Voskhod-2 achieves the world's first spacewalk (original) (raw)
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Voskhod-2 achieves the world's first spacewalk
Articles by Anatoly Zak | Editor: Alain Chabot
On March 18, 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov exited the Voskhod-2 spacecraft, becoming the first person to float in open space protected only by a spacesuit. After several minutes outside culminated with a struggle to get back through the airlock, Leonov managed to re-join the mission commander Pavel Belyaev in the pressurized cabin.
Previous chapter: Voskhod mission
Mission of Voskhod-2 spacecraft at a glance:
| Spacecraft designation | Voskhod-2 |
|---|---|
| Crew | Pavel Belyaev, Aleksei Leonov |
| Launch date and time | 1965 March 18 |
| Launch site |
PREPARING VOSKHOD-2 MISSION
Roots of the Voskhod-2 mission
A plan to send Soviet cosmonaut to walk outside the spacecraft was conceived as part of the original Voskhod program formally approved by the Soviet government in March 1964. Obviously, the mission would have a tremendous political and historic significance but it would also be critical from the engineering standpoint.
Design of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft
The main difference of Voskhod-2 from the original Voskhod was an inflatable airlock dubbed Volga. All previous engineering attempts to fit a hard-body structure into the payload fairing envelope were unsuccessful.
During the historic mission of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft in March 1965, both of its crew members were wearing Berkut spacesuits. In combination with a removable life-support backpack, KP-55, Berkut was designed for short spacewalks, but, when plugged into the onboard life-support system, the suit could also protect cosmonauts in a depressurized spacecraft.
Training for the Voskhod-2 mission
Key to the success of the Voskhod-2 mission would be training cosmonauts for all phases of the unprecedented flight and for numerous contingency situations. Officially, the crews were in training for the Voskhod-2 flight from August 14, 1964, until March 7, 1965.
Before the Voskhod-2 spacecraft could be launched, its creators had to fly at least one placeless test mission. For that purpose, the 3KD No. 1 spacecraft was launched on Feb. 22, 1965. It was announced as Kosmos-57. The mission started successfully but concluded with a bang.
FLIGHT OF VOSKHOD-2
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The Voskhod-2 spacecraft with Pavel Belyaev and Aleksei Leonov onboard lifted off on March 18, 1965.
Leonov conducts the world's first spacewalk
During the second orbit of the Voskhod-2 mission, Aleksei Leonov exited the Voskhod-2 spacecraft, becoming the first person to float in open space protected only by a spacesuit. After several minutes outside culminated with a struggle to get back through the airlock, Leonov managed to re-join the mission commander Pavel Belyaev in the pressurized cabin.
After the historic first spacewalk, the incredible adventure of the Voskhod-2 mission was only beginning. The crew then experienced a series of mishaps, culminating with a manual reentry and the landing in the frozen taiga.
NEXT CHAPTER: SOYUZ 7K-OK PROJECT
Articles, photos and illustrations by Anatoly Zak unless credited otherwise. All rights reserved
Last update:March 20, 2020