Alexey Leonov
Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov (Russian: Алексе́й Архи́пович Лео́нов) born 30 May 1934 in Listvyanka, Kemerovo Oblast, Soviet Union) is a retired Soviet/Russian cosmonaut and Air Force Major General who, on 18 March 1965, became the first human to conduct an extra-vehicular activity (EVA) also known as a space walk. Leonov was one of the twenty Soviet Air Force pilots selected to be part of the first cosmonaut group in 1960. Like all the Soviet cosmonauts Leonov was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. His walk in space was originally to have taken place on the Vostok 11 mission, but this was cancelled, and the historic event happened on the Voskhod 2 flight instead. He was outside the spacecraft for 12 minutes and nine seconds on 18 March 1965, connected to the craft by a 5.35 meter tether. At the end of the spacewalk, Leonov\'s spacesuit had inflated in the vacuum of space to the point where he could not re-enter the airlock. He opened a valve to allow some of the suit\'s pressure to bleed off, and was barely able to get back inside the capsule. Leonov had spent some eighteen months undergoing intensive weightlessness training for the mission.
As of November 2011, Leonov is the last survivor of the five cosmonauts in the Voskhod program.
Spaceflights
No. Mission Position Time Duration
1 Voskhod 2 Second Pilot 18.03. - 19.03.1965 1d 02h 02m
2 Soyuz 19 Commander 15.07. - 21.07.1975 5d 22h 30m
Total 7d 00h 32m
EVA
No. Date Together with Time Main tasks and notes
1 18.03.1965 0h 12m
First USSR EVA
