Man in outer space. The very first astronauts in the world The first manned space flight

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 apparatus, 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 named after 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, experts abandoned the regeneration plant, and when exhaled, carbon dioxide was 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 lay in the fact that it is intended both for rescuing astronauts in case of depressurization of the spacecraft, and for man's exit into open space.

Obvious Threats

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

The pilot may lose contact with the aircraft. 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.
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.
Of course, the pilot has a serious risk that he will run out of oxygen. The Berkut suit was designed specifically for spacewalks. 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 was provided for the correction of possible errors or salvation at all.
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.
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 cell. 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 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, an equally serious problem arose on board. 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, the braking technique in automatic mode for some reason did not 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 with the best 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 fame

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.

One of the greatest events of the 20th century is the first flight and spacewalk of a man. The population of the planet learned from Gagarin that the Earth is round. Leonov became a pioneer. It turned out that the first people in space were from the USSR. On March 18, 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov made the first spacewalk from the Voskhod-2 spacecraft. This event was followed by the whole country. Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was outside the Voskhod-2 spacecraft for only 12 minutes, but these minutes have gone down in the history of cosmonautics forever. You will learn about how the preparations for the first spacewalk took place, what difficulties the crew of the spacecraft experienced in this article.

Preparations for the first human spacewalk

The idea that it is possible for a man to go into outer space came to Korolev as early as 1963. The designer suggested that soon such an experience would not only be desirable, but absolutely necessary. He turned out to be right. In the following decades, astronautics developed rapidly. For example, maintaining the normal operation of the ISS in general would have been impossible without external installation and repair work, which once again proves how necessary the first manned spacewalk was. The year 1964 was the beginning of official preparations for this experiment. But then, in 1964, in order to implement such a daring project, it was necessary to seriously consider the design of the ship.

Voskhod-2 spacecraft

As a result, the well-proven Voskhod-1 was taken as the basis. One of its windows was replaced with an exit lock, and the crew was reduced from three to two. The lock chamber itself was inflatable and located outside the ship. After the completion of the experiment, before landing, she had to separate herself from the hull. This is how the Voskhod-2 spacecraft appeared.

Voskhod-2 spacecraft

suit

The created suit became a real miracle of technology. According to the firm belief of its creators, it was a product more complicated than a car

Suit "Berkut"

Especially for Voskhod-2, special spacesuits were developed, which bore the formidable name Berkut. They had an additional sealed shell, and a satchel with a life support system was placed behind the cosmonaut's back. For better light reflection, even the color of the suits was changed: white was used instead of the traditional orange. The total weight of the Berkut was about 100 kg. the suits were very uncomfortable. They were so dense that in order to clench the hand into a fist, it was necessary to apply an effort of almost 25 kilograms. To be able to make any movement in such clothes, he had to constantly train. The work was worn out, but the astronauts stubbornly went to the cherished goal - to make it possible for a man to go into outer space. Leonov, by the way, was considered the strongest and most enduring in the group, which largely predetermined his main role in the experiment.

Later, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov recalled:

For example, to squeeze a hand in a glove, a force of 25 kg was needed.

The color of the suit has also changed. "Berkut", in order to better reflect the sun's rays, was made white, not orange. A special light filter appeared on his helmet, which was supposed to protect the astronaut's eyes from bright sunlight.

The crew of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft

It was not immediately decided on whom to entrust this responsible mission. Multiple psychological compatibility tests were carried out. After all, the crew must act as a single mechanism.
Belyaev is self-possessed and cool-headed and could quickly make decisions in non-standard situations. Leonov, his complete opposite, is hot and impetuous, but very brave and courageous. These two such different people made an excellent tandem for the experiment.
For 3 months, the cosmonauts got acquainted with the structure of the new spacecraft. The spacewalk training was carried out on board the Tu-104 aircraft, in which a life-size model of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft was installed. Every day, Soviet cosmonauts ran cross-country skis or cross-country skis, intensively engaged in weightlifting and gymnastics.

Cosmonauts Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov

From the memoirs of Alexei Leonov about preparing for a spacewalk: “On Earth, we carried out tests in a pressure chamber with a vacuum corresponding to an altitude of 60 km ... In reality, when I went into space, it turned out a little differently. The pressure in the suit is about 600 mm, and outside - 10 - 9; it was impossible to simulate such conditions on Earth ... "

At that moment, when Alexei Leonov climbed out of his spaceship on March 18, 1965 and saw himself at an altitude of 500 kilometers above the surface of our planet, he did not feel movement at all. Although in fact he was rushing around the Earth at a speed that was many times higher than the speed of a jet aircraft. Before Alexey, a panorama of our planet, unprecedented by anyone, opened up - like a giant canvas, which was saturated with contrasting textures and colors, lively and bright. Alexey Leonov will forever remain the first person who was able to see the Earth in all its splendor.

The Soviet cosmonaut at that moment simply took his breath away:

It's hard to even imagine what it was. Only in space can one feel the greatness and gigantic dimensions of the human environment - you will not feel this on Earth

In outer space, Alexei Leonov began to carry out the observations and experiments envisaged by the program. He made five exits and approaches from the lock chamber, with the very first withdrawal made at a minimum distance - one meter - for orientation in new conditions, and the rest for the full length of the halyard. All this time, the spacesuit was maintained at “room” temperature, and its outer surface was heated in the sun to +60°C and cooled in the shade to -100°C. Pavel BELYAEV, using a camera and telemetry, monitored the work of the co-pilot in space and was ready, if necessary, to provide the necessary assistance to him.

At that moment, when Alexei Leonov saw the Yenisei and the Irtysh, he received a command from the commander of the ship Belyaev to return back. But Leonov did not manage to do this for a very long time. It turned out that his spacesuit in a vacuum was greatly swollen. So much so that the astronaut simply could not squeeze into the hatch of the airlock, and there was no time to consult with the Earth about this situation. Leonov made attempt after attempt, but they all ended in vain, and the supply of oxygen in the spacesuit was only enough for 20 minutes, which inexorably melted away (the astronaut spent 12 minutes in space). In the end, Alexei Leonov decided to simply relieve pressure in his spacesuit and, contrary to the instructions issued, instructing him to enter the airlock with his feet, he decided to “swim” into it face first. Fortunately, he succeeded. And although Leonov spent only 12 minutes in outer space, during this time he managed to get wet as if a whole tub of water had been poured on him - the physical load was so great.

Photo of the first human spacewalk

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Video

Video of the first human spacewalk with video footage inserts

Feature film "Time of the First"

The heroism of the crew members of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft inspired the creative team of Timur BEMKAMBETOV and Yevgeny MIRONOV to create a large-scale production film project, the heroic drama Time of the First, dedicated to one of the most risky expeditions into orbit and Alexei LEONOV's spacewalk

Documentary film by the Roscosmos television studio “Alexey Leonov. Jump into space"

The film is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the first cosmonaut who went into outer space.

Interesting facts about the first human spacewalk

Critical situation during exit from orbit. The crew of Voskhod-2 could have been the first crew to die while returning from orbit. Before landing, the automatic orientation system failed. Belyaev manually oriented the ship and turned on the brake engine. As a result, Voskhod landed in the taiga (180 km north of the city of Perm). In the TASS report, this was called "landing in the 'reserve area'", which in fact was the remote Permian taiga. After landing, the huge canopy of the parachute, stuck on two tall fir trees, fluttered in the wind. Soon an IL-14 was already circling above them. Radio contact was immediately established from the aircraft and the astronauts were informed that they had been found and help would be sent soon. The astronauts spent the night in the forest. Helicopters could only fly over them and report that “one is chopping wood, the other is putting it on the fire.” Warm clothes and food were dropped from helicopters to the cosmonauts, but Belyaev and Leonov could not be pulled out of the taiga. From the memoirs of Leonov: “When we landed, they didn’t find us right away ... We sat in spacesuits for two days, we didn’t have other clothes. On the third day we were pulled out of there. Because of the sweat, my suit was knee-deep in moisture, about 6 liters. So in the legs and bubbling. Then, already at night, I say to Pasha: "Well, that's it, I'm cold." We took off our suits, stripped naked, wrung out our underwear, put it back on. Then the screen-vacuum thermal insulation was sporulated. They threw away all the hard part, and put the rest on themselves. These are nine layers of aluminized foil, covered with dederon on top. Parachute lines were wrapped around the top like two sausages. And so they stayed there for the night. And at 12 noon a helicopter arrived and landed 9 km away. Another helicopter in a basket lowered Yura Lygin directly towards us. Then Slava Volkov (Vladislav Volkov, future cosmonaut of TsKBEM) and others came to us on skis. They brought us warm clothes, poured brandy, and we gave them our alcohol - and life became more fun. The fire was lit, the boiler was put on. We washed. In about two hours they cut down a small hut for us, where we spent the night normally. There was even a bed
The day before the start there was a big trouble. Due to the negligence of a security guard, an inflatable airlock, hung out of the ship to check the tightness, unexpectedly fell and broke. There was no spare, and therefore it was decided to use the one on which the astronauts trained for a long time. This incident could have turned out to be fatal, but, fortunately, everything worked out, the reused airlock survived, and the first manned spacewalk successfully took place.

The dangers of spacewalks

Spacewalks are dangerous for many different reasons. The first is the possibility of a collision with space debris. The orbital speed at an altitude of 300 km above the Earth (typical flight altitude of manned spacecraft) is about 7.7 km/s. This is 10 times the speed of a bullet, so the kinetic energy of a small particle of paint or a grain of sand is equivalent to the same energy of a bullet with 100 times the mass. With each spaceflight, more and more orbital debris is introduced, which is why this problem continues to be the most dangerous.

A potential danger is the possibility of loss or unacceptable removal from the spacecraft, threatening death due to the depletion of the supply of breathing mixture. Also dangerous are possible damage or punctures of spacesuits, the depressurization of which threatens with anoxia and rapid death if the astronauts do not have time to return to the ship in time.

On October 20, 1965, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) marked the record for a man to stay in open space outside of a ship - 12 minutes and 9 seconds. Alexei Leonov received the highest FAI award - the gold medal "Cosmos" for the first spacewalk in the history of mankind. Crew commander Pavel Belyaev also received a medal and a diploma.

Leonov became the fifteenth person in space, and the first person to take the next fundamental step after Gagarin. To be alone with the abyss, the most hostile space for a person, to look at the stars only through the thin glass of a helmet, to hear the beating of your heart in absolute silence and go back is a real feat. A feat behind which stood thousands of scientists, engineers, workers and millions of ordinary people, but it was accomplished by one person - Alexei Leonov.

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 the history of Russian cosmonautics. The 18th day of this month was hardly a less glorious milestone for the entire earthly civilization on the path to conquering space than the Gagarin 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 a small Siberian settlement as their place of permanent residence, was replenished with another child, who was named Alexei. The head of the family, Arkhip Leonov, moved to Siberia from Ukraine after the end of the Civil War, following his father, who was sent into exile by the tsarist government 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).

Alexei Leonov, being an extremely inquisitive child, had diverse hobbies: fencing, athletics, technical sciences, plumbing, painting. In almost all sports areas, he has achieved serious success, confirmed by the relevant categories. In 1953, having received a secondary general education, Alexey 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 N. E. Zhukovsky Air Force Academy.

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 has been living in Moscow, conducting scientific activities 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, in the technical support of which advanced Soviet enterprises were involved. 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, Alexei ran into a problem that could not even have been 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: the automatic landing control system 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

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 airlock 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, it was intended both to save 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, rocket packs (a device for moving and maneuvering an astronaut) did not yet exist 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 more than 30 liters per minute had to be spent to maintain the necessary gas pressure and the life of the astronaut. 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 roentgens / 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 retreat 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 of outer space. But here another problem arose. The partial pressure of oxygen in the cabin began to rise, it had already reached 460 mm and continued to grow, and this was 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 hanging 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 crew that landed successfully. 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 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 cabin with a hatch with a sealing cover, which opened inside the pressurized cabin both automatically (using a special mechanism with an electric drive) 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 a supply of air 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 multilayer hermetic shell, with the help of which excess pressure was maintained inside the spacesuit, ensuring the normal life of the astronaut. Outside, the spacesuit had a special white coating 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 to the spacecraft by a 5.35-meter-long halyard, which included a steel cable and electrical wires for transferring data of medical observations and technical measurements to the spacecraft, as well as for telephone communication with the spacecraft commander.

In outer space, 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 head first. 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 spent by a person in outer space is calculated from the moment he appears from the airlock chamber (from the edge of the exit hatch of the ship) to the entrance back into the chamber. Therefore, the time spent by Alexei LEONOV in open space outside the spacecraft is considered to be 12 minutes 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 a world record for the duration of a person's stay in outer space outside a spacecraft of 12 minutes 9 seconds, and an absolute record for the maximum flight altitude of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft above the Earth's surface - 497.7 kilometers. The FAI awarded Alexei 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.

Soviet cosmonauts conducted their first spacewalk 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, the installation of new equipment on the outer surface of the station, the launch of small satellites and a number of other operations are carried out.

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 The 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.