Who was the first to go into outer space. Spacewalk Who was the first person to walk in outer space?
The term "activity in outer space" (eng. Extra-vehicular activity, EVA) is broader and also includes the concept of leaving the ship on the surface of the Moon, planet or other space object.
Historically, due to the difference in the design features of the first spacecraft, the Americans and Russians define the start of spacewalks in different ways. From the very beginning, Soviet spacecraft had a separate airlock compartment, which is why the start of spacewalk is considered the moment when the astronaut depressurizes the airlock and finds himself in a vacuum, and its completion is the moment the hatch is closed. Early American ships did not have an airlock, and the entire ship was depressurized during a spacewalk. Under these conditions, the moment when the astronaut's head protruded beyond the spacecraft was taken as the beginning of the spacewalk, even if his body still continued to be inside the compartment (the so-called eng. Stand-up extra-vehicular activity, SEVA). The modern American criterion takes the changeover of the suit to autonomous power as the beginning and the start of pressurization as the end of the exit to outer space.
Spacewalks can be performed in different ways. In the first case, the astronaut is connected to the spacecraft with a special safety tether, sometimes combined with an oxygen supply hose (in this case it is called the “umbilical cord”), while simply the astronaut’s muscular efforts are enough to return to the spacecraft. Another option is a fully autonomous flight in outer space. In this case, it is necessary to ensure the possibility of returning to the spacecraft using a special technical system (See Installation for moving and maneuvering astronaut).
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Historical facts
- The longest spacewalk was the American Susan Helms on March 11, lasting 8 hours and 56 minutes.
- The record for the number of exits (16) and for the total duration of stay (82 hours 22 minutes) in open space belongs to Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyov.
- The first spacewalk in interplanetary space was performed by American astronaut Alfred Warden, a member of the crew of the Apollo 15 lunar expedition. Warden went into outer space to transfer the captured photographic films of the mapping and panoramic cameras from the service module to the command module.
The dangers of spacewalks
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 quick death if the astronauts do not have time to return to the ship in time. The spacesuit damage incident occurred only once, when during the flight of Atlantis STS-37, a small rod pierced the glove of one of the astronauts. Luckily, depressurization did not occur, because the rod got stuck and blocked the hole that had formed. The puncture was not even noticed until the astronauts returned to the ship and began checking the suits.
It is significant that the very first rather dangerous incident happened already during the first spacewalk of an astronaut. Having completed the first exit program, Aleksey Arkhipovich Leonov experienced difficulties returning to the ship, since the swollen spacesuit did not pass through the Voskhod airlock. Only the release of the oxygen pressure in the spacesuit made it possible then to complete the flight safely.
Another potentially dangerous incident occurred during the second spacewalk of astronauts spaceship"Discovery" (flight STS-121). A special winch detached from Piers Sellers' spacesuit, which helps to return to the station and prevents the astronaut from flying into outer space. Noticing the problem in time, Sellers and his partner were able to attach the device back, and the exit was completed safely.
While there are currently no known accidents associated with spacewalks, spacecraft developers are trying to reduce the need for extravehicular activity. The elimination of such a need, for example, when performing assembly work in space, can be helped by the development of special remote-controlled
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. The program developed an improved version of the latest spacecraft Voskhod, airlock system and a special protective suit. 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 Voskhod-2 flight by the crew of Belyaev and Leonov and is on this moment the only universal suit, that is, intended both for rescuing pilots when the ship was depressurized, and for spacewalks.
Threats
You have all, of course, seen the movie "Gravity", which won 7 Oscars, and therefore should have a good idea of all the dangers that threaten an astronaut in outer 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 flight of Voskhod-2, only 11 manned spacecraft and several satellites were in space, while in fairly low orbits with a relatively high density atmospheric gases, accordingly, most of the smallest particles of paint, debris and other debris remaining after these ships burned out soon, without 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 this gave rise to terrible 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. 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 case. 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 astronauts, was able to provide them with 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. Alexey Leonov received the highest FAI award - 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 ordinary people, but it was done by one person - Alexei Leonov.
Alexei Leonov forever entered the history of the exploration of near-Earth space - the Soviet cosmonaut became the first who visited outer space. It was originally planned that Leonov would be sent into orbit as part of the Vostok-11 mission, but the fateful launch was postponed for 18 months, and as a result, Alexei flew on March 18, 1965 on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft, together with his partner Pavel Belyaev .
Voskhod-2
When the cosmonauts reached orbit, preparations began: Leonov put on a specially designed spacesuit with a supply of oxygen for 45 minutes, and Belyaev set about installing a flexible airlock through which Alexei was supposed to go into space.
After all the necessary precautions were taken, Leonov left the ship and spent a total of 12 minutes and 9 seconds outside it. When it was time to return, an unexpected problem arose - the astronaut's spacesuit in a vacuum was greatly swollen and did not fit into the airlock.
At first, Leonov wanted to report an emergency situation on Earth, but he realized that they would not help him with advice, because he was the only person who had ever encountered something like this. The first prisoner of outer space in history quickly found a way out of the situation: in order to get inside the ship, it was necessary to reduce the size of the spacesuit, and this could be done only by bleeding off excess oxygen.
Leonov decided to take this step, realizing that every additional minute spent in thought could be his last. He began to release oxygen from the suit, squeezing inch by inch into the airlock. What he had to go through in those few minutes, the astronaut prefers not to tell, but the impressions were certainly not pleasant.
When the episode with Leonov getting 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 landing module fell into disrepair, so the astronauts could not use it to warm themselves. When they were discovered, the rescuers first of all lit a huge fire to warm the heroes, and later the whole company ran for another 9 km on skis to get to the helicopter.
The feat of Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov is a convincing example of what strong-willed and courageous people are capable of, even in open space conditions or with 10G overloads. For the successful implementation of the flight, its participants were awarded the high title of Hero Soviet Union.
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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 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. 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. So 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.
the beginning rapid learning The universe is considered to be April 12, 1961, when a man went into space for the first time and he became Yuri Gagarin, a citizen of the USSR. Year after year after his flight, more and more discoveries were made.
open space
Being outside a spaceship in one spacesuit is a risky business. Exactly 52 years ago, the pilot of the Soviet Union Alexei Leonov made a spacewalk. Despite the fact that Leonov spent only 12 minutes in vacuum, it was a real feat. These few minutes the cosmonaut calls absolute silence, he spoke about this in his first interviews. Today year of human spacewalk every student knows. In 1965, on March 12, the Voskhod-2 spacecraft launched on board with Alexei Leonov and the commander of the apparatus Pavel Belyaev, since then this date has been important for the history of Russia. Leonov spacewalk did when he was 31 years old.
How it was
The first ever human walk in space outside the side of the ship caused a real delight all over the world. Moreover, this happened precisely when the USSR and America fiercely competed for the title of the first in the field of mastering the space of weightlessness. Spacewalk was regarded at that time as a propaganda success for the Soviet Union and a serious blow to American national pride.
Leonov's spacewalk- this is a real breakthrough in the field of exploration of the Universe. In fact, there were many dangerous moments during the flight that the astronaut experienced. Almost immediately, his suit inflated as a result of strong pressure. To solve the problem, the pilot had to break the instructions and reduce the pressure inside. That is why he entered the ship not with his feet forward, but with his head. Cosmonaut Leonov spacewalk, despite all the problems, performed successfully and landed successfully.
Despite the technical inspection of the vessel and its thorough preparation for the flight, problems still arose. A sharp temperature drop led to the fact that a crevice formed in the hatch lining. What would entail the depressurization of the ship and the death of the astronauts. After the first spacewalk year Over the years, research has become more and more active.
In the days of the Soviet Union, they kept silent about the emergency situations that occurred, the truth was made public relatively recently, including human spacewalk was imperfect. But today it is already possible to tell the whole truth. In particular, that Alexei Leonov spacewalk almost committed without a safety cable, and if not for the commander of the ship, who noticed this in time, Belyaev's body to this day would be in the orbit of the planet.
What did Leonov feel?
Astronaut's spacewalk This is a real feat and a breakthrough in science. Alexey Leonov will forever remain the first person in the history of mankind who saw the planet Earth from a height of 500 km. At the same time, he did not feel movement at all, although he flew at a speed several times higher than the speed of a jet aircraft. It is impossible on Earth to feel the gigantic environment, human environment, this is available only from space. When Leonov saw the Irtysh, he received a command to return to the abortion of the ship, but he could not do it right away because of the swollen spacesuit. Luckily, Alexei Leonov's spacewalk ended successfully.
