In 1960, Alexei became cosmonaut 11, as he and 19 other cosmonauts began training with the then top-secret Soviet space program. The ability to jump out of a plane and survive was a vital requirement for the program, as the cosmonauts would not be landing in their spacecraft but would be automatically ejected as they neared the ground on return to Earth. By that time, he had logged 278 hours of flight time and had completed 115 parachute jumps, earning him the title of Instructor of the Military Air Forces for paratrooper training. 1959, Leonov was selected to be interviewed for the first cosmonaut training program. Related: Russia's Space Traditions! 14 Things Every Cosmonaut Does for Launch (opens in new tab)Ī few months later, in Oct. He married his girlfriend, Svetlana Pavlovna, a day before he left for Germany in 1959. 30, 1957 and subsequently served as a fighter pilot with three military units, the last one based out of Germany. Leonov graduated as a lieutenant from the Chuguev Higher Air Force Pilots School on Oct. He then enrolled in a training program to become a fighter pilot while also taking part-time art classes. In May 1955, he flew his first solo flight. Leonov finished his secondary education there in 1953 and soon after, enrolled in flying school. In 1948, his family moved to Kaliningrad, in Soviet-occupied East Prussia. "I remember how dashing he looked in his dark-blue uniform with a snow-white shirt, navy tie and crossed leather belts spanning his broad chest," Leonov recalled, according to "The First Soviet Cosmonaut Team: Their Lives and Legacies." Leonov's older brother, Pyotr, was also an aviation student and helped foster Leonov's interest in flying.įirst spacewalker Alexei Leonov of the former Soviet Union was attached to his Voskhod 2 spacecraft by an 18-foot-long umbilical cable. When he was six years old, he met a Soviet pilot who made a strong impression on young Leonov, and he set his heart on becoming a pilot. Leonov developed a talent and love for art at an early age, and was able to make a bit of money by selling his work, but he wasn't interested in making that his career. Related: Giant Leaps: Biggest Milestones of Human Spaceflight (opens in new tab) His father was eventually released and compensated for his wrongful imprisonment and was able to join his family in Kemerovo. Leonov's mother was forced to move her family in with her sister in Kemerovo, several hundred miles away. When Leonov was about 3 years old, his father was arrested for his presumed political beliefs. Increasing political turmoil in the region made it difficult for Leonov's family to get by, according to the book "The First Soviet Cosmonaut Team: Their Lives and Legacies" (Springer Science & Business Media, 2009) by Colin Burgess and Rex Hall. Before Leonov was born, his grandfather had been exiled to Siberia for taking part in the 1905 revolution during the Czarist regime.
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