Which astronauts went into outer space. Five interesting facts about the first manned spacewalk. In outer space

In preparation for the flight, Belyaev and Leonov practiced all actions and possible emergency situations during spacewalks during ground training, as well as in conditions of short-term weightlessness on board an aircraft flying along a parabolic trajectory.

On March 18, 1965, at 10 o'clock Moscow time, the Voskhod-2 spacecraft with cosmonauts Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Immediately after ascending into orbit, already at the end of the first orbit, the crew began to prepare for Leonov’s spacewalk. Belyaev helped Leonov put the backpack on his back individual system life support with oxygen supply.

The airlock was controlled by the ship's commander, Belyaev, from a remote control installed in the cockpit. If necessary, control of the main locking operations could be carried out by Leonov from a remote control installed in the airlock chamber.

Belyaev filled the airlock chamber with air and opened the hatch connecting the ship's cabin with the airlock chamber. Leonov “floated” into the airlock chamber, the ship’s commander, closing 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 airlock chamber was completely depressurized. At 11 hours 32 minutes 54 seconds the hatch of the airlock chamber opened, and at 11 hours 34 minutes 51 seconds Leonov left the airlock chamber into outer space. The astronaut was connected to the ship by a halyard 5.35 meters long, which included a steel cable and electrical wires for transmitting medical observation data and technical measurements to the ship, as well as telephone communication with the ship commander.

In outer space, Leonov began to carry out the observations and experiments provided for by the program. He made five departures and approaches from the airlock chamber, with the very first departure being made to a minimum distance - one meter - for orientation in new conditions, and the rest to 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 television camera and telemetry, monitored Leonov’s work and was ready, if necessary, to provide the assistance he needed.

After performing a series of experiments, Alexey Leonov received a command to return, but this turned out to be difficult. Due to the pressure difference in space, the suit swelled greatly, lost its flexibility, and Leonov could not squeeze into the airlock hatch. He made several unsuccessful attempts. The oxygen supply in the suit was designed for only 20 minutes, which was running out. Then the cosmonaut released the pressure in the suit to the emergency level. If by this time the nitrogen had not been washed out of his blood, he would have boiled and Leonov would have died. The suit shrank, and contrary to the instructions requiring him to enter the airlock with his feet, he squeezed through it head first. Having closed the outer hatch, Leonov began to turn around, since he still had to enter the ship with his feet due to the fact that the lid, which opened inward, ate up 30% of the cabin volume. It was difficult to turn around, since the internal diameter of the airlock is one meter, and the width of the spacesuit at the shoulders is 68 centimeters. WITH with great difficulty Leonov managed to do this, and he was able to enter the ship with his feet, as expected.

Alexey Leonov entered the ship's airlock at 11:47 a.m. And at 11 hours 51 minutes 54 seconds, after the hatch was closed, the pressurization of the airlock chamber began. Thus, the pilot-cosmonaut was outside the ship in outer space conditions for 23 minutes 41 seconds. According to the provisions of the International Sports Code, the net time of a person’s stay in outer space is calculated from the moment he appears from the airlock chamber (from the edge of the ship’s exit hatch) until he enters back into the chamber. Therefore, the time spent by Alexei Leonov in open space outside the spacecraft is considered to be 12 minutes 09 seconds.

With the help of an on-board television system, the process of Alexei Leonov's exit into outer space, his work outside the ship and his return to the ship were transmitted to Earth and observed by a network of ground stations.

After returning to Leonov's cabin, the cosmonauts continued to carry out experiments planned by the flight program.

There were several other emergency situations during the flight, which, fortunately, did not lead to tragedy. One of these situations arose during the return: the automatic orientation system to the Sun did not work, and therefore the braking propulsion system did not turn on in time. The cosmonauts were supposed to land automatically on the seventeenth orbit, but due to a failure of the automation caused by the “shooting” of the airlock, they had to go to the next, eighteenth orbit and land using a manual control system. This was the first landing in manual mode, and during its implementation it was discovered that from the astronaut’s working chair it was impossible to look out the window and assess the position of the ship in relation to the Earth. It was possible to start braking only while sitting in a seat and fastened. Due to this emergency situation, the accuracy required during descent was lost. As a result, the cosmonauts landed on March 19 far from the calculated landing point, in the remote taiga, 180 kilometers northwest of Perm.

They were not found immediately; tall trees prevented the helicopters from landing. Therefore, the astronauts had to spend the night near the fire, using parachutes and spacesuits for insulation. The next day, a rescue force descended into the small forest, a few kilometers from the crew’s landing site, to clear an area for a small helicopter. A group of rescuers reached the astronauts on skis. The rescuers built a log hut-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, on board the Mi-4, the cosmonauts arrived in Perm, from where they made an official report on the completion of the flight.

On October 20, 1965, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) approved the world record for the duration of a person's stay in outer space outside a spacecraft of 12 minutes 09 seconds, and the absolute record maximum height flight over the surface of the Earth of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft - 497.7 kilometers. The FAI awarded Alexey Leonov the highest award - Gold medal"Cosmos" for the first spacewalk in the history of mankind, USSR pilot-cosmonaut Pavel Belyaev was awarded an FAI diploma and medal.

First spacewalk Soviet cosmonauts spent 2.5 months earlier than the Americans. The first American in space was Edward White, who performed a spacewalk on June 3, 1965, during his flight on Gemini 4. The duration of stay in outer space was 22 minutes.

Over the past years, the range of problems solved by astronauts overboard spaceships and stations has increased significantly. The modernization of spacesuits was and is being carried out constantly. As a result, the duration of a person’s stay in the vacuum of space in one exit has increased many times over. Today, spacewalks are a mandatory part of the program of all expeditions to the International space station. During the exits there are scientific research, renovation work, installation of new equipment on the outer surface of the station, launch of small satellites and much more.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Going into space wearing only a spacesuit is a risky endeavor in itself. However, of the more than a hundred spacewalks that have occurred since 1965, there are a few that stand out—for example, because of their length or because of what the astronauts did “outside” the spacecraft. Here are the most memorable ones.

Alexey Leonov became the first person to walk into outer space. The Soviet cosmonaut spent about 20 minutes in airless space, after which he encountered a problem: his spacesuit was inflated and did not fit into the airlock compartment of the ship. Leonov had to deflate some air to get back on board.

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

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

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

The most distant spacewalks from Earth (1971-1972)

Astronauts on the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions dared to venture outside on their way back from the Moon. These exits were also unique in the role of the second crew member. While one astronaut carried out external work, the second stood, leaning out waist-deep from the airlock compartment, and could enjoy the beauty of the surrounding Universe.

McCandless's 1984 release

NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless became the first person to walk into outer space without a harness. During Challenger's flight STS-41B, McCandless used a jetpack to move 100 meters away from the space shuttle and then return.

Shortest spacewalk (September 3, 2014)

The shortest spacewalk was only 14 minutes, when American astronaut Michael Finke experienced depressurization of his oxygen tanks during external work on the ISS. He and his partner Gennady Padalka were forced to return aboard the space station early. Padalka and Finke used Russian Orlan spacesuits because American spacesuits previously had cooling problems.

Longest spacewalk (March 11, 2001)

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

Largest spacewalk ever (May 13, 1992)

The primary objective of Space Shuttle Endeavor's STS-49 mission was to capture the Intelsat VI satellite, which had failed to enter geostationary orbit and was instead stuck in low Earth orbit. On the first two spacewalks, two astronauts were unable to capture and repair the satellite, so they were joined by a third crew member on the third time. This is the only time in history when three people worked in space at the same time.

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

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

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

The most difficult work to repair the space station (Skylab and ISS)

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

50 years ago, Alexey Leonov was the first in history to enter airless space.

Half a century ago, on March 18, 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov made the first human spacewalk in history.

The experiment was planned as part of the expedition of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft, which launched on the same Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh SSR. The ship's crew consisted of commander Pavel Belyaev and pilot Alexey Leonov. On the occasion of the anniversary of "360 Moscow Region" I prepared five interesting facts about this significant event.

Too much radiation

Even as the spacecraft (SC) entered orbit, problems began. The fact is that Voskhod-2, due to a technical error, moved away from the Earth by 495 kilometers instead of 350 kilometers, as planned. At the same time, the radiation layer, harmful to humans, is located at a distance of 500 kilometers from the Planet.

The dose of radiation received by the astronauts was 70 billion rads, which is almost twice as high as during the Voskhod-1 spacecraft expedition. If at this moment streams of solar wind of increased intensity passed near the Earth, the astronauts could have died.

The main thing is that the suit fits

To enter airless space, OKB-1 employees developed the Berkut spacesuit, which, unlike modern extravehicular suits, did not allow the air exhaled by the astronaut to be regenerated. In the Berkut, designed for a 30-minute stay in outer space, Alexey Leonov moved away from the Voskhod-2 spacecraft five times at a distance of up to 5.35 meters.

However, when the astronaut wanted to return to the airlock chamber, he realized that due to the pressure difference the suit was inflated. Leonov had to risk his life to reduce the pressure inside the Berkut and, violating safety rules, get into the airlock head first. As a result, the astronaut still managed to return to the spacecraft.

Video surveillance

Leonov spent 23 minutes and 41 seconds in airless space. For historical event observed by video cameras installed on the outer surface of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft. The image from them was transmitted to Earth, in addition, the astronaut himself recorded video using the S-97 camera.

Rough landing

During the spacecraft's return to the Planet on March 19, the ship's automatic landing system failed, so the cosmonauts had to land Voskhod-2 manually. The landing took place in an unplanned place - in the taiga, 180 kilometers from Perm. Pavel Belyaev and Alexey Leonov were discovered only four hours later, and the heroes were evacuated only two days later, and the cosmonauts had to use skis to get to the helicopter landing pad.

Space Race

Domestic cosmonauts managed to overtake American astronauts at this checkpoint of the space race. US Representative Edward White performed the first spacewalk only on June 3, 1965. Apparently because of this, in Soviet postage stamps, dedicated to the feat of Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov, the phrase “Triumph of the Land of the Soviets” was printed.

Since man's first spacewalk, 729 walks through airless outer space have been completed, with a total duration of more than four thousand hours. Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya stepped outside her spacecraft on July 25, 1984, becoming the first woman in outer space. In total, 210 people visited airless space. The record holder for the number of spacewalks is Anatoly Solovyov - he has 16 of them with a total duration of more than 78 hours.

In preparation for the flight, Belyaev and Leonov practiced all actions and possible emergency situations during spacewalks during ground training, as well as in conditions of short-term weightlessness on board an aircraft flying along a parabolic trajectory.

On March 18, 1965, at 10 o'clock Moscow time, the Voskhod-2 spacecraft with cosmonauts Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Immediately after ascending into orbit, already at the end of the first orbit, the crew began to prepare for Leonov’s spacewalk. Belyaev helped Leonov put a backpack of an individual life support system with a supply of oxygen on his back.

The airlock was controlled by the ship's commander, Belyaev, from a remote control installed in the cockpit. If necessary, control of the main locking operations could be carried out by Leonov from a remote control installed in the airlock chamber.

Belyaev filled the airlock chamber with air and opened the hatch connecting the ship's cabin with the airlock chamber. Leonov “floated” into the airlock chamber, the ship’s commander, closing 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 airlock chamber was completely depressurized. At 11 hours 32 minutes 54 seconds the hatch of the airlock chamber opened, and at 11 hours 34 minutes 51 seconds Leonov left the airlock chamber into outer space. The astronaut was connected to the ship by a halyard 5.35 meters long, which included a steel cable and electrical wires for transmitting medical observation data and technical measurements to the ship, as well as telephone communication with the ship commander.

In outer space, Leonov began to carry out the observations and experiments provided for by the program. He made five departures and approaches from the airlock chamber, with the very first departure being made to a minimum distance - one meter - for orientation in new conditions, and the rest to 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 television camera and telemetry, monitored Leonov’s work and was ready, if necessary, to provide the assistance he needed.

After performing a series of experiments, Alexey Leonov received a command to return, but this turned out to be difficult. Due to the pressure difference in space, the suit swelled greatly, lost its flexibility, and Leonov could not squeeze into the airlock hatch. He made several unsuccessful attempts. The oxygen supply in the suit was designed for only 20 minutes, which was running out. Then the cosmonaut released the pressure in the suit to the emergency level. If by this time the nitrogen had not been washed out of his blood, he would have boiled and Leonov would have died. The suit shrank, and contrary to the instructions requiring him to enter the airlock with his feet, he squeezed through it head first. Having closed the outer hatch, Leonov began to turn around, since he still had to enter the ship with his feet due to the fact that the lid, which opened inward, ate up 30% of the cabin volume. It was difficult to turn around, since the internal diameter of the airlock is one meter, and the width of the spacesuit at the shoulders is 68 centimeters. With great difficulty, Leonov managed to do this, and he was able to enter the ship with his feet, as expected.

Alexey Leonov entered the ship's airlock at 11:47 a.m. And at 11 hours 51 minutes 54 seconds, after the hatch was closed, the pressurization of the airlock chamber began. Thus, the pilot-cosmonaut was outside the ship in outer space conditions for 23 minutes 41 seconds. According to the provisions of the International Sports Code, the net time of a person’s stay in outer space is calculated from the moment he appears from the airlock chamber (from the edge of the ship’s exit hatch) until he enters back into the chamber. Therefore, the time spent by Alexei Leonov in open space outside the spacecraft is considered to be 12 minutes 09 seconds.

With the help of an on-board television system, the process of Alexei Leonov's exit into outer space, his work outside the ship and his return to the ship were transmitted to Earth and observed by a network of ground stations.

After returning to Leonov's cabin, the cosmonauts continued to carry out experiments planned by the flight program.

There were several other emergency situations during the flight, which, fortunately, did not lead to tragedy. One of these situations arose during the return: the automatic orientation system to the Sun did not work, and therefore the braking propulsion system did not turn on in time. The cosmonauts were supposed to land automatically on the seventeenth orbit, but due to a failure of the automation caused by the “shooting” of the airlock, they had to go to the next, eighteenth orbit and land using a manual control system. This was the first landing in manual mode, and during its implementation it was discovered that from the astronaut’s working chair it was impossible to look out the window and assess the position of the ship in relation to the Earth. It was possible to start braking only while sitting in a seat and fastened. Due to this emergency situation, the accuracy required during descent was lost. As a result, the cosmonauts landed on March 19 far from the calculated landing point, in the remote taiga, 180 kilometers northwest of Perm.

They were not found immediately; tall trees prevented the helicopters from landing. Therefore, the astronauts had to spend the night near the fire, using parachutes and spacesuits for insulation. The next day, a rescue force descended into the small forest, a few kilometers from the crew’s landing site, to clear an area for a small helicopter. A group of rescuers reached the astronauts on skis. The rescuers built a log hut-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, on board the Mi-4, the cosmonauts arrived in Perm, from where they made an official report on the completion of the flight.

On October 20, 1965, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) approved the world record for the duration of a person's stay in outer space outside a spacecraft of 12 minutes 09 seconds, and the absolute record for the maximum flight altitude above the surface of the Earth of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft - 497.7 kilometers. The FAI awarded Alexei Leonov the highest award - the Gold Medal "Cosmos" for the first spacewalk in the history of mankind; USSR pilot-cosmonaut Pavel Belyaev was awarded a diploma and an FAI medal.

Soviet cosmonauts carried out their first spacewalk 2.5 months earlier than the Americans. The first American in space was Edward White, who performed a spacewalk on June 3, 1965, during his flight on Gemini 4. The duration of stay in outer space was 22 minutes.

Over the past years, the range of tasks solved by astronauts aboard spacecraft and stations has increased significantly. The modernization of spacesuits was and is being carried out constantly. As a result, the duration of a person’s stay in the vacuum of space in one exit has increased many times over. Today, spacewalks are a mandatory part of the program of all expeditions to the International Space Station. During the exits, scientific research, repair work, installation of new equipment on the outer surface of the station, launch of small satellites and much more are carried out.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Among the first Soviet pilot-cosmonauts who were enrolled in the USSR Cosmonaut Corps in 1960 was the young officer pilot Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov. Among his many achievements, the most important one stands out - the first manned spacewalk.

The Voskhod 2 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on March 18, 1965. There were two crew members on board. The crew commander was Pavel Belyaev, the co-pilot was Alexey Leonov. The flight program included an unprecedented task at that time - the first spacewalk by an astronaut. To carry out this important task, after extensive training in Star City simulators, co-pilot Alexei Leonov was appointed.

The first spacewalk in the history of astronautics lasted 729 seconds. During this time, an emergency situation arose with the spacesuit. While returning aboard the ship, Alexei Leonov's spacesuit swelled and prevented him from squeezing through the narrow airlock. Leonov, being a courageous man, was not at a loss. He vented excess air from the suit, thereby lowering the pressure and reducing its volume. In violation of the instructions, he was forced to return to the airlock hatch not with his feet, but with his head first.

This emergency situation was not the last. After the failure of the ship's automatic orientation system and the manual activation of the braking system, the descent vehicle with two astronauts on board landed at a distance of 180 kilometers from given point. The astronauts waited for evacuation for two nights while rescuers prepared a site for helicopters by cutting down centuries-old trees in the taiga near Perm.

Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov was being prepared to participate in the Soviet flight and landing program on the Moon, where he was supposed to land on its surface. The lunar program in the USSR was closed due to major problems and loss of relevance of the lunar program.

10 years after the first flight, Alesey Leonov made his second space flight as commander of the Soyuz 19 spacecraft in 1975. This was a flight under the joint program with the Americans called ASTP, or Soyuz-Apollo. He led the first docking of Soviet and American spacecraft in the history of astronautics. The flight lasted almost six days.

The merits of Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov, cosmonaut No. 11, were awarded two Hero stars Soviet Union and numerous orders and medals. In 1981 he was awarded the USSR State Prize.

Leads an active political life, is a member of the party's Supreme Council " United Russia" Known as an artist. In 1992, he retired with the rank of major general of aviation. He owns more than ten scientific works and four inventions.