I met him in 2003 in the UK when he was doing a lecture tour. His colleague was translating into English for us, and every now and then they'd rattle away between themselves in Russian, causing my friend's wife to giggle.
After the talk they did a photo session, and she spoke to them. "You have an interesting accent, where you from?" Asked one of them in Russian. "Siberia..."
Apparently they'd been jesting all the way through: "You can't tell them that...", "You watch me..."
Leonov was an aspiring artist as well as a cosmonaut. I remember standing in awe for some minutes when I first saw his sketch from Voskhod 2[1] a couple of decades ago.
He also wrote and illustrated I Walk in Space, a Soviet children's book that fortunately has an English translation[2].
Imagine yourself alone in space, unable to get back into the space station....having to open up your spacesuit to bleed air ... His Balls were made of steel. RIP Alexei Leonov:
"Connected to the Voskhod by an 18-foot-long tether, Leonov spent 12 minutes floating outside before struggling to get back inside his spacecraft. In the vacuum of space, his suit had ballooned to the point that it would not fit through the hatch. After opening a valve to bleed off pressure, Leonov finally managed to squeeze back inside.
Given the state of Soviet engineering at that time along with the pressure to get a spacewalk before the Americans, I can't help but believe that the probability that Leonov would not come home must have been huge and yet, he did his job. As an American, I have tremendous respect for our astronauts in that era but that respect is certainly earned by the Soviet men and women who went into space.
The state of Soviet engineering in space industry was noticeably different from an average level in the country. The resources going to space industry were also rather big; not on the level of Apollo, but still enough to make best minds of the country help solving fresh problems. The risks were huge, but there were also understanding of that, and a lot of efforts to counter the unwanted possibilities.
Tbh, even until the 90s, even as safe as you can make spaceships, going into space is one hell of a risk. When things go wrong, no one can save you really. Now being the first perhaps takes an extra guts, and I can agree with that.
There are always risks when engaging in hazardous endeavors. The shuttles were designed (mostly) using solid, engineering principles with a fundamental goal of minimizing risks to human life. The Challenger explosion wasn't a failure of engineering, rather, it was a political decision to launch overriding engineer's insistence that it wasn't safe. Similarly, the Columbia disaster, caused by heat shield tiles falling off, was again, a political decision. It was known that the tiles weren't adhering correctly and, rather than correct the problem, NASA decided to proceed because they were under pressure to go.
Who knows? Failure analysis is, by its nature, one of hindsight. Unless failures occur, there isn't any way to assess what other issues might there have been.
They certainly deserve respect. Many of those involved were under immense pressure to succeed. The state pretty much threatened their families’ wellbeing if certain things were not achieved.
Met him about ten years ago while we were both in the hospital. He kept saying in heavily accented English to anyone who came within 15 feet, “first in space!”
Edit: ten years, not fifteen. Who can keep track anyway?
Sorry, but I am going to call this a pile of BS. Do you really have any proof of this? I am really surprised that you are upvoted on this, considering that on HN everyone requires proof of some sort (most of the time).
One of his latest interviews was with EuroNews in 2017 (https://youtu.be/2qEM6Unzsm4), and he sounded very impressive for his age, in comparison with what you are trying to convey.
And I am sure (judging from his multiple interviews), he could keep track of his time much better than you are anyways.
P.S @kingkawn - do you have any interviews/profiles with any major news companies to prove your creds for verification to substantiate your claims?
"If the minimization of risks becomes the main goal of a scientist, engineer, or a government official, there will be no progress and everything will just stand still".
Said the guy who almost died and had to bleed off pressure from his spacesuit into space to get back into the airlock. Godspeed, Alexei Arkhipovich, may the ground be as light as a feather, as they say in Russia.
After the talk they did a photo session, and she spoke to them. "You have an interesting accent, where you from?" Asked one of them in Russian. "Siberia..."
Apparently they'd been jesting all the way through: "You can't tell them that...", "You watch me..."
RIP Alexei, space hero and nice guy as well.