Opened in space: an exhibition in honor of Leonov was shown in orbit

The filming of the film beyond the Earth has already taken place, now it's time for the exhibition. The Cosmonautics Museum came up with a unique project. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Alexei Leonov's feat, the exhibition "Man went into outer space!" was opened on board the ISS. Virtually anyone could visit it: on March 18, at exactly 11.34 a.m., the crew got in touch and conducted an excursion for the audience. Izvestia could not miss this event.

Space maps are tucked into tablets

For the first time in history, a museum traveling exhibition has begun work on board the International Space Station (ISS). The Museum of Cosmonautics, with the support of Roscosmos, delivered ten tablets with attached photos on the Progress MS-30 cargo ship. They tell the story of the heroic deeds of the heroes of the Soviet Union Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyaev, the first crew to carry out a human spacewalk. Cosmonaut pilots, Heroes of Russia Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Wagner and test cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov became guides through the exhibition. The broadcast was conducted on VK Video.

— Dear friends, the place where I am now was not chosen by chance: this is a small research module that is used as an airlock for a spacewalk, — Alexey Ovchinin began the tour. — Exactly 60 years ago, Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov entered outer space from the Volga airlock of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft.

Then he handed over the floor to his colleague Ivan Wagner, who spoke about the project in more detail. Alexander Gorbunov is behind the scenes with a camera in his hands.

— The Moscow Museum of Cosmonautics houses the best samples of rocket and space technology and artifacts. The personal belongings of the cosmonauts who participated in the Voskhod-2 flight are on display in the Morning of the Space Age hall," Ivan Wagner clarified.

The cosmonaut drew attention to a tablet with a portrait of the ship's commander Pavel Ivanovich Belyaev. Next to it is a photo from the museum, which shows Belyaev's tunic.

In 1960, Pavel Ivanovich was enlisted in the cosmonaut corps and made one flight as commander of the Vostok-2 spacecraft. For the first time in the history of Russian manned cosmonautics, he landed a spacecraft in manual mode.

Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov was appointed the second pilot of the ship. On the next tablet, he's in full uniform. Leonov's uniform, decorated with orders and medals, with two stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union, is also on display at the Museum of Cosmonautics.

— On March 18, 1965, Alexey Arkhipovich performed a spacewalk. A special Berkut soft—type spacesuit was developed for this purpose," Ivan Wagner continued.

Historical black-and-white photo of Leonov in a spacesuit: in 1964, he was captured during tests in the cabin of the Tu-104AK laboratory aircraft while practicing movements in a state of zero gravity. Next to it is a photo from the museum, where the same "Golden Eagle" is located behind the glass.

— The spacesuit had a multi-layered shell consisting of a power and airtight parts. This made it possible to maintain an excess oxygen pressure inside, ensuring the life of the astronaut. The outside of the spacesuit was covered with a nylon fabric with a thermal insulation backing to prevent overheating from exposure to sunlight. The helmet of the spacesuit was covered with protective glazing. And an internal airplane-type light filter provided the astronaut with a view in sunlight.

Step into the unknown

The cosmonauts began preparing for the flight in August 1964. On board the Tu-104AK aircraft, they flew along a parabolic trajectory, practicing actions and possible emergency situations during a spacewalk. And training on working in a low-pressure environment took place in pressure chambers. One of the most interesting exhibits of the Cosmonautics Museum is the Volga airlock. The following exhibition tablet tells about it.

— For the first spacewalk, Soviet designers developed a special device: the Volga airlock allowed Alexey Leonov to do this without depressurizing the descent vehicle. It had a soft shell, rigid aerobatics, hatches for going into outer space, a lander firing mechanism, a docking halyard with an oxygen supply hose and communication wires, a movie camera and a lamp," explained Ivan Wagner.

The photos show the Volga and a schematic sketch of a spacewalk made by astronauts. They also calculated the temperature and pressure differences, the angle of deviation of the body from the hatch. There is also a real artifact here.

"There is a unique drawing-diagram made by Alexey Leonov on board the space station," explains Ivan Wagner. — Now working in outer space is a common thing. And then, in 1965, it was a step into the unknown.

Next, all the stages that Leonov and Belyaev had to go through for a spacewalk were presented — from the airlock chamber pressurization to the return of Alexei Arkhipovich aboard the lander. For 12 minutes and 9 seconds, Leonov was in outer space, as far away from the Voskhod-2 spacecraft as possible by seven meters.

— Pay attention to the cable from the camera, which was fixed on Leonov's spacesuit, — the guide addresses the audience. — It was needed for remote control of the chest camera. After completing the flight program, the Voskhod-2 descent vehicle with astronauts was supposed to land in automatic mode. But due to the failure of automation, this did not happen. The cosmonauts brought the spacecraft into manual control mode and on the 18th orbit Belyaev and Leonov successfully oriented it. The commander activated the engine braking.

Draw me a sky.

Alexander Gorbunov pointed the camera at the next display tablet, with photos of the crew and their ammunition — a fur-lined flight jacket and boots.

— The lander landed in the taiga on March 19, 180 km northwest of Perm and 368 km from the estimated landing point. The crew was found four hours after landing. For a long time, rescuers could not reach the astronauts. The helicopters were unable to land because of the tall trees. Belyaev and Leonov had to spend the night in the forest. It was only the next day that rescuers came to them on skis.

Interestingly, Alexey Leonov was not only an astronaut, but also an excellent painter. The collection of his paintings is presented in a separate hall of the Museum of Cosmonautics. Among them is the work "Over the Black Sea" in 1975. In it, the artist depicted himself in outer space. His brush is still on the ISS today. It is enclosed in a plastic file along with a schematic drawing by Leonov. The artifact is taped to the interior trim.

At the end of the tour, which lasted about 16 minutes, the cosmonauts offered the audience to solve several mathematical problems related to Leonov's flight. The names of the first 100 winners will be published on the website of the Museum of Cosmonautics.