View source for Biography:Alexey Leonov

{{Infobox astronaut
| name        = Alexey Leonov
| image       = File:Aleksey Leonov ASTP - cropped.jpg
| caption     = Alexey Leonov in April 1974
| type        = [[Astronomy:Soviet space program|Soviet]] cosmonaut
| nationality = Soviet, Russian
| status      = Retired
|birth_name=Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1934|5|30|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Listvyanka, West Siberian Krai, [[Place:Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]], [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]]
| occupation  = Fighter pilot, [[Astronaut|Cosmonaut]]
| rank        = Major General, {{wipe|Soviet Air Force}}
| selection   = Air Force Group 1
| eva1        = 1
| eva2        = 12 minutes, 9 seconds
| time        = 7d 00h 32 m
| mission     = [[Astronomy:Voskhod 2|Voskhod 2]], Soyuz 19/ASTP
| insignia    =  [[File:ASTP-patch.png|40px]]
| awards      = {{Hero of the Soviet Union}} {{Hero of the Soviet Union}}
* Order of Lenin (2)
* Order For Merit to the Fatherland, 4th class
* Order of Friendship
* {{nobr|Order of the Red Star}}
|}}
{{Soviet space program sidebar}}
'''Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov''' ({{lang-rus|Алексе́й Архи́пович Лео́нов|p=ɐlʲɪˈksʲej ɐˈrxʲipəvʲɪtɕ lʲɪˈonəf}}; born 30 May 1934) is a retired [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet]]/Russian [[Astronaut|cosmonaut]], {{wipe|Soviet Air Forces}} Major general, writer and artist. On 18 March 1965, he became the first human to conduct [[Astronomy:Extravehicular activity|extravehicular activity]] (EVA), exiting the capsule during the [[Astronomy:Voskhod 2|Voskhod 2]] mission for a 12-minute spacewalk.

==Biography==
[[File:RIAN archive 888102 Soviet cosmonauts.jpg|left|thumb|Alexey Leonov (left, back row) with fellow cosmonauts in 1965]]
Leonov was born in Listvyanka, West Siberian Krai, [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]]. He was one of the 20 {{wipe|Soviet Air Force}} pilots selected to be part of the first cosmonaut group in 1960. Leonov was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (the only cosmonaut that was not was [[Biography:Konstantin Feoktistov|Konstantin Feoktistov]]). His walk in space was originally to have taken place on the [[Astronomy:Voskhod 1|Voskhod 1]] mission, but this was cancelled, and the historic event happened on the [[Astronomy:Voskhod 2|Voskhod 2]] flight instead.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Russia's Cosmonauts:  Inside the Yuri Gagarin|last=Hall|first=Rex|last2=Shayler|first2=David|last3=Vis|first3=Bert|publisher=Praxis|year=2005|isbn=0-387-21894-7|location=Chichester, UK|pages=332–3}}</ref> He was outside the spacecraft for 12 minutes and nine seconds on 18 March 1965, connected to the craft by a 5.35-meter tether. At the end of the spacewalk, Leonov's spacesuit had inflated in the vacuum of space to the point where he could not re-enter the airlock. He opened a valve to allow some of the suit's pressure to bleed off and was barely able to get back inside the capsule.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/50-years-ago-the-first-spacewalk-nearly-ended-in-trage-1692303108|title=50 Years Ago, The First Spacewalk Nearly Ended In Tragedy|first=Mika|last=McKinnon|website=Gizmodo.com|accessdate=28 January 2018}}</ref> Leonov had spent eighteen months undergoing intensive  [[Physics:Weightlessness|weightlessness]] training for the mission.
As of March 2017, Leonov is the last survivor of the five cosmonauts in the [[Astronomy:Voskhod programme|Voskhod programme]].

In 1968, Leonov was selected to be commander of a circumlunar [[Engineering:Soyuz 7K-L1|Soyuz 7K-L1]] flight. This was cancelled because of delays in achieving a reliable circumlunar flight (only the later [[Astronomy:Zond 7|Zond 7]] and [[Astronomy:Zond 8|Zond 8]] members of the programme were successful) and the [[Engineering:Apollo 8|Apollo 8]] mission had already achieved that step in the [[Astronomy:Space Race|Space Race]] with the United States gaining that prestige first. He was also selected to be the first Soviet person to land on the Moon, aboard the LOK/[[Engineering:N1 (rocket)|N1]] spacecraft.<ref name=":0" /> This project was also cancelled. (The design required a spacewalk between lunar vehicles, something that contributed to his selection.)  Leonov was to have been commander of the 1971 [[Engineering:Soyuz 11|Soyuz 11]] mission to [[Engineering:Salyut 1|Salyut 1]], the first manned space station, but his crew was replaced with the backup after one of the members, cosmonaut [[Biography:Valery Kubasov|Valery Kubasov]], was suspected to have contracted [[Medicine:Tuberculosis|tuberculosis]] (the other member was [[Biography:Pyotr Kolodin|Pyotr Kolodin]]).

Leonov was to have commanded the next mission to [[Engineering:Salyut 1|Salyut 1]]<ref name="astronautcentral.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautcentral.com/LEONOV/AlexeiLeonov.html|title=Alexei Leonov Biography|website=Astronautcentral.com|accessdate=28 January 2018}}</ref>, but this was scrapped after the deaths of the [[Engineering:Soyuz 11|Soyuz 11]] crew members, and the space station was lost. The next two Salyuts (actually the military [[Astronomy:Almaz|Almaz]] station) were lost at launch or failed soon after, and Leonov's crew stood by. By the time [[Engineering:Salyut 4|Salyut 4]] reached orbit, Leonov had been switched to a more prestigious project.

Leonov's second trip into space was similarly significant: he commanded the Soviet half of the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission&nbsp;– Soyuz 19&nbsp;– the first joint space mission between the Soviet Union and the United States.

From 1976 to 1982, Leonov was the commander of the cosmonaut team ("Chief Cosmonaut") and deputy director of the [[Company:Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center|Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center]], where he oversaw crew training. He also edited the cosmonaut newsletter ''Neptune''. He retired in 1992.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Aleksei Leonov - Near the Moon.jpg|thumb|Leonov's painting ''Near the Moon'' (1967)]]
Leonov is an accomplished artist whose published books include albums of his artistic works and works he did in collaboration with his friend Andrei Sokolov. Leonov took coloured pencils and paper into space, where he sketched the Earth and drew portraits of the Apollo astronauts who flew with him during the [[Engineering:Apollo–Soyuz Test Project|Apollo–Soyuz Test Project]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iaaa.org/gallery/rudaux/ |title=Alexei Leonov: winner of the 2005 IAAA Lucien Rudaux Memorial Award |accessdate=2007-07-02 | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070701235359/http://www.iaaa.org/gallery/rudaux/| archivedate= 1 July 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name="astronautcentral.com"/>
[[Biography:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]] wrote in his notes to ''2010: Odyssey Two'' that, after a 1968 screening of ''2001: A Space Odyssey'', Leonov pointed out to him that the alignment of the Moon, Earth, and Sun shown in the opening is essentially the same as that in Leonov's 1967 painting ''[[:File:Aleksei Leonov - Near the Moon.jpg|Near the Moon]]'', although the painting's diagonal framing of the scene was not replicated in the film.
Clarke kept an autographed sketch of this painting—which Leonov made after the screening—hanging on his office wall.<ref>Clarke, ''2010: Odyssey Two'', Author's Note, pp. xvii-xviii. Clarke describes the painting itself on page 76 of the initial hardback edition. ({{ISBN|0-345-41397-0}})</ref>

Together with Valentin Selivanov, Leonov wrote the script for the 1980 science fiction film ''The Orion Loop''.

<!-- Currently, he chairs an investment corporation in [[Place:Moscow|Moscow]]. -->
In 2001, he was a vice president of Moscow-based Alfa-Bank and an adviser to the first deputy of the Board.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alfa-bank.com/media/news/2001/02/23/ |title=Aleksei Leonov and Alexander Gafin become members of the American Pushkin Academy of Art |accessdate=2007-07-08 |format= |date=2001-02-23 |work= }}
</ref>

In 2004, Leonov and former American astronaut [[Biography:David Scott|David Scott]] began work on a dual biography/history of the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Titled ''Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race'', it was published in 2006. Neil Armstrong and [[Biography:Tom Hanks|Tom Hanks]] both wrote introductions to the book.

Leonov was also a contributor to the 2007 book ''Into That Silent Sea'' by Colin Burgess and Francis French, which describes his life and career in [[Astronomy:Space exploration|space exploration]].

==Honours and awards==
 <!--most entries are not cited-->
*Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (23 March 1965; 22 July 1975)<ref name=":0" />
*[[Biography:Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR|Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR]] (1966)<ref name=":0" />
*Order for Merit to the Fatherland, 4th class (2 March 2000) - for his contribution to the state in the development of manned space flight
*Order of Friendship (12 April 2011) - for outstanding contribution to the development of the national manned space flight and many years of fruitful social activities
*Two Orders of Lenin
*Order of the Red Star
*Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR, 3rd class
*Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"
*Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
*Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
*Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
*Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
*Medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
*Medals "For Impeccable Service", 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes
*USSR State Prize (1981) (with AV Filipchenko)
*Lenin Komsomol Prize (1979) - for the book-album "Man and the Universe" (with AK Sokolov)
*Honoured Master of Sport of the USSR (1965)

'''Foreign awards'''
*Hero of Socialist Labour (People's Republic of Bulgaria, 1965)
*Hero of Vietnam
*Hero of Labour (Democratic Republic of Vietnam, 1966)
*Order of Karl Marx (German Democratic Republic, 1966)
*Order of Georgi Dimitrov (People's Republic of Bulgaria)
*Order of the Banner of the Hungarian People's Republic
*Order of Merit, 3rd class (Ukraine, 12 April 2011) - for his significant personal contribution to the development of space industry, advances in the creation and implementation of space systems and technologies, professional excellence
* Medal A. Becker.
* Order "For Merit", 1st class (Syria, 1966)

'''Public organizations'''
*"Gold Medal partisan" (Italy, 1967)
*International Air & Space Hall of Fame inductee (2000)<ref>Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-57864-397-4}}.</ref>
*Ludwig Nobel Prize (2007)
*[[Engineering:Elmer A. Sperry Award|Elmer A. Sperry Award]] (USA, 2008)
*Order of Saint Constantine the Great (Union of the Golden Knights of the Order of St. Constantine the Great)
*Order "Golden Star" (Foundation Heroes of the Soviet Union and Heroes of the Russian Federation together with the organizing committee of the International Forum "The potential of the nation").
*Order the "Pride of Russia" (Foundation for the "Pride of the Fatherland", 2007).
*National Award "To the glory of the Fatherland" in the "Glory to Russia" (International Academy of Social Sciences and International Academy of patronage, 2008).
*Order "the glory of the Fatherland", 2nd class (2008)

'''Other awards and titles'''
*Honorary Citizen of: Belgorod, Vologda, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kemerovo, Nalchik, [[Earth:Perm|Perm]]; Arkalyk (Kazakhstan), Kremenchug (Ukraine), [[Place:Veliko Tarnovo|Veliko Tarnovo]], [[Place:Vidin|Vidin]], Svishtov (Bulgaria), Usti nad Labem (Czech Republic), San Antonio (Chile)
*Reward edged weapon&nbsp;— a nominal officer Dirk "Alexei Leonov"
*Commander of the Order of St. Anne III degree from the head of the Russian Imperial House Maria Vladimirovna Romanova (2008)
*Commander of the Order of St. Anne II degree from the head of the Russian Imperial House Maria Vladimirovna Romanova (2011)
*Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts

==Legacy==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Leonov Moscow.jpeg|thumb|right|Monument of Alexey Leonov on Cosmonauts Alley in Moscow.]] -->
[[File:Anton Shkaplerov and Alexei Leonov October 2011.jpg|thumb|right|Alexey Leonov (right) shares a moment with Anton Shkaplerov (left) in October 2011.]]

*A [[Astronomy:Leonov (crater)|crater]] on the far side of the moon was named after Leonov in 1970,<ref>[https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3352 Leonov], Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)</ref> near [[Astronomy:Mare Moscoviense|Mare Moscoviense]] (''Sea of Moscow'').
*[[Biography:Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur C. Clarke]]'s novel ''2010: Odyssey Two'' was dedicated to Leonov and [[Biography:Andrei Sakharov|Andrei Sakharov]]; the fictional spaceship ''Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov'' in the book was named after him.
*Leonov wore a Russian Poljot "FMWF Strela" watch (a transliteration of СТРЕЛА, which actually means "Arrow") chronograph during his historic first space walk.
*At an Apollo-Soyuz Test Project press conference, Leonov stated (in English) that, while in the United States for ASTP training, he wanted to visit Hollywood, because he had aspirations of being a [[Social:Actor|movie star]]. (He then joked, "I don't want [to be a movie star]&nbsp;... Tom Stafford want!")
*Leonov, along with [[Biography:Rusty Schweickart|Rusty Schweickart]], [[Biography:Vitaly Sevastyanov|Vitaly Sevastyanov]], and Georgi Grechko established the [[Organization:Association of Space Explorers|Association of Space Explorers]] in 1984. Membership is open to all people who have flown in [[Astronomy:Outer space|outer space]].
*In the ''Star Trek'' novel ''Destiny: Gods of Night'' there is a ship named the U.S.S. ''Alexey Leonov'', which is sacrificed to save the planet Korvat from the Borg.
*Leonov is featured as a character in the 2013 ''Doctor Who'' comic book story "Space Oddity", published by IDW Publishing.
* The film ''The Age of Pioneers'' (2017) is based on Leonov's account about Voskhod-2 mission. Leonov was portrayed by Evgeny Mironov.
* The song "E.V.A" by Public Service Broadcasting on their 2015 album ''The Race for Space'' references Leonov becoming the first man to undertake Extra-Vehicular Activity in space. 

===Stamps===
[[File:Soviet Union-1965-Stamp-0.10. Voskhod-2. First Spacewalk.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Alexey Leonov on 1965 USSR 10 kopek stamp.]]

'''1965'''
*Alexey Leonov on Soviet Union 1965 Stamp 10 kopeks
*Soviet Union 1965, 6 kopeks
*Soviet Union 1965 with [[Biography:Pavel Belyayev|Pavel Belyayev]]
*Albania 1965 twice 6 and 20, with Pavel Belyayev
*Albania 1965
*Bulgaria 1965 with Pavel Belyayev
*Bulgaria 1965 twice 2 (with Pavel Belyayev) and 20 st
*Cuba 1965, twice
*Czechoslovakia 1965 (twice)
*DDR 1965
*DDR 1965
*Hungary 1965
*Togo 1965
*Vietnam 1965

'''1966'''
*Bulgaria 1966 13 st, with Pavel Belyayev
*Ecuador 1966
*Mali 1966, twice
*Mauritania 1966, 200f
*Niger 1966

'''1967'''
*Soviet Union 1967 with Andrew Sokolov, series of three stamps, dedicated to the [[Astronomy:Cosmonautics Day|Day of Cosmonautics]] (Soviet Union stamp catalogue #3476-3478) was carried out in March 1967
*Soviet Union 1967 with Andrew Sokolov, series of five stamps called "Space Fiction" (Soviet Union stamp catalogue #3545-3549) saw the light in October 1967

'''1969''':
*Mongolia 1969

'''1972'''
*Soviet Union 1972 with Andrew Sokolov, series of six stamps, dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the space age (Soviet Union stamp catalogue #4162-4167) was out.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Notes==
*{{cite book|last1=Leonov |first1= Alexey Arkhipovich |first2=Andreĭ K |last2=Sokolov |script-title=ru:Ждите Нас, Звезды |title=Zhdite Nas, Zvezdy: The Stars Are Awaiting Us| language=Russian, English |publisher=Мол. Гвардия (Mol. Gvardii︠a︡ )Moscow |year=1967  |url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/zhdite-nas-zvezdy-the-stars-are-awaiting-us/oclc/8962163 |type=National government publication |accessdate=2014-10-19 |<!-- url2=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-xhHAAACAAJ -->}}
:Text and captions in Russian and English; table of contents is in English.
:Album of [[Engineering:Space art|space art]].
*{{Cite book |last=Scott |first=David |author2=Alexey Leonov  |others=with Christine Toomey |title=Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race |year=2006 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |location= |isbn=0-312-30866-3 }}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2014/newsspec_9035/index.html |title=The First Spacewalk How the first human to take steps in outer space nearly didn't return to Earth |last1=Rincon |first1=Paul |last2=Lachmann |first2=Michael |date=13 October 2014 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC News |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015060353/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2014/newsspec_9035/index.html |archivedate=2014-10-15  |accessdate=2014-10-19 |ref=First-Spacewalk}}
* "Testing of rocket and space technology - the business of my life" Events and facts - [[Biography:Arkady Ostashev|A.I. Ostashev]], Korolyov, 2001.[https://web.archive.org/web/20091027053542/http://geocities.com/spkorolev/PAGE2];
* [http://epizodsspace.airbase.ru/bibl/chertok/kniga-1/01.html "Rockets and people"] – [[Biography:Boris Chertok|B. E. Chertok]], M: "mechanical engineering", 1999. {{ISBN|5-217-02942-0}} {{ref-ru}}
* "Bank of the Universe" - edited by Boltenko A. C., [[Place:Kiev|Kiev]], 2014., publishing house "Phoenix", {{ISBN|978-966-136-169-9}}
* [[Biography:Arkady Ostashev|A.I. Ostashev]], ''Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov - The Genius of the 20th Century'' — 2010 M. of Public Educational Institution of Higher Professional Training MGUL {{ISBN|978-5-8135-0510-2}}.
* "S. P. Korolev. Encyclopedia of life and creativity" - edited by C. A. Lopota, RSC Energia. S. P. Korolev, 2014 {{ISBN|978-5-906674-04-3}}

==See also==
* Attempted assassination of Leonid Brezhnev

==External links==
*[http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/multimedia/video/v-007.mpg A video of his spacewalk]
*[http://www.svengrahn.pp.se/histind/Voskhod2/Voskhod2.htm The Voskhod 2 mission revisited]
*[http://scifiart.narod.ru/ Science fiction art] by Leonov and Sokolov. Extensive gallery, with annotation. {{Ru icon}}
*[http://rt.com/news/i-armstrong-bouncing-moon/"I could see Armstrong bouncing on the moon"&nbsp;– Alexey Leonov]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043952/http://www.baikonuradm.ru/index.php?mod=180 The official website of the city administration Baikonur - Honorary citizens of Baikonur]
* [http://dai.ly/x2hnpjp Alexeï Léonov, the Spacewalker], Vladimir Kozlov's film, France-Russia, 2011


{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonov, Alexey}}
[[Category:Soviet cosmonauts]]
[[Category:Apollo–Soyuz Test Project]]

{{Sourceattribution|Alexey Leonov|1}}