In March 1965, the flight of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft took place. The crew, consisting of astronauts P.I. Belyaev and A.A. Leonov, faced a difficult but very important task - to carry out the first manned spacewalk in history.
The direct implementation of the experiment fell to the lot of Alexei Leonov, and on March 18 he successfully coped with it. The astronaut went into outer space, retired from the spacecraft by 5 meters and spent outside it for a total of 12 minutes and 9 seconds.
The flight of "Voskhod" was not without emergency situations and curious cases. It is difficult to describe how much mental and physical strength had to be spent on the people who were preparing this grandiose experiment - man’s spacewalk. Interesting facts and little-known details of the flight and its preparation became the basis of this article.
Idea
The idea that a man could enter outer space was possible appeared in Korolev back in 1963. The designer suggested that soon such an experience would be not only desirable, but also absolutely necessary. He was right. In the following decades, astronautics developed rapidly. For example, maintaining the normal operation of the ISS would generally have been impossible without external installation and repair work, which once again proves how necessary the first manned spacewalk was. The year 1964 marked the beginning of official preparations for this experiment.
But then, in 1964, in order to implement such a daring project, it was necessary to seriously consider the design of the ship. As a result, the well-proven Voskhod-1 was taken as the basis. One of its portholes was replaced by an exit gateway, and also reduced the number of crew from three to two. The lock chamber itself was inflatable and was located outside the ship. After completing the experiment, before landing, she had to separate herself from the hull. So the spacecraft Voskhod-2 appeared.
There was another, more serious problem. Such a dangerous experiment had to be worked out on animals first. However, they refused this, considering that the development of a special spacesuit for an animal is too troublesome and costly. Moreover, he would not give an answer to the most important question: how will a person behave in outer space? It was decided to conduct experiments directly in humans.
Today, astronauts are able to leave the ship for several hours and carry out very complex manipulations in outer space. But in the 60s, it seemed like perfect fiction or even suicide.
Crew
Initially, the group of cosmonauts preparing for the flight consisted of Leonov, Gorbatko and Khrunov. Belyaev was on the verge of being expelled from the cosmonaut corps for health reasons, and only at the insistence of Gagarin he was included in the preparation group for the flight.
As a result, two crews were formed: the main - Belyaev, Leonov - and the backup - Gorbatko, Khrunov. The crews of this expedition had special requirements. The team had to work as a whole, and the astronauts - to be compatible with each other from the point of view of psychology.
The test results showed that Belyaev has great endurance and composure, is able not to lose his head in any situation, and Leonov, on the contrary, is impetuous, impulsive, but he is unusually brave and courageous. These two people, so different in character, could work perfectly together, which was a necessary condition in order to carry out the first exit of man into outer space.
Training
For the first three months, the astronauts studied the design and devices of the new spacecraft, followed by lengthy training in zero gravity. This required a maneuverable aircraft and a very experienced pilot who could confidently perform aerobatics. During an hour's flight, the aircraft was able to simulate weightlessness for a total of about 2 minutes. It was during this time that the astronauts needed to complete the entire planned program.
Initially, they flew on MIG sparks, but astronauts tied with belts were deprived of the ability to move. It was decided to take a more spacious Tu-104LL. Inside the aircraft, a mock-up of a part of the spacecraft with a lock chamber was installed on this improvised simulator and the main trainings were held.
Inconvenient spacesuits
Today in the Museum of Cosmonautics you can see the very spacesuit in which Leonov launched a man into outer space. A photo of a smiling astronaut in a helmet with the inscription "USSR" circled all the newspapers in the world, but no one could have guessed how much effort this smile cost.
Especially for Voskhod-2, special spacesuits were developed that were terribly called the Golden Eagle. They had an additional hermetic shell, and a satchel with a life support system was placed behind the astronaut's back . For better light reflection, even the color of the spacesuits was changed: instead of the traditional orange, white was used. The total weight of the "Golden Eagle" was about 100 kg.
All training took place already in spacesuits, the support system of which left much to be desired. The air supply was extremely weak, which means that at the slightest movement the astronaut was immediately covered by a vapor from voltage.
In addition, the suits were very uncomfortable. They were so dense that in order to squeeze a hand into a fist, an effort of almost 25 kilograms was required. In order to be able to make any movement in such clothes, he had to be constantly trained. The work went to wear and tear, but the astronauts stubbornly went to the cherished goal - to make it possible for a man to go into outer space. Leonov, by the way, was considered the most powerful and hardy in the group, which largely predetermined his main role in the experiment.
Demonstration performance
In the midst of training, a great friend of the USSR, Charles de Gaulle, flew to Moscow, and Khrushchev decided to brag to him about the successes of the Soviet cosmonautics. He decided to show the Frenchman how astronauts work out a man’s exit into outer space. It immediately became clear that the crew that will participate in this “performance” will be sent on a real flight. By order of Gagarin, at this crucial moment, Khrunov was replaced by Belyaev. According to Khrunov's memoirs, he did not understand the motives for this replacement and for a long time retained an insult to Gagarin for this inexplicable act.
Later Gagarin explained to Khrunov his position, he believed that it was necessary to give Belyaev the last chance to fly into space. Young Khrunov could do this later more than once, moreover, Belyaev was better suited to Leonov from a psychological point of view.
Trouble before the start
The day before the start, a big nuisance happened. Due to the negligence of the guard soldier, the inflatable airlock that was thrown out of the ship to check for leaks suddenly fell and burst. There was no spare, and therefore it was decided to use the very one on which the cosmonauts trained for a long time. This incident could be fatal, but, fortunately, everything worked out, the reusable gateway survived, and the first manned spacewalk took place successfully.
Spacewalk
There have been many theories about human behavior in outer space . The ill-wishers claimed that the astronaut who stepped outside the spacecraft, immediately welded to it, would be deprived of the ability to move, or even go crazy. It is very difficult to imagine what else the exit of a man into outer space could turn into. The year 1965 could easily become the year of the great failure of the Soviet space program. However, only practice could confirm or refute these pessimistic theories.
In addition, no rescue systems were developed at that time. The only thing that was done for the astronauts was permission, in which case, just open the hatch and put your hand out of it.
When the ship entered a given orbit, Leonov began to prepare for the launch. Everything went according to plan, when the time came X, the astronaut gently pushed off and sailed from the airlock into outer space.
The most terrible predictions of the skeptics did not come true, and the astronaut felt pretty well. He completed the prescribed program, and it was time to return to the ship. There were some problems with this. A spacesuit inflated in zero gravity prevented Leonov from entering the lock. Then he, without consulting with anyone, independently lowered the pressure in the spacesuit and rushed into the airlock head first, and not vice versa, as planned. The first manned spacewalk was completed, and Alexei Leonov forever inscribed his name in the history of astronautics.
Emergency on the descent
Voskhod-2 had many flaws, and after the successful completion of the flight program, an emergency occurred. When shooting the exit gateway, solar-stellar orientation sensors stuck. When the ship made its 16th orbit around the Earth, an order was received from the MCC to decrease. But the ship continued to fly, as if nothing had happened. When he went to the 17th round, it became clear that the automatic orientation system did not work, and the crew had to switch to manual control. Flying, the main task of which was the man’s spacewalk, could end in disaster.
At the cost of incredible efforts, Belyaev and Leonov regained control of the ship, but were still late with the engines turned off by almost a minute. As a result, the planned landing site was left far behind and the launch vehicle landed in the dense Perm forests.
Rescue operation
The astronauts remained in the winter forest for two long days. True, one helicopter still tried to throw off their warm clothes, but it missed, and the bundle was lost in the snowdrifts.
The helicopter could not land in deep snow among the trees, and the astronauts did not have the necessary equipment either to cut down the trees, or to fill the snow with water and make an impromptu ice landing pad. In the end, the rescue team walked on foot to the frozen astronauts and was able to get them out of the forest.
Despite all the difficulties of preparation and unpleasant incidents during the flight, Belyaev and Leonov coped with their main task - they launched a man into outer space. The date of this event has become one of the most significant milestones in the history of Soviet cosmonautics.