Alexei Leonov – the first person to walk in space

Forty-five years ago, on March 18, 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov climbed out of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft piloted by Pavel Belyayev. Attached to the craft by a tether, his only lifeline, Leonov “walked” a distance of five meters. The experiment lasted 23 minutes 40 seconds.

During his spacewalk Alexei Leonov displayed exceptional courage, especially during a tense moment when his spacesuit began inflating. He managed to reenter the airlock only after bleeding the excess pressure. Photo: Alexei Leonov trying air tight gloves during exercises at the Cosmonaut Training Center.

Alexei Leonov was born on May 30, 1934, in the Kemerovo Region settlement of Listvyanka. His family moved to Kaliningrad in 1948. In 1953, Alexei Leonov entered a flying school in Kremenchug. In 1960 he passed the necessary tests and was selected for the cosmonauts group.

He spent long hours training before his flight in 1965.

Alexei Leonov after centrifuge training.

Alexei Leonov during a zero-gravity flight in a training aircraft.

The flight of Voskhod-2 was a big event for the whole world. The spacewalk was the high-water mark of the Soviet space program. In the spring of 1965, the Soviet Union was up on the United States 3-0: Sputnik, Gagarin, Leonov.

After his triumph Alexei Leonov made another space flight - he commanded the Soyuz-19 in 1975. This was the first time a Soviet and an American spacecraft docked with each other. Photo: Alexei Leonov before his Voskhod-2 spaceflight.

Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot-cosmonaut and Major General Alexei Leonov repeatedly participated in scientific conferences and international congresses delivering about 30 reports.

Alexei Leonov leads an active public life and founded Gagarin International Social and Scientific Readings in the first cosmonaut’s hometown. He often addresses the public, promoting the successes of the Russian space program and discussing its problems.

Alexei Leonov is also a famous artist. He has painted about 200 pictures and published five albums, including space and science fiction images, landscapes and friends’ portraits in watercolors, oil paintings, and gouache. He became a member of the Soviet Artists Union in 1965. His favourite artist is Ivan Aivazovsky.

Alexei Leonov is an honorary citizen of 30 cities around the world. A Moon crater is named after him.