Alexey Arkhipovich
Leonov
1934-2019
Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov was a Soviet cosmonaut, pilot–cosmonaut of the USSR (1965), Major General of Aviation (1975). Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1965, 1975), Major General of Aviation (1975). He was a laureate of the USSR State Prize (1981); participant of flights on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft with the first spacewalk in the history of mankind (March 1965). Participant of the flight on the Soyuz-19 spacecraft under the EPAS program (Soyuz –Apollo) in July 1975. Alexey Leonov was born on May 30, 1934 in the village of Listvyanka, Kemerovo region). In 1947, Alexey’s family moved to Kaliningrad, where he graduated from high school. Alexey has been interested in artistic creativity since childhood and wanted to enter the Riga Academy of Arts, but he did not have the financial opportunity to live in Riga. In 1955, Leonov graduated from the Military Aviation School of Initial Training of Pilots in Kremenchug, in 1957 – the Chuguev Military Aviation School of Pilots. In 1960, Alexey Leonov was enlisted in the first detachment of Soviet cosmonauts. In March 1965, together with Pavel Belyaev, he flew into space as a co-pilot on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft. During the flight, he made the world’s first spacewalk lasting 23 minutes 41 seconds (of which 12 minutes 09 seconds outside the ship, moved away from the ship by 5.35 meters). During his stay in outer space, an emergency situation occurred: Leonov’s spacesuit swelled and did not allow him to return to the spacecraft. Leonov, showing extraordinary courage and resourcefulness, released excessive pressure from the spacesuit and climbed into the hatch of the ship headfirst (violating the instructions that prescribed climbing into the ship feet first). During the landing, another emergency situation occurred: the automatic orientation system failed. Belyaev manually oriented the ship and turned on the brake engine, and the ship landed in an uncountable area, in a remote taiga north of the city of Perm. The landing site was immediately discovered, radio communication was established with the astronauts from the aircraft, and then people and everything necessary were delivered to the landing site. On March 23, 1965, Alexey Leonov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal for the successful implementation of the flight and his courage. In July 1975, Alexey Leonov, together with V.N. Kubasov, made his second flight into space as the commander of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft under the EPAS program (the Soyuz – Apollo program). During the flight, for the first time in the world, ships from two different countries were docked. On July 22, 1975, Alexey Leonov was awarded the second Gold Star medal and the Order of Lenin for the successful implementation of the flight and the courage and heroism shown at the same time. In 1968 Alexey Leonov graduated from the Engineering Faculty of the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy. In 1970-1991. Alexey Leonov was the deputy head of the Cosmonaut Training Center. In 1981 he graduated from the adjunct course at the Military Air Engineering Academy named after N. E. Zhukovsky. In 1992, Aviation Major General A. A. Leonov was dismissed to the reserve.
Address: Moscow, Cosmopark
