moreover for the crew because the cabin was not posed at the place envisaged and the helps reflect several hours to recover the two men. These adventures were revealed only much later, the secrecy surrounding the space flights being of rigor in full cold war. Leonov was called the “first walker of space”. It was followed, the June 3rd of the same year, by American Edward White who will carry out the first American exit, one duration 20 minutes.

Apollo-Soyuz

In 1975, its second flight was of range historical equivalent, since it was commander of mission Soyuz 19, which saw the first space co-operation between the United States and the Soviet Union after the years of Cold war which opposed the two countries, in particular in the race with the lune.

Accompanied by the cosmonaut Valery Kubasov, Alexei Leonov controlled the Soyuz to come to fasten itself with the American vessel Apollo thanks to a system of universal stowing developped at the point in collaboration by the two countries. The Soviet crews (2 cosmonauts) and American (3 astronauts) spent several hours together before separation and the return to earth. The handshake of Leonov and the commander of the crew of Apollo was a demonstration of the will of the two powers to preserve peace in full cold war. As, this mission will remain in the History more like one political symbol as like a scientific exploit.

Alexei Leonov tells…

I advanced towards the unknown and nobody in the world could say to me what I was going to meet there. I did not have directions for use. It was the first time. But I knew that was to be made. I climbed out of the hatchway without me to press and delicately extirpated me. I moved away little by little from the vessel. It is especially the silence which struck me more. It was an impressive silence, as I never met some on Earth, if heavy and so deep that I started to hear the noise of my own body. There were more stars in the sky than I had expected. The sky was of a major black, but at the same time, it was shining of the gleam of the Sun… The Earth appeared small, blue, clear, if tenderizing, if esseulée. It was our residence, and it was necessary that I defend it like a holy relic. It was absolutely round. I believe that I never knew what the Earth meant “round” before to have seen since space.

Others

Alexei Leonov took part, in the years which followed the flight of Voskhod 2, with the Soviet lunar program. Remained secret a long time, the program N1 (the Soviet equivalent of the Apollo program) envisaged to make be posed a cosmonaut towards the end of the year 1960 but more reasonably with the beginning of the year 1970. With the head of the group of the cosmonauts assigned to this mission, Alexei Leonov was involved with the piloting of the LOK (a Soyuz modified for the circumstance) and of the LK (the lunar cabin intended to be posed), space train that the N1 rocket (of the American class of Saturn V) was to propel towards the star of our nights. However, the program was not led to its term. Alexei Leonov could have been the first Soviet to pose the foot on the lunar ground.

General of the Air force (with the retirement) and hero of the Soviet Union, Alexei Leonov is also a painter at the origin of several works often in connection with its passion like Close to the Moon . It takes part in many conferences and conferences, the last on October 5th, 2007 with the Cité of space in Toulouse.

It belonged to the crew of the tragedy flight of Soyuz 11, but was replaced a few days before the departure by Vladislav Volkov, its lining, due to disease suspectée at one of its fellow-members.

the Soviet spaceship of the novel of A.C. Clarke, 2010, Odyssey two , was baptized Leonov by the author, in homage to the cosmonaut.

the asteroid (5154) Leonov was baptized in its honor. A lunar crater also bears its name.

Internal bonds

Bruce McCandless II

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