Domestic cosmonautics knows a large number of outstanding personalities. But among them, the Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov stands out. First of all, he is known for being the first person who was not afraid to go into outer space. This is what Leonov the cosmonaut became famous for. The biography of this outstanding personality will be the subject of our discussion.
Birth and childhood
In the Kemerovo region, whose territory then belonged to the West Siberian Territory, the future Soviet cosmonaut Leonov was born. Date of birth - May 30, 1934. His parents, Arkhip Alekseevich Leonov and Evdokia Minaevna Sotnikova, in addition to little Alyosha, raised seven more children.
When Alexei was three years old, his family was repressed. The father went to places of detention, and the mother and children were forced to move to Kemerovo, since their house was actually given over to be plundered. But two years later, my father was rehabilitated.
In Kemerovo A. A. Leonov went to school, but in 1947 the family had to move to Kaliningrad due to a change in the breadwinner's job. It is in this city that the future greatastronaut received secondary education.
From early childhood, A. A. Leonov dreamed of an army career, so after receiving a certificate of secondary education (1953), he entered the Military Aviation School, which he successfully graduated in 1955. Two years later, he completed his studies at the school of the corresponding profile.
Development of astronautics
Meanwhile, the second half of the 50s and 60s of the XX century were a time of rapid development of astronautics. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched an artificial Earth satellite. In the same year, the first living creature, the dog Laika, was launched into orbit in an aircraft. The question of the possibility of human spaceflight became more and more urgent.
In 1960, the USSR Air Force selected the first detachment of cosmonauts, which included 20 of the most trained pilots. It was from among the members of this detachment that the crew for the first Soviet space expeditions was formed. A. A. Leonov also got into this twenty of the most worthy. In addition to him, the detachment included German Titov, Dmitry Zaikin, Pavel Popovich, Ivan Anikeev, Adrian Nikolaev and many other famous pilots. The honor of becoming the first cosmonaut was given to Yuri Gagarin. In April 1961, on the Vostok-1 spacecraft, he made the first orbital flight.
From 1961 to 1964, G. Titov, A. Nikolaev, P. Popovich, V. Bykovsky and V. Komarov also made space flights. The crew of Vladimir Komarov, who flew in October 1964, in addition to the commander, consisted of two more people. This opportunity was provided by a new type of multi-seat spaceships "Voskhod", which replaced the series "Vostok".
Soviet cosmonaut Leonov was waiting for his turn. Photos with him and Yuri Gagarin can be seen above.
Historic flight
A new space expedition was scheduled for mid-March 1965. It consisted of two people. Pavel Belyaev was appointed commander, and A. A. Leonov was appointed pilot. The flight was supposed to take place on a multi-seat Voskhod-2 spacecraft, which, compared to the first version, was modified.
Initially, the mission was to carry out a human spacewalk, and it was considered as part of the lunar program of the USSR.
The ship "Voskhod-2" with Belyaev and Leonov on board was launched on March 18, 1965.
In outer space
After the spacecraft went into orbit, it was necessary to accomplish the main goal of the flight - spacewalk. A. A. Leonov had to solve this problem. The astronaut immediately moved to the airlock, after which the crew commander closed the compartment and began its depressurization. Then Alexei Arkhipovich left the lock chamber and went out into outer space. It was this act that A. A. Leonov (cosmonaut) became known to the whole world. A photo of his spacewalk is below.
It should be noted that while outside the spaceship, Alexei Arkhipovich felt discomfort: his body temperature rose, sweating began, the frequency of breathing and heartbeat increased. In open spacespace astronaut spent more than twelve minutes.
Returning to the spaceship had some difficulties. Due to the fact that the suit was greatly inflated, it was difficult for Leonov to return to the airlock. Therefore, he - in violation of the instructions - was forced to squeeze into it with the help of his hands head first.
Landing
The landing of the spacecraft was also accompanied by some unforeseen events. It was supposed to be carried out automatically after the spacecraft completed 17 orbits. But the automation failed. Therefore, Voskhod-2 had to be landed manually after 18 orbits.
The landing site was a taiga area in the Perm region. The rescue expedition was able to find the crew of the spacecraft only on the second day. This was explained by the fact that due to failures in the automation, the landing took place in an unplanned place.
Further astronaut career
After making a historic flight, which culminated in the first successful manned spacewalk, Alexei Leonov received the title of Hero of the USSR. He was awarded the highest Soviet awards - the "Gold Star" and the Order of Lenin.
After that, and until 1969, inclusive, Leonov took part in the Soviet lunar program. But after the Americans landed on the moon, it was curtailed, since the USSR lost the championship to the United States in the “moon race”. Now the natural satellite of the Earth was not of particular interest to the domestic cosmonautics. Although at one time it was planned that it was Leonov who should become the man who landed on the moon for the first time.
At this time, along with work, Alexei Arkhipovich studied at the Air Force Academy in engineering.
In 1975, A. Leonov made his second flight into space. This time it was he who was the commander of the crew, which, in addition to him, included V. Kubasov. The flight was made on the aircraft "Soyuz-19" and lasted more than five days. For this expedition, he was once again awarded the title of Hero of the USSR.
In January 1982, forty-seven-year-old A. Leonov, along with other pilots of his generation, left the cosmonaut team. This was primarily due to his age. However, he continued until 1991 to hold the position of deputy. head of the CPC. In 1991, he retired with the rank of Major General.
Activities in retirement
But Alexey Arkhipovich is not such a person to be on a well-deserved rest. Already in 1992, he headed a company developing space programs. In addition, he is an official advisor to a member of the board of directors of one of the largest Russian banks.
Alexey Arkhipovich's main hobby at present is painting. In this case, he received well-deserved recognition from professionals. A. Leonov collaborates with the artist A. Sokolov, with whom he co-authored a series of postage stamps.
Aleksey Arkhipovich does not shy away andpoliticians. He is currently a member of the Supreme Council of the United Russia party organization. Dmitry Medvedev, who at that time held the post of President of Russia, personally congratulated him on his 75th birthday.
Family
Alexey Leonov's wife is Svetlana Pavlovna Dotsenko, born in 1940. In the past, she worked as an editor at the CPC publishing house, and is now retired.
In marriage, they had two daughters - Victoria (b. 1961) and Oksana (b. 1967). But Victoria, who worked at Sovfracht, died in 1996 due to hepatitis with a pneumonic complication. Oksana is currently working as a translator.
Personality assessment
So, we learned about such an outstanding personality in history as A. A. Leonov (cosmonaut). His biography was rather difficult: already at an early age he faced Stalinist repressions, and in retirement he experienced the bitterness of losing his daughter.
But, despite all the misadventures and obstacles, A. Leonov managed to become one of the most famous personalities in the Soviet and world cosmonautics. It was he who was honored to go into outer space for the first time. Considering how the selection of candidates was treated at that time, it must be recognized that in order to be appointed to such a mission, a person had to have truly exceptional personal qualities. And Alexey Arkhipovich proved the correctness of this choice in practice.
The inflexibility of his character and diligence A. Leonov demonstrated after retirement, when, instead of going towell-deserved rest, did not stop active labor and social activities.
It is people like A. A. Leonov that Russia is proud of.
