On March 18, 1965, the Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov first went into outer space, what cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyaev had to experience.
This was not just an experiment. In the 60s, when cosmonautics was advancing by leaps and bounds, it was assumed that soon man would begin to explore the planets of the solar system. Orbital stations were supposed to become a kind of stepping stone, pushing off from which the spacecraft could reach a distant planet. And in order to maintain such stations technically, it was necessary to learn how to leave the spacecraft and go into outer space. Presenting the new project to the cosmonaut corps, Sergei Korolev noted: "just as a sailor of an ocean liner must be able to stay on the water, so the cosmonauts on board a spacecraft must be able to" float "in open space."
The most well-trained cosmonaut crew was chosen for the important mission - the commander of the spacecraft, Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Belyaev, and the second pilot, Major Alexei Leonov. And although Pavel Belyaev had an abnormal situation while still on Earth during training - he began to suffocate in the pressure chamber - they did not break the Leonov-Belyaev tandem. And, perhaps, it helped astronauts in acute situations during the flight.
Alexey Leonov.
On March 18, 1965, one hour thirty-five minutes after the launch of Voskhod-2, at the beginning of the second orbit around the Earth, Alexei Leonov left the spacecraft. This historic moment was transmitted to Earth by several television cameras attached to the ship's skin. Leonov was in open space for 12 minutes, 9 seconds, moving away from the "Voskhod" by 5.35 m. Leonov's ship was connected by a cable through which oxygen was supplied to the suit, and communication with the ship's board was carried out. Alexei Leonov was supposed to get out of the ship, film and photograph the view of the Earth from outer space and return to Voskhod. The cosmonauts cheerfully reported on the successful experiment to the party and the government directly from the ship. But in fact, during this difficult flight, several emergency situations arose,four of which put astronauts on the brink of life and death.
We walked along the edge of a deadly layer of radiation
The inconsistencies began from the first moments of the flight - the spacecraft with Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyaev on board were thrown into an orbit 495 km distant from Earth. This happened as a result of a technical error - "Voskhod-2" was supposed to fly in an orbit 350 km from the Earth. Because of this error, the spacecraft risked getting stuck in orbit for 3 years, and the life support of the astronauts was designed for only three days. The danger for the crew was also that the first radiation layer destructive to humans is located at an altitude of 500 km. The Voskhod-2 crew was lucky - they walked only 5 km below, along the border of the dangerous layer. If at this moment there was a strong flare on the Sun, the deadly layer “subsided” and the astronauts would receive a lethal dose of radiation of 500 roentgens.
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Leonov might not have returned aboard
During the pre-flight briefing, Leonov was instructed to report back to Earth on all his actions in outer space and to submit all sudden difficulties for discussion by specialists. But in fact, this strict order had to be violated more than once. The real situation was not visible from Earth, and advice from the Mission Control Center would simply have prevented the astronaut from working. Leonov was well aware that in outer space, except for himself and his partner Pavel Belyaev, no one could really help him. Immediately before going into space, not only Leonov, but also Pavel Belyaev put on the spacesuit in order to help his partner return to the ship in case of failure.
Pavel Belyaev.
The spacesuit in which Aleksey Lenov left the Voskhod board was repeatedly tested on Earth, but no one could have guessed how this device would behave in airless space. Leonov was supposed to photograph the Earth from space with a special camera mounted on a spacesuit, but realized that he could not do it - his fingers did not feel the gloves. The suit began to "swell". The cosmonaut had a thought: how would he enter the ship? After all, the gap between the spacesuit and the edges of the entrance hatch was set by the designers as only 2 cm from each shoulder, and Leonov also had a movie camera in his hands. There was no time to consult with the Earth. Without reporting, Leonov dropped the pressure in the suit by half. This could have led to the boiling of nitrogen in the blood, but the astronaut calculated that he had been breathing pure oxygen for an hour, and the nitrogen had been "washed out" from the blood. After the pressure was released, the spacesuit "deflated", and Leonov hurried to enter the airlock, doing it not according to the rules - head first. Now, in order to enter the spacecraft from the airlock, he had to turn over 180 degrees in the cramped airlock, the width of which was only 1 m. Due to physical overload, the pulse accelerated to 190 beats per minute, and the body overheated to such an extent that the astronaut was on the verge of heatstroke. In addition, the glass of the helmet was fogged up, and nothing was visible. When Leonov was finally able to squeeze into the ship, the first thing he did was open the helmet without closing the inner hatch or checking the tightness. Due to physical overload, the pulse accelerated to 190 beats per minute, and the body overheated to such an extent that the astronaut was on the verge of heatstroke. In addition, the glass of the helmet was fogged up, and nothing was visible. When Leonov was finally able to squeeze into the ship, the first thing he did was open the helmet without closing the inner hatch or checking the tightness. Due to physical overload, the pulse accelerated to 190 beats per minute, and the body overheated to such an extent that the astronaut was on the verge of heatstroke. In addition, the glass of the helmet was fogged up, and nothing was visible. When Leonov was finally able to squeeze into the ship, the first thing he did was open the helmet without closing the inner hatch or checking the tightness.
Excess oxygen nearly killed the ship
After the astronaut returned to the spacecraft, the oxygen partial pressure suddenly began to rise. From the norm of 160 mm, it crossed the dangerous mark of 460 mm (the state of the detonating gas) and reached 920. The astronauts understood that the slightest spark could lead to a terrible explosion. This was the most dangerous and difficult situation during the Voskhod-2 flight. Leonov and Belyaev tried to deal with this dangerous factor: they lowered the temperature to 10 degrees, lowered the humidity. The crew had to struggle with oxygen intoxication - the astronauts literally fell asleep on the go. The reason for the incident was found out later. Due to the fact that the ship was oriented to the Sun for a long time, one side of it warmed up to +150 degrees, and the other cooled down to -140. Inevitably, a deformation occurred, and when the hatch was closed, a microscopic gap remained, from which oxygen escaped. The ship's smart life support system began to pump it beyond measure. In the end, the increased pressure pressed down tightly on the hatch, the oxygen leak stopped - and its injection also stopped. Only on Earth, after the flight, did they figure out what it was. And in space, only time and a lucky chance helped the astronauts get out of a dangerous situation.
"Voskhod" was planted by hand
In preparation for landing, the airlock was shot back, from which the sensors of orientation to the Sun were covered with dust. And when the astronauts turned on the automatic orientation system before landing, the system simply did not work. The fuel was running out, and it was necessary to make a decision: turn off the automation and switch to manual control of the ship. There was no time to wait for advice from the Mission Control Center - fuel was being consumed every minute, and the Voskhod was out of the radio visibility zone. From Earth, they only managed to give the command to land the spacecraft, and for the next four hours nothing was known about the fate of the spacecraft and the crew.
Voskhod-2 was designed for an automatic guidance system and was designed so that the pilots' seats were in the middle of the ship, and it was possible to control the ship in manual mode only by looking through the side glass. To orient the spacecraft, the cosmonauts had to unfasten and change their position: Pavel Belyaev lay down across the spacecraft, Leonov held him, giving him instructions for orienting the spacecraft towards the Earth. When the manual orientation was completed, they turned on the engine and immediately took their seats in the cockpit and locked themselves in. When orienting the descent, astronauts must be wearing their seatbelt. After all, with any awkward movement, the spacecraft could break into rotation.
We landed in a deep taiga
There is a version that the Voskhod-2 ship landed in an off-design place due to the ship's imbalance. But Alexei Leonov says that it was the cosmonauts themselves who decided to sit in the taiga. Returning to Earth in the area of large cities could lead to disaster - there are many industrial enterprises and power lines. Voskhod-2 landed in the deep Permian taiga, in severe frost. They had to sit in spacesuits for more than a day until rescuers found them. And they waited for the departure home for two more days - they were preparing a landing site in the taiga for a helicopter. To warm up the freezing astronauts, a log house was built, a huge cauldron was thrown from a helicopter. They made a fire and set Leonov and Belyaev to warm up in a boiler with hot water. When the landing site was ready, the cosmonauts had to make a ski march to it.
And on March 23, the first person to be in outer space was already met in Moscow. Soviet astronauts managed to get ahead of the Americans - astronaut Edward White stepped overboard the comic ship on June 3, 1965. He was in open space for 22 minutes and moved 7.6 m away from the ship.
OLGA SKOSYREVA