4 thoughts on “Leonov”

  1. When the you know what hit the fan I always had the feeling there could be nobody better to have on your crew than Leonov. Ad Astra.

  2. R.I.P. to one of the genuine pioneers of human spaceflight. His first spacewalk during Voshkod 2 is well known for its “tense moment” of difficulty in his getting back into the airlock. Well, it was more than a tense moment, and wasn’t the last of the flight.

    https://www.airspacemag.com/space/the-nightmare-of-voskhod-2-8655378/

    Yet he went through it all with equanimity. The Soviets didn’t disregard cosmonaut safety, and in fact went to the greatest lengths they could to ensure it consistent with both their technology, their budget, and political pressure to fly. The last time cosmonauts lost an argument was being forced to fly three people in Soyuz without space suits. The Soyuz 11 depressurization accident ended that, along with the crazy political pressure-induced decisions to take unnecessary risk.

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