Alexei Arkhipovia Leonov went down in the history of astronautics as the first person to go into outer space. For his courage and successful implementation of the flight, the cosmonaut was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Biography
Alexey Leonov was born on May 30, 1934 in the small village of Listvyanka, 600 kilometers north of the city of Kemerovo in the southeast of Western Siberia. The family had many children, Alexey was the eighth child.
At an early age, he showed an interest in art and aviation. In 1936, Alexei Leonov's father became an object of repression, but was rehabilitated in 1939. The family moved to Kemerovo, and then to Kaliningrad, where Leonov's relatives currently live. In 1953, Alexey graduated from high school. By that time, he had achieved good academic results, success in sports and knew a lot about airplanes. Thanks to his older brother, who was an aircraft technician, Alexei Leonov learned a lot about aircraft engines, aircraft design, and even flight theory. This was enough to enter the aviation school, which Leonov had dreamed of since childhood.
Cosmonaut career
In 1953-1955, Alexey studied at the Military Aviation School for the initial training of pilots in Kremenchug. Then he entered the Chuguev Military Aviation School of Pilots, the diploma from which the future famous cosmonaut received in 1957. In 1960, Alexei Leonov passed the necessary tests and was enrolled in the cosmonaut corps. It was a very high honor, since the cosmonaut profession was among the most privileged and respected in the Soviet Union.
In 1960-1961 Leonov studied at the cosmonaut training courses. On March 17, 1965, Alexei Leonov was appointed co-pilot of the Voskhod-2 mission. The spacecraft with two astronauts on board went into space and stayed there for 1 day, 2 hours, 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Alexey Leonov left the spacecraft and stayed in open space for 12 minutes and 9 seconds. Trying to get back on board the spacecraft, Leonov realized that his spacesuit was swollen, so he was unable to enter the spacecraft. But the astronaut did not panic, he managed to open the valve that lowers the pressure of the suit and get on board.
However, this was not the mission's only problem. Before landing, the spacecraft's navigation system stopped working. The spacecraft landed 180 kilometers north of the city of Perm, in the impenetrable taiga. The astronauts spent two nights in a deep forest in a terrible frost. Only on the third day a group of rescuers discovered them. Despite all the problems of the mission, Alexey Leonov made the shortest and most optimistic report in the history of astronautics: "You can survive and work in space." These words began a new era of human activity in space.
For his successful mission, Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Leonov was awarded the title "Hero of the Soviet Union" on March 23, 1965. He was also awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
In 1965-1967 Leonov served as chief instructor, cosmonaut and pilot-cosmonaut. In July 1975, Alexei Leonov made his second flight into space. This was the first joint work of the USSR and the USA. Leonov was the commander of the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz-19. The mission was successful and lasted 5 days, 22 hours, 30 minutes and 51 seconds. Major General Aleksey Leonov was awarded the second Gold Star medal and the second Order of Lenin, and received the second title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
In 1976-1982 Leonov became deputy director of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. He was also the editor of the astronauts newspaper Neptune.
The cosmonaut retired in 1991, but Alexei Leonov still leads an active life. He is vice president of a Moscow bank and advisor to the first deputy council. He also loves to paint. There have been several exhibitions of his work, including drawings that he made during his flights into space. Leonov is the creator of over 200 paintings. Since 1965 he has been a member of the Union of Artists.
Personal life
Alexey Arkhipovich is married to Svetlana Pavlovna Leonova. In marriage, two children were born. One of the daughters, Victoria, died in 1996 due to viral hepatitis. Daughter Oksana works as vice president of Alfa-Bank.
