Alexei Leonov with whom he flew. Alexey Leonov - biography, photo, outer space, cosmonaut's family

Leonov Alexey Arkhipovich was born in a small village called Listvyanka, which was located in the Tisulsky district of the West Siberian Territory (now the Kemerovo region), in 1934 on May 30th. His father, Arkhip Alekseevich, born in 1892, was an ordinary peasant, and his mother, Evdokia Minaevna, devoted her whole life to teaching.

When Alexei was three years old, together with his mother, he settled in Kemerovo, where his father also came after the Civil War. As you know, Lesha was the 8th child in the family, who willingly went to school in 1943. However, he did not succeed in graduating from the Kemerovo educational institution due to the fact that, together with his family, he was forced to leave for Kaliningrad (then Koenigsberg), where his father worked.

Exactly ten years later, Alexey Arkhipovich graduated from the Kaliningrad secondary school, after which he was given a certificate of education. According to Leonov himself, he was never particularly proud of the good marks that were affixed to this graduation document, since most of all he valued his knowledge of art and aviation.

Alexei’s love for aircraft engines and aircraft structures woke up in his early youth, when he watched his older brother, an aircraft technician by profession, take pleasure in repairing all kinds of parts. Together with sports achievements, interest in aircraft prompted Leonov to enroll in a pilot school, which was located in central Ukraine, namely in the city of Kremenchug. However, Aleksey Arkhipovich did not stop there, and in the period from 1955 to 1957 he received a higher education as a fighter pilot, after which he began to fly in combat regiments.

Thanks to his perseverance, knowledge and physical training, in 1960, having passed a difficult selection competition, Leonov was enrolled in the first famous cosmonaut corps of the Soviet Union. After a three-year preparation, on the night of March 18-19, 1965, Alexei Arkhipovich, together with Pavel Belyaev, made his first space flight on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft, where he showed exceptional courage and courage. After this experience, Leonov became the deputy of the Soviet cosmonaut corps, and from 1967 to 1970 he took command of a group of specialists working on the lunar program.

The great pilot-cosmonaut - Leonov Alexei Arkhipovich for all his professional activity was awarded the Orders of Lenin and the Red Star more than once. In addition, he was repeatedly awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor of Bulgaria and the Republic of Vietnam, and he also became the owner of many other medals and orders from other countries.

Today Aleksey Arkhipovich works and lives in the city of Moscow together with his beloved wife Svetlana Pavlovna, from whom he had two daughters in 1961 and 1967 - Victoria and Oksana.

In March 1960, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, he was enrolled as a trainee-cosmonaut in the cosmonaut corps of the Cosmonaut Training Center (CTC) of the Air Force (first recruitment).

From April 1961 - cosmonaut of the cosmonaut department of the CPC.

Pilot-cosmonaut - co-author of the books "Perception of space and time in space" (1968), "Psychological features of interplanetary flight" (1975), "Solar wind" (1977), "Life among the stars" (1981), "Going out into space" ( 1984).

Alexey Leonov has four inventions and has written more than ten scientific papers.

He is a member of the United Russia party.

Alexei Leonov - twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1965, 1975), laureate of the USSR State Prize (1981), Lenin Komsomol Prize (1980). He was awarded two Orders of Lenin (1965, 1975), the Order of the Red Star (1961), the Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" III degree (1975), the Russian Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" IV degree (2000), the Order of Friendship ( 2011), medals.

Alexei Leonov was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class.

Among the awards of foreign states are the Gold Star medal of the Hero of Bulgaria, the Gold Star medal of the Hero of Labor of Vietnam, the German Order of Karl Marx, the Hungarian Order of the State Banner, the Syrian Order of Distinction, I degree.

He was also awarded the gold medal to them. K.E. Tsiolkovsky Academy of Sciences of the USSR, gold medal named after Yu.A. Gagarin, medals named after S.P. Queen and others.

Honorary citizen of about 40 cities in Russia and other countries of the world.

One of the craters on the Moon is named after him.

Kemerovo International Airport was named after Alexei Leonov. The Museum of Cosmonautics named after Alexei Leonov was opened here.

Alexey Leonov is married. His wife Svetlana worked as an editor of the editorial and publishing department of the CPC. Two daughters were born in the family - Victoria (1962-1996) and Oksana (1967).

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Cosmonaut: Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov (05/30/1934)

• 11th cosmonaut of the USSR (15th in the world)
• Flight duration (1965): 1 day 2 hours 2 minutes, call sign: Almaz-2
• Flight duration (1975): 5 days 22 hours 31 minutes, call sign: Soyuz-1.

The biography of cosmonaut Leonov originates in the small village of Listvyanka, Kemerovo region, where the Soviet pilot and cosmonaut was born on May 30, 1934. Alexey is the eighth child in the Leonov family. At the age of 19 he graduated from high school in the city of Kaliningrad. For the next two years, Alexey Arkhipovich is studying at the Military Aviation School of the city of Kremenchug. In 1957, Leonov became a graduate of the Chuguev Military Aviation School, after which he went to serve as a fighter pilot. In 1961, in addition to serving, Alexei also enrolled in VVIA them. Zhukovsky.

space training

In March 1960, Alexei Arkhipovich became a student-cosmonaut at the CTC. In the same year, space training (OKP) for a Soviet pilot began. In 1961, Alexei Leonov completed the OKP, passed the final exams with excellent marks and received the qualification of "Air Force cosmonaut". First, in 1963, Alexei Arkhipovich was being trained to fly on the Vostok-5 spacecraft as a reserve pilot, but already in 1964, Leonov was appointed to the role of the 2nd pilot of the crew of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft. As part of the program, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was scheduled to go into space.

During training, he made 12 flights on a Tu-104LL series aircraft and 6 flights on an Il-14, and also simulated an exit into open space using a model of the Voskhod ship.

First flight and spacewalk

On March 18, 1965, the Voskhod-2 spacecraft launched from the 1st site of Baikonur at 10 am Moscow time. After the ship was in Earth's orbit, the airlock began to inflate on the first orbit around the planet. The cosmonauts put on their spacesuits and Alexei Leonov was preparing to go into space. On the second orbit, the astronaut proceeded to the airlock. Pavel closed the hatch to the lock chamber and started its depressurization.

At the time of opening the outer hatch of the chamber, the spacecraft was flying over Egypt and had no connection with the USSR command center. Two minutes later, at 11:34:51, when the air left the chamber, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov followed him into space. Fastened to the ship with a five-meter cable, Alexei Arkhipovich retired into space five times and returned to the spacecraft. During the spacewalk, cosmonaut Leonov experienced disturbances in the body, the symptoms of which were tachycardia, twice as fast shallow breathing, elevated temperature (+38 ° C) and increased sweating. For these reasons, returning to the ship required great efforts from Alexei Leonov.

The astronaut was watched from outside by two television cameras installed on board the spacecraft. In addition, Aleksey Arkhipovich himself filmed with a special S-97 camera. Cosmonaut Belyaev followed his partner from the spacecraft, and he transmitted a message to Earth about the first man's exit into open space.

Leonov's return to the ship

After 12 minutes and 9 seconds of free flight, the cosmonaut began to return to the spacecraft. Aleksey Arkhipovich was supposed to enter the airlock "feet first", however, due to the heavily inflated spacesuit and the presence of a video camera in his hand, the astronaut had to enter "head first". After 23 minutes and 41 seconds in space, Alexei Leonov returned to the airlock and closed the hatch behind him. Despite the established rules, the astronaut opened the helmet of the suit before the airlock was filled with air to wipe his sweat-drenched eyes.

In the lock chamber, only one meter in diameter, the astronaut had to do a somersault in order to successfully return to the ship. Soon, according to the protocol, the lock chamber was shot. But due to temperature deformations, a gap was formed in the hatch, which led to depressurization. At this point, the system has automatically increased the amount of oxygen supplied. The outcome of the situation could be disastrous, since the increased amount of oxygen created a threat of explosion. However, being in a state of oxygen poisoning, Alexei Leonov accidentally changed the oxygen supply. Seven hours later, the astronauts fixed the leak and the percentage of oxygen on board the spacecraft began to drop.

Landing Voskhod-2

According to the established plan, the landing of the ship was supposed to take place automatically after the 17th orbit around the Earth, but the system failed, and after another revolution, the crew commander Pavel Belyaev decided to take control of the ship until it completely lost its course.

Since the crew seats were turned 90 degrees relative to the control panel, Belyaev had to unfasten himself from the seat. After adjusting the orientation and launching the spacecraft's braking propulsion system, the cosmonaut returned to his chair again. All of the above actions took Pavel Ivanovich 22 seconds, which is why the ship landed 75 kilometers from the planned landing site.

On March 19, the cosmonauts found themselves in the snowy taiga, two hundred kilometers from Perm. Four hours after landing, the crew was found by rescuers. However, the mission of the cosmonauts did not end there and they spent two more days in the taiga to clear a place for the helicopter to land. Not far from the place there was a wooden house in which the astronauts spent the night, and from which they got to the helicopter on skis on the last day.

Soviet cosmonauts were two and a half months ahead of the United States, after which astronaut Edward White conducted a spacewalk.

Upon returning home, on March 23, Alexei Leonov was awarded the Gold Star medal of the Hero of the USSR.

Second flight

On July 15, 1975, Alexei Arkhipovich began his second flight together with Valery Kubasov aboard the Soyuz-19 spacecraft as part of the ASTP program - a joint experimental flight of Apollo (USA) and Soyuz (USSR). Two days later, the Apollo spacecraft began rendezvous with the Soyuz spacecraft at a speed of about 0.25 m/s. The docking lasted three hours and at its end there was a handshake between two commanders - the Soviet cosmonaut Leonov and the American Stafford. Four transitions of cosmonauts between the ships were performed during the time they were in the docked state. Two days later, on July 19, the ships undocked, and on July 21, 1975, Alexei Leonov returned to Earth.

The next day, Alexei Arkhipovich, Major General of Aviation, was awarded the title of Hero of the USSR for the second time, for outstanding services to world cosmonautics. In March 1976, Leonov became the commander of the cosmonaut corps. In 1981, he graduated from the AAIA Zhukovsky postgraduate course and became a candidate of technical sciences. He was dismissed from the detachment in 1982, due to the appointment of the 1st deputy head of the CTC for space training, he worked at the CTC until 1991.

Future life

Since 1991, the man who made the first spacewalk, Alexei Leonov, has been working in senior positions in various companies, including Chetek-Cosmos, Vostok-Capital and SladCo. Since 1997 - Vice President of Alfa-Bank.

In addition to the championship in outer space, Alexey Arkhipovich is the author of four inventions and 10 scientific papers.

The name of cosmonaut Leonov is well known in our country and throughout the world. Alexei Leonov was the first in outer space to make a video, leaving In our article we will tell you how it was and why he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for performing such a seemingly simple task. We will also tell you why Sergei Korolev chose him for this mission. The biography of Alexei Leonov is the fate of an ordinary Soviet person from the simplest family.

Childhood

Alexey Leonov was born in 1934 in the Siberian village of Listvyanka, which is located in the Kemerovo region. A large family, in which he was the eighth child, was engaged in peasant labor. His father, a railway electrician from the Donbass, after the end of the civil war, moved to Siberia to his father, the grandfather of the future cosmonaut, and began working as a livestock specialist. Mother settled in these places earlier. The grandfather of Alexei Leonov was exiled to these places for participating in the revolutionary events of 1905.

The father of the future cosmonaut, Arkhip Leonov, an intelligent man and hard worker, won respect among his fellow villagers and was elected chairman of the village council. The wave of repression did not bypass this family either. Father was repressed in 1936, but in 1939 he was reinstated and fully acquitted.

Little is known about Alexei's parental family and childhood. Let's hope he leaves behind a detailed book of memories.

In 1938, Alexei's mother moved to Kemerovo. There, when he grew up, he went to school. The first grader was nine years old.

In 1948, the family moved to a permanent place of residence in a new, western region of the Soviet Union. Kaliningrad became the hometown for Alexei Arkhipovich. His relatives still live there today. In one of the squares in the central part of the city, a monument was erected in honor of the conquerors of space. The street bearing the name of cosmonaut Leonov originates from it.

Profession - fighter pilot

Alexei Leonov's interest in flying was not accidental. His older brother, Pyotr Arkhipovich, was a toolmaker, an excellent specialist in his field. He willingly shared his knowledge with Alyosha.

In addition to technology, Alexei Arkhipovich was fond of sports. He was engaged in fencing, cycling, javelin throwing and athletics. Has ranks. His interest in painting developed into a great talent.

Kaliningraders, personally acquainted with Alexei Arkhipovich, recall that he was a great guy - sociable, athletic, cheerful and kind.

Alexey Leonov received his first flight education in Kremenchug, at a flight school. Then he studied at the Chuguev Higher School of Fighter Pilots, after which, in the late fifties, he flew combat aircraft.

First detachment of astronauts

Sergei Korolev very carefully chose candidates for space flights. Alexey Leonov's track record, in addition to excellent performance from the duty station and excellent sports training, also included the landing of a MIG-15bis fighter aircraft in extreme conditions with a stalled engine. In the early sixties, he was accepted into the first, Gagarin, cosmonaut detachment, which consisted of twenty people.

Aleksey Leonov was perfectly prepared for the spacewalk. In addition to him, the cosmonaut corps included other, no less worthy candidates. These are Valery Bykovsky, and Pavel Popovich, and Viktor Gorbatko, and Vladimir Komarov, and Ivan Anikeev, and others. A total of 20 people. Technically, each of them could handle any simulated situation. S.P. Korolev chose Alexei Arkhipovich as the person who would be able to most accurately describe the impression of outer space. And I wasn't wrong.

Despite the fact that the preparations for the spacewalk were worked out many times and in detail on the ground, it turned out to be impossible to foresee everything.

Training took place in special chambers, where weightlessness was simulated. In accordance with the indicators of individual anatomy, as well as taking into account the air pressure inside the spacesuit and the expected external conditions, the spacesuits were designed separately for each astronaut.

It was not possible to accurately simulate all the conditions of an environment unusual for the inhabitants of the Earth in laboratory conditions. For this reason, the first astronauts were at great risk.

The truth about the flight - a taboo for the citizens of the USSR

Can be seen in the documentary, which includes fragments taken by him on camera. The picture painted by him looks very impressive. This is an exact image of the ship, and next to it, in a spacesuit, is Alexei Leonov. A photograph of the painting is presented in this article. I must say that in Soviet times only the elite could see this canvas. The small size of the ship compared to its two passengers looks more than just impressive. They make us look at the pioneers of space as people of great courage.

The details of this event were classified in Soviet times. The population of the country should not have known about the miscalculations or mistakes of domestic science and the imperfection of technology.

The picture, which depicts Alexei Leonov, who is in free flight, clearly shows: the dimensions of the ship are so small that two people can hardly fit in it. There is no free space. Yes, it, based on the tasks assigned to the astronauts and the time they were in flight, was not necessary.

First flight, photography

In 1965, the Soviet spacecraft Voskhod-2 flew around the Earth. The main goal was to test the capabilities of man and devices created on earth to perform work in an airless space. The crew of the ship - Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov.

Three years of pre-flight training and only 1 day, 2 hours, 2 minutes and 17 seconds of flight, and time in open space - 23 minutes and 41 seconds. Alexei Leonov's spacewalk was accompanied by a distance of 5.35 meters from the spacecraft. It lasted 12 minutes and 9 seconds. The astronaut was connected to the ship by a cable equipped with hooks and loops. Refastening the hooks helped to approach or move away from the spacecraft to the desired distance.

The main task that Alexei Leonov had to perform in space was photography with a video camera and a microphoto camera. The video turned out perfectly, as far as it was possible with the then state of the art. But it was not possible to take photographs from a microphotographic camera placed in a tiny, button-sized hole in the spacesuit. Due to deformation, I could not pick up the cable that served as a button for the camera, and the pneumatic pear that was put on its end came off while leaving the airlock. She clung to the manhole cover.

Surprise with a spacesuit

Alexei's space suit was not quite perfect. It was tested at the maximum possible difference in external and internal pressures, which can be simulated on Earth. It turned out to be too far from what takes place in space. The pressure inside the suit is 600 mm Hg. pillar, outside - 9 mm. As a result, he swelled up. The stiffening ribs and belts could not stand it. Legs and arms no longer reach the end of the sleeves and trousers. The suit has become an uncontrollable capsule in which a helpless person is imprisoned. the commander of the ship saw what was happening with Leonov's suit, but could not help in any way. Aleksey Arkhipovich estimated that for about an hour he had been breathing pure oxygen and that nitrogen, which was present in the respiratory mixture on the ship, should have been washed out of the blood by this time. He made the decision to release the pressure inside the suit. This is prohibited by the instructions, but he saw no other way out. If nitrogen remained in the blood, it would boil, which meant death. There was no nitrogen, and Alexey Arkhipovich, catching and unfastening the hooks of the cable, got to the hatch.

Acrobatics in the airlock

The size of the airlock compartment hatch was smaller than required for the dimensions of the astronaut, whose shoulder width in space uniforms is 68 cm. Since the hatch opens inward, and the airlock diameter is 1 m, it is impossible to turn around in it. In order for Aleksey Arkhipovich to fit into it and hermetically batten down the hatches, it was necessary either to reduce the size of the hatch cover or to reduce the lodgement. Simply increasing the size of the ship was not possible. Aleksey Leonov himself was in charge of maintaining the internal size of the lock. The exit into space and return to the ship, the most rational sequence of actions, were carefully verified and repeatedly practiced on simulators. But study is study, and reality did not stint on surprises.

The astronaut entered the hatch not with his feet, as suggested by a more ergonomic one, but with his head. To batten down the hatch, it was necessary to turn the torso 180 degrees. The task, taking into account the size of the astronaut and the tightness of the airlock, is extremely difficult. Alexey Arkhipovich later recalled that by the end of this acrobatics, his pulse rate was 200 beats per minute, and sweat flooded his eyes in a continuous stream. Now it was necessary to separate the airlock, and you can return home to Earth. But it turned out that it was too early to calm down.

After the separation of the airlock compartment, the ship began to rotate around its axis, and the pressure inside began to grow. The astronauts could only look at the instruments. It was impossible to stop the process. They reduced the temperature and humidity on board as much as possible. The pressure continued to rise. The slightest spark - and they, along with the ship, would have been torn into molecules. At some point, Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyaev passed out - either lost consciousness or fell asleep. Subsequently, when reading the instrument diagrams, it turned out that the pressure inside the ship, instead of the prescribed 160 atmospheres, reached the mark of 920 mm of mercury, after which it began to spontaneously decrease.

The fact is that the ship, which was in a static position for about an hour, was deformed. One side of it was heated by the Sun to +150 degrees Celsius, while the other, which was in the shade, cooled down to -140 degrees. As a result, the ship was closed leaky. Automation worked to compensate for oxygen leakage. In the end, the pressure became so high that it pressed down on the hatch cover from the inside. The sealing was restored, and the instruments received an appropriate signal to relieve excess pressure. A jet of air from the outside of the ship gave it a rotational motion.

To stop the rotation was, as they say, a matter of technique, that is, it was not difficult. There was another task ahead - landing.

freelance landing

It is believed that takeoff and landing are the most complex processes in the control of a spacecraft. "Voskhod-2" landed in manual control mode. Instead of the planned point near Kustanai, he plunged into the one and a half meter snow of the deaf Ural taiga, 200 km from Perm. The story of the rescue of astronauts from taiga captivity deserves a separate chapter. Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyaev spent two nights wrapping themselves in the skin torn from the inner surface of the ship, warming up by the fire, and Alexei Arkhipovich doing physical exercises, pulling himself up on the parachute lines caught on the tops of pine trees. They had a food supply - freeze-dried meat, chocolate, biscuits and cottage cheese with cherry juice.

After the astronauts were found, and this happened four hours after landing (this was helped by the bright orange dome of a kilometer-long parachute, the flight of which was seen by the inhabitants of the nearest settlements), they were thrown off warm clothes and food, but the rescuers could not get to the pilots. For evacuation, it was necessary to organize a place for landing a helicopter. A team of lumberjacks arrived with chainsaws and cleared the clearing.

Idol and faith

Alexei Leonov recalls that Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, the designer of Soviet spacecraft, the creator of the space industry in science and industry, a cynic, a pessimist and a skeptic who perceived the present and future life only in gloomy colors, was more than a father to the astronauts. He was their god.

I must say that in terms of reliability and safety, Soviet spacecraft significantly surpassed the ships of their competitors - the United States. Since the beginning of space exploration during training and flights, our country has lost five astronauts, while the Americans have buried 17 astronauts. The reason for our tragedies is the so-called human factor. The technology never failed.

Valentin Bondarenko died during tests for psychological stability in conditions of solitary existence. This happened at the Institute of Aviation and Space Medicine as a result of a fire in the pressure chamber. Vladimir Komarov died during landing - the parachute did not open. Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsaev died from depressurization of the ship during landing.

Failed flight

The second flight of Alexei Leonov was to take place in June 1961. The crew consisted of three cosmonauts - Alexei Leonov, Valery Kubasov and Pyotr Kolodin. Shortly before the scheduled launch day, the medical commission found that Valery had a small one. It was decided to send a backup crew. For the first it was a tragedy: Peter never flew into space, but for the understudies it was a lucky break. The flight program was executed brilliantly. During entry into the atmosphere there was a disaster. The astronauts accidentally opened the containment valve.

The ship made a soft landing in the planned area, but people could not be saved. They were Victor Patsaev, Vladislav Volkov and Georgy Dobrovolsky.

Second flight

Alexei Leonov has been in space twice. The first flight took place in March 1965. Alexei Leonov went into outer space once. His assessment is that one can live and work in space.

The second time he visited there was in July 1976. Work in orbit continued for 5 days, 22 hours, 30 minutes and 51 seconds. It was an international project. The goal is the docking of modules and scientific experiments. The Soviet Soyuz-19 flew into space with Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov and the American Apollo with three astronauts - Thomas Stafford, Donald Slayton and Vance Brand.

Painter's talent

Thanks to the artistic talent of the astronaut, all of humanity was able to find out what the world looks like outside the earth's atmosphere, because at that time images in space were obtained only in black and white. Until now, space photography presents certain difficulties. This is due to other than on Earth, the requirements for the resolution of optics, a kind of propagation of light rays, a different refraction.

The uniqueness of the artist Alexei Leonov is that he reproduced the technical features of space technology and the astronaut's suit on his canvases with engineering accuracy. And the sharp look of the painter determined what shades of the spectrum are present in cosmic landscapes.

Alexey Arkhipovich participated in the creation of postage stamps on the theme of space. On each of them - the present and the future of astronautics. They are very interesting to look at. Take a look at the photo. Alexei Leonov can be ranked among the realists who are able to foresee the future, because what he depicted did not exist in those years.

Life in the Earth

Alexei Arkhipovich flew into space twice. He was awarded two orders of Lenin and the Red Star, medals of our country and abroad, and is an honorary citizen of thirty Russian and foreign cities.

One of the lunar craters bears his name, as well as the planet of the constellation Libra.

Alexei Leonov, Major General of the Reserve Aviation, devoted his entire life to space. He graduated from the Air Force Engineering Academy. N. E. Zhukovsky, including postgraduate studies. Aleksey Arkhipovich has been training cosmonauts and developing space equipment for a long time. He owns research in the field of visual perception of color and light characteristics after space flight, the perception of space and time in space, the psychological problems of interplanetary flight, as well as other scientific and experimental work.

He is married and has a daughter and two grandchildren.

Beginning of the third millennium

Currently, cosmonaut Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov lives in Moscow. Last year, 2014, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin presented him with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree. This was how the 80th anniversary of the cosmonaut was celebrated, who all his life worked hard and fruitfully for the good of his Motherland. He will forever remain in our memory as a man who made a huge contribution to space exploration and science, and as an artist who showed people the world beyond the earth's atmosphere. The person by whose example it is possible and necessary to educate the younger generation is, of course, Aleksey Leonov. His biography is incredibly interesting. You can read about his space epic in the book by A. S. Eliseev “Life is a drop in the ocean”. Several documentaries have also been made about him.

Arkhipovich was born in a small Siberian village on May 30, 1934 and became the ninth child in the family. His father was a very respected person in the village, so he was elected chairman of the village council. When the boy was thirteen years old, his entire family moved to the city of Kaliningrad in connection with the occupation of the head of the family. Interest in the young man arose while studying at school. Then he gained basic knowledge in such disciplines as the theory of flight and the design of aircraft. After graduating from high school in 1953 with good grades, Leonov entered the Kremenchug Pilot School without any problems. In addition to her, he also received knowledge at a higher school, which was located in Chuguev and trained fighter pilots. In 1960, Alexei Arkhipovich, after going through a long and tough selection, entered the cosmonaut corps.

Conquest of outer space

March 1965 marks a special flight in the history of Soviet and world cosmonautics. Then the cosmonaut Leonov was in the role of the co-pilot of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft (the first was P.I. Belyaev). During this flight, a man was in outer space for the first time. He spent 12 minutes and 9 seconds at a distance of five meters from the ship. Aleksey Arkhipovich Leonov is the cosmonaut who accomplished this, thereby laying the foundation for the newest round of human space activity. His career skyrocketed after that. During the period from 1967 to 1970, he even led a group that prepared for

First Soviet-American flight

In the first months of 1973, the Soviet Academy of Sciences, together with NASA, began training personnel for the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft. Applicants had to be well versed in space technology, know foreign languages, have high qualifications and professionalism. Cosmonaut Leonov was appointed commander of the domestic spacecraft. The joint flight, which lasted more than five days, aroused great interest around the world. During its implementation, for the first time, the Soviet docked with the American. In addition, the astronauts conducted many important biomedical, astrophysical and technological experiments.

Contribution to the development of world cosmonautics

Cosmonaut Leonov during his work made a huge contribution to the development of not only Soviet, but also world cosmonautics. In particular, he carried out a large number of experiments and studies. Among them, it should be noted the study of color and light visual characteristics after space flights, the development of a spacesuit for working in the hydrosphere, the possibility of using the hydrosphere as an analogue of weightlessness. Moreover, he owns more than thirty speeches at various conferences and congresses. Alexei Leonov is a cosmonaut who has many state awards for his work. In 1965 and 1975 he was awarded the title. One of the lunar craters bears his name. Between 1985 and 1999, he was one of the chairmen of the International Association of Space Flight Participants. He retired with the rank of Major General of Aviation. Now he lives and works in Moscow.