Alexey Leonov. The first in the universe. Part 2
When, after ten minutes in outer space, his suit began to deform, he found himself inside the inflated suit with no control over it. At that moment, he did not inform the Earth about the problem. There was no time for meetings. He solved the problem on his own here and now …
Heroic everyday life
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"And the Earth is round!"
These were the first words of Alexei Leonov at the time of the spacewalk. After long preparations, tests and replay of freelance operations, Voskhod-2 with two cosmonauts on board was finally launched into orbit.
“I felt like a grain of sand among the vast starry abyss,” Leonov admits. - Silence all around. Bright stars. I heard my heart beating, what a heavy breathing I have."
The astronaut, of course, was afraid. After all, the test spacecraft that was launched into orbit shortly before their historic flight just exploded. Everyone realized how great the risk was. But it was important for Leonov to get the job done. Purposeful, athletic, intelligent, courageous and responsible Alexey Arkhipovich was able to use all his skills, experience and speed of making the right decisions to the maximum, so that the flight would end successfully.
General Designer Sergei Korolev noted the main features of Leonov as follows: “Cleverness, ingenuity. Good assimilation of technical knowledge. Lovely character. He is an artist. Very sociable and, in my opinion, kind. Brave pilot."
Savvy as never before was useful to Leonov during the flight, when seven emergency situations arose in outer space. Decisions had to be made at lightning speed. Logical thinking in the skin vector in combination with the abstract intelligence of the sound vector allowed Leonov to quickly and accurately replay all situations in his head, calculating all possible options.
When, after ten minutes in outer space, his suit began to deform, he found himself inside the inflated suit with no control over it. At that moment, he did not inform the Earth about the problem. There was no time for meetings. He solved the problem independently here and now.
As the chief designer Sergei Pavlovich Korolev later said, this was the only correct decision. Alexey Arkhipovich began to manually release the pressure inside the spacesuit in order to resume mobility and be able to return to the airlock. Against all instructions, he pushed himself head first into the ship. And then, catching his breath only for a moment, Leonov was able to do a somersault in a meter lock and close the hatch behind him.
The skin vector is undoubtedly law and discipline. But in such an emergency situation, when the result of the entire operation depends on the correctness of the decision, Leonov breaks the rules several times and ideally calculates the chances to complete all the work, stay alive and return safely to Earth.
This skin ability to instantly react to a problem that has arisen has saved Leonov's life more than once. During a flight into space in 1965, he and the ship's commander Pavel Belyaev found themselves on the verge of death several times. After a successful return to the airlock and shooting the camera, the oxygen level in the ship automatically began to rise. As it turns out later, this was due to a microcrack in the ship's skin. Pure oxygen, so essential for human life, put the astronauts intoxicated, which is why they simply lost consciousness for a while. An explosive gas could explode at any moment from the slightest spark, turning Alexei and Pavel into a "molecular state". But as Leonov himself suggests, being half asleep, he touched the oxygen supply sensor with his hand. The composition of the air inside the ship soon changed, and the astronauts came to their senses.
But it was too early to relax. Automatic orientation in the ship did not work, and the brave pilots had to land the ship manually. Technically, the spacecraft was not ready for manual orientation, and the astronauts decided to unfasten their seat belts and navigate, looking at Earth through a small window. Another accident was not long in coming. During the descent, the aggregate compartment did not detach, and the ship began to rotate strongly. In this regard, the estimated landing site has changed.
When everything seemed to be over, and the astronauts landed safely, they realized that it would be quite difficult to find them. They found themselves in the taiga near Perm, where in March the temperature at night was -25 ° C. Leonov immediately realized that they could freeze while the rescuers found them. The suit was full of water. They had to wring out all their linen and wrap themselves in cloth from the ship's upholstery.
The waiting hours seemed like an eternity. After their discovery, rescuers and doctors organized a hot bath for the astronauts right on the fire.
The flight was successfully completed. On this day, the whole country heard Levitan's message about the successful return of Russian cosmonauts to Earth. On the same day, Alexei Leonov received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Time of the first
On April 6, 2017, Dmitry Kiselev's film "The Time of the First" was released on the screens of cinemas. In this picture, the whole story of Alexei Leonov was shown as authentically as possible during the period of his preparation and flight into space in 1965. The roles of Leonov and Belyaev were brilliantly played by actors Yevgeny Mironov and Konstantin Khabensky.
Alexey Arkhipovich himself was the main consultant for this film. He described the details of the flight, revealing the inside out and the difficulties of the first spacewalk. All models and equipment were recreated exactly according to drawings and archives. Mironov and Khabensky had to experience heavy loads, spinning in a centrifuge, taking pictures in 30-kilogram spacesuits.
The cosmonaut himself appreciated the picture and the acting at its true worth. Leonov admitted: “It's strange, because they don't know what space is, but they felt this state. In some episodes I really got scared - down to the smallest details I lived everything again. This is how the developed visual vector of the actors is manifested, which gives them the ability to get used to the role as much as possible, to accurately feel the states of their heroes.
Live and learn
Alexey Arkhipovich remains an active public figure to this day. He enthusiastically takes on new projects, holds creative meetings, gives interviews. Leonov always had a desire to learn and improve. He never stopped studying. Every owner of the anal vector has a zeal for learning. The desire to gain knowledge, fully master it and be able to transfer his experience to others - all this is close to Alexei Arkhipovich.
After the Kremenchug flight school, he studied at the Chuguev military aviation school and graduated from the Air Force Academy in the engineering direction. In March 1960, Aleksey Arkhipovich became a student-cosmonaut at the Cosmonaut Training Center, and in 1981 he became a candidate of technical sciences.
Family and friends are also an integral part of the concept of happiness for a person with an anal vector. Alexey Arkhipovich married Svetlana Datsenko, and they happily raised two wonderful daughters. Friends Leonov always appreciated and was close friends with many comrades from the CPC, including Yuri Gagarin and Pavel Belyaev. Sincere gatherings in nature and hiking for mushrooms in the company of comrades are always remembered with special warmth by the cosmonaut.
Leonov admits that he himself always made his own destiny, because he simply did what he really wanted. After all, desire is a clue to our consciousness about what we were born for. This is the path that leads us to happiness and joy from every day we live.
Friendly, kind, sociable and so dear Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov will always be the first person to enter the unknown and vast space of the Universe. And our country will always be proud of the twice Hero of the Soviet Union, this brave pilot and brave cosmonaut, talented artist and magnificent writer!
