Alexei Leonov (right) and the Earth | The Skywalker Stills
On October 11, Aleksei Leonov, the first person in spacewalk, passed away at the age of 85. He bid farewell to the earth and space that he loved for a lifetime and went to heaven.
Perhaps in today's view, spacewalking is a common thing, but what is unusual behind it is the path of aerospace pioneers in the darkness of crisis.
That year, he was 30 years old, took a spaceship that was taken care of by the gods of death, and once again got into trouble, and again and again, he was saved, and eventually he died.
In this most dangerous flight, Leonov achieved the first human spacewalk.
Alexei Leonov
-Spacewalk Competition-
After the end of World War II, the dark clouds of the cold war shrouded the earth.
In 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial earth satellite. The cold war has permeated into space, and the space race is on the verge.
In 1965, the United States and the Soviet Union were fighting for the first time that the astronauts left the spacecraft and entered space.
In 1965, both sides planned to conduct the first spacewalk | "The Skywalker" stills
The representative sent by the United States is Gemini No. 4, and the Soviet Union sent a rise of No. 2.
American manned spaceships, from the single Mercury, to the twin Gemini, and then to the three Apollo, in an orderly manner.
The Soviet Union seems to be weak, and wants to make a direct transition from the single Oriental to the three-man league (this classic manned spacecraft has been in use ever since).
However, it is time to wait, seeing that the United States will win this first, what should the Soviet Union do?
When the manned spaceship was not connected, the modified version of the Oriental No. - Rising No. came out to save the scene.
This type of spacecraft has carried out two manned flights in total, all of which are used to achieve the "first" goal:
The rise of No. 1 achieved the first three-person space flight in the world;
The goal of rising No. 2 is the world’s first spacewalk.
Rising No. 1 return cabin
The rise of No. 1 is relatively simple, with two more seats, more equipment, and a new parachute.
The requirements for spacecraft on spacecraft are much more demanding. The old design of the Orient does not consider the open space of space, so it is impossible to open the hatch directly in space like the Gemini of the United States.
To this end, the No. 2 additional design of an inflatable airtight compartment, as well as a number of supporting facilities, is more than 1 ton more than the Oriental.
Rising No. 2 and its launch vehicle
In order to successfully complete the spacewalk, the top astronauts of the Soviet Union must be chosen, so Alexei Leonov stands out.
How good is he? Just give an example.
In the later manned moon landing competition, he was selected as the first person in the Soviet moon landing echelon. It is a pity that the Soviet people’s manned landing on the moon did not last.
Rising No. 2 ready to go | "The Skywalker" stills
-Historic moment-
On March 18, 1965, the rise of No. 2 was launched, which was three months ahead of the US Gemini No. 4.
In order to witness this action in the annals of history, the rising No. 2 adopted the advanced TV live broadcast technology at that time, and broadcasted the space walk picture to the Earth in real time.
Leonov prepares for spacewalk | "The Skywalker" stills
8:28:13 (World Time), Leonov inflates the airtight compartment;
8:32:54, Leonov enters the airtight compartment;
At 8:34:51, Leonov left the airtight compartment and began the first spacewalk for humans.
Leonov walks in space | Skywalker stills
At that time, he was like "a seagull opened his wings and soared in the air";
At that time, he recalled his childhood, the mother opened the window at home and called his name: "Lionsha, it is time to enter the house";
At that time, the first space capsule spacesuit of human beings expanded in space.
- Can't go back to the ship...-
After the expansion, he in the spacesuit is like an inflatable doll. The hands and feet are difficult to bend and the movement is very stiff.
In addition to the expansion, the temperature inside the spacesuit is getting higher and higher, like an inflatable steamer, tormenting him all the time.
The same spacesuit worn by Leonov | Wikipedia
He can't go back to the spaceship!
At a critical juncture, the ground personnel took the initiative and cut off the public live broadcast signal...
In the sky, Leonov decisively chose to deflate (not give up). Deflating may bring the lack of oxygen in the spacesuit, and may even cause him to stun, but it can reduce the expansion of the spacesuit.
Ascending weightless training for spacewalk 2 | Wikipedia
According to the design, the astronauts must first enter the airtight compartment so that they can lift the door and close the door.
However, the inflated space suit made him unable to see the foot at all, let alone put his foot into the cabin.
He has no choice but to venture into the air intake.
At 8:47:00, he finally struggled into the airtight compartment. However, at this time, the danger has not been lifted, and the door of the airtight compartment must be closed, otherwise he is still in the space environment.
Even more dangerous is that his feet are facing the hatch, and the narrow airtight compartment can not expand, he turned, he had to risk the lack of oxygen, continue to deflate.
At 8:48:40, the hatch was finally closed, and in his high-temperature, swelled, soaked spacesuit, he also carried a self-medication.
He must have known at the time that this was only the first crisis of the rise of No. 2.
Rise 2 airtight cabin and astronaut schematic
-In addition to the crisis, or crisis-
Just as they were going back to Earth, the spacecraft's automatic landing system failed.
The Soviet manned spacecraft is also equipped with a special mechanical computer called the "spacecraft navigator", which can calculate the specific location of the return. As a result, they enabled an alternate manual landing system to manually align the ground return position.
Internal structure of the Soviet "Spaceship Navigator" mechanical computer | Wikipedia
However, their "steering wheel" went out of control again.
The return cabin, which was originally suitable for only one person, is now stuffed into two astronauts who are clumsy and bloated, who cannot fix themselves or each other in their seats. On the way back to the spacecraft, the two were taken to the side and the center of gravity of the ship deviated for 46 seconds.
Rising inside the crowded space on the 2nd
Don't underestimate this 46 seconds, causing the landing point to shift by 386 kilometers.
If the offset does not affect the return, the more dangerous is still behind.
The orbital compartment failed to separate, and the return cabin was entangled | "The Skywalker" stills
After entering the atmosphere, the orbital module that should have been separated from the return compartment failed to break. The two compartments were broken and collided with each other, burning together in the atmosphere, and causing the rise of No. 2 to rotate wildly.
Fortunately, the burning of the atmosphere eventually broke the orbital compartment. This is the most tormented atmospheric flight in the history of human aerospace, alive returning to Earth.
Even after landing on the ground, the god of death is still entangled.
The landing site is deep in the Siberian forest, and no one knows their specific location due to a large deviation from the expected location. If they are not discovered in time, they may be frozen in the snow in the Siberian forest in March.
Fortunately, in the snow, the huge parachute on the 2nd is very eye-catching.
Helicopter found rising 2nd return cabin parachute | "The Skywalker" stills
However, the dense forest could not land, and the helicopter had to air-drop the food that was eaten, drunk, worn, and possibly needed.
Next, what the helicopter can do is hover over them and report to the command center - "They are cutting wood and the other is making fire", and the scene was once very witty.
Rescuers who arrived late, skiing arrived at the scene
The next day, ground rescuers traveled long distances and skis arrived at the scene. The result was that they stayed in the same place for another night.
On the third day, Leonov was able to leave the landing site with the rescue team, by skiing himself.
Rising No. 2 also became the longest ground rescue time in all manned flights that came back alive.
In this way, he survived many times from the hands of death, completing the most difficult space walk, the most thrilling space return and the longest ground rescue.
The god of death finally returned with desperation. "This person can't be taken away in space." Leonov was also fortunate to be the last of the first Soviet astronauts to die.
Soviet manned moon landing spacecraft LK | Wikipedia
However, the Soviet space industry did not give him more opportunities to challenge, even though he was elected the first candidate for the Soviet moon landing.
It is worth mentioning that in 1975, Leonov represented the Soviet Union on the 19th, docked with the American Apollo spacecraft, and completed the first space handshake between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Apollo-Sydney flight commemorative oil painting, Leonov (first right) represents the Soviet Union for space handshake | Wikipedia
The outstanding contributions of the two space flights made him the honor of two Soviet heroes.
Since then, Leonov still loves the space that had almost killed him. Lian Po, who is not only cultivating more astronauts at the Gagarin Aerospace Center, but also passionate about the propaganda and creation of aerospace, has drawn and written a number of space-themed works.
Leonov participates in the "Skywalker" screening ceremony | kremlin.ru
In 2017, as a consultant, he participated in the production of the movie Skywalker. The film is like a documentary that once again restored the crisis scene at the time.
This film takes us back to the magnificent era of space exploration. Just as in the era of great voyages, humans will one day embark on the era of great space.
Unfortunately, Leonov’s elderly people did not have the opportunity to witness the day. Perhaps the best wish is to realize his aerospace ideal.
May he rest in peace.