Voskhod 2

Voskhod 2 was a Soviet manned space mission. It set another space milestone as one of the cosmonauts on board became the first person to "walk in space".

Mission Highlights

The Voskhod spacecraft was fitted with a special inflatable airlock that was extended once it had reached orbit. Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov donned a space suit and ventured outside the craft while the other member of the two-person crew, Pavel Belyayev remained inside. Leonov began his spacewalk 90 minutes into the mission at the end of the first orbit. The spacewalk lasted 20 minutes from 08:30 UTC to 08:50 UTC. It began over north central Africa (near northern Sudan/southern Egypt) and ended over eastern Siberia.

Related Topics:
Voskhod spacecraft - Airlock - Aleksei Leonov - Space suit - Pavel Belyayev

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The Voskhod 2 spacecraft is basically a Vostok spacecraft that has had a backup, solid fuel retro rocket, added to the top of the descent module. The ejection seat was removed and two crew couches were added to the interior at a 90 degree angle to that of the Vostok crew position. An inflatable exterior airlock was also added to the descent module opposite the entry hatch. After use, the airlock was jettisoned. There was no provision for crew escape in the event of a launch or landing emergency. A solid fuel braking rocket was also added to the parachute lines to provide for a softer landing at touchdown. This was necessary because, unlike the Vostok, the crew lands with the Voskhod descent module.

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Despite this spectacular feat, the mission was plagued with problems. After his ten minutes outside the Voskhod, Leonov found that his suit had stiffened to the point where he could not re-enter the airlock. Leonov worked around this by allowing some of his suit's pressure to bleed off, making it easier for him to bend the joints. After coming back inside, there were problems with sealing the hatch properly, and this was followed by a troublesome re-entry, when like some earlier Vostok spacecraft, the Voskhod's descent module did not separate cleanly. Finally, the crew landed in an inhospitable and heavily-wooded part of the Ural Mountains and spent a night surrounded by wolves while waiting for their recovery team.

Related Topics:
Re-entry - Vostok - Ural Mountains

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General Kamanin's diary later gave the landing location of the Voskhod 2, "Saransk" (ball), as: "54 deg 12 min North, 45 deg 10 min East." Also according to General Kamanin's diary, a commander of one of the search helicopters reported finding Voskhod 2, "On the forest road between the villages of Sorokovaya and Shchuchino, about 30 kilometers southwest of the town of Berezniki, I see the red parachute and the two cosmonauts. there is deep snow all around....."

Related Topics:
Sorokovaya - Shchuchino - Berezniki

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