On the 18th March 1965 Alexei Leonov opened the hatch in his tiny space capsule and stepped into the unknown. Incredibly, he had to vent some oxygen from his space suit so that he could get back in. He was the first space-walker.
He died yesterday but he was a giant of space-travel. His record for hours in space stood for years, he was the one who defied many in the Communist Party and urged for more cooperation with NASA, and the stories of his vodka consumption, when he invited you to his house, are the stuff of legend. Every American astronaut I have met has just had the widest grin when I have asked ‘what is Leonov like?’ especially his great friend, Tom Stafford who said, ‘He’s the greatest man I ever met, and the kindest. Just don’t try and keep up with him in a bar.’
Ad Astra, Alexei Leonov.