The first spacewalk
An evening pause: Forty-six years ago today Alexei Leonov became the first man to walk in space. This Soviet-era film shows practically the entire event, using footage from two cameras. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Russian and it is not subtitled. I’d love it if someone out there could provide a translation.
Several things to note as you watch:
- For this mission, the Soviet engineers built an inflatable airlock that they attached to the Voskhod space capsule. You can see Leonov climb through it at the start of the spacewalk, and pop out of it as he enters space.
- As soon as he enters space note the puffy state of his gloves, arms, and suit. It is very obvious that the spacesuit has expanded in the vacuum of space. This becomes very important at the end of the spacewalk.
- The footage shows practically everything that happened during the spacewalk — until the end. At this point Leonov’s puffy suit made it difficult for him to get back inside the airlock. It took him about eight minutes to force his way through, and he had to partly depressurize his suit to do it! Not surprisingly, this Soviet-era film does not show these difficulties. In fact, it appears that they used a clip of him going out of the airlock, pretending it was a shot of him going back in.
- After the spacewalk the footage shows Leonov in the capsule sketching. In truth, he is a talented artist.
- Finally, the footage in the forests after landing shows another less well-known story: when they returned to Earth their spacecraft missed its planned landing spot and ended up in the remote dense forests of the Ural Mountains. Leonov, and his partner Pavel Belyaev had to wait for two days in the snow-covered forest while helicopters dropped them supplies and skiers chopped open a field so that a rescue helicopter could land.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
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You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
An evening pause: Forty-six years ago today Alexei Leonov became the first man to walk in space. This Soviet-era film shows practically the entire event, using footage from two cameras. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Russian and it is not subtitled. I’d love it if someone out there could provide a translation.
Several things to note as you watch:
- For this mission, the Soviet engineers built an inflatable airlock that they attached to the Voskhod space capsule. You can see Leonov climb through it at the start of the spacewalk, and pop out of it as he enters space.
- As soon as he enters space note the puffy state of his gloves, arms, and suit. It is very obvious that the spacesuit has expanded in the vacuum of space. This becomes very important at the end of the spacewalk.
- The footage shows practically everything that happened during the spacewalk — until the end. At this point Leonov’s puffy suit made it difficult for him to get back inside the airlock. It took him about eight minutes to force his way through, and he had to partly depressurize his suit to do it! Not surprisingly, this Soviet-era film does not show these difficulties. In fact, it appears that they used a clip of him going out of the airlock, pretending it was a shot of him going back in.
- After the spacewalk the footage shows Leonov in the capsule sketching. In truth, he is a talented artist.
- Finally, the footage in the forests after landing shows another less well-known story: when they returned to Earth their spacecraft missed its planned landing spot and ended up in the remote dense forests of the Ural Mountains. Leonov, and his partner Pavel Belyaev had to wait for two days in the snow-covered forest while helicopters dropped them supplies and skiers chopped open a field so that a rescue helicopter could land.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
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