Alexei Leonov conducted the first spacewalk in history during the Voskhod 2 mission on the 18th of March 1965. He spent 12 minutes and 9 seconds outside the spacecraft, tethered by a 5.35-meter umbilicus, while his crewmate Pavel Belyayev remained inside.
What problems did Alexei Leonov face during his spacewalk on Voskhod 2?
Leonov's Berkut spacesuit ballooned in the vacuum of space, making it impossible to reach his camera shutter switch and preventing him from re-entering the airlock normally. He bled suit pressure below safety limits to bend his joints enough to get back inside, risking decompression sickness, and doctors later found his core body temperature had risen 1.8 degrees Celsius in 20 minutes.
Where did Voskhod 2 land and why did it miss its target?
Voskhod 2 landed approximately 386 kilometers from its intended landing site, coming down in the forests of the Upper Kama Upland west of Solikamsk in the Perm region of Russia. The automatic landing system failed, and a 46-second delay in the crew returning to their seats to correct the ship's center of mass before reentry caused the overshoot.
How long were Leonov and Belyayev stranded in the forest after Voskhod 2 landed?
Leonov and Belyayev spent three days and two nights in the forest before being recovered. Helicopters could not land in the dense taiga, and temperatures dropped to -30 degrees Celsius at night. The two men were eventually rescued by a ski party and skied 9 kilometers to reach a waiting helicopter.
What was the Volga airlock on Voskhod 2 and why was it needed?
The Volga was an inflatable airlock designed, built, and tested in nine months in mid-1964, attached to the outside of Voskhod 2. It was required because the capsule's vacuum-tube avionics needed a constant atmosphere for cooling, so the cabin could not be depressurised for an EVA without destroying the electronics. The Volga had a deployed length of 2.5 meters and an internal volume of 2.50 cubic meters.
What safety equipment did Voskhod 2 carry in case of a landing emergency?
Voskhod 2 carried a survival kit that included a knife and a pistol. There was no provision for crew bailout during launch or landing. The experience of Leonov and Belyayev stranded in the Ural forest later drove the development of the dedicated TP-82 Cosmonaut survival pistol.