Alexey Leonov and the first space walk

Hey everyone,

On March 18, 1965, Alexey Leonov became the first human being to walk in space. The walk only lasted for 12 minutes and 9 seconds, but he walked into history. Only a 5.35 meter tether attached to him to the spacecraft. The suit soon expanded due to the vacuum of space, and he was not able to re-enter the craft at first. Using a valve, he let off the air which allowed him to re-enter the craft. Leonov was part of the original 20 cosmonauts chosen for space travel. Had the Soviets continued to win the space race, Leonov would probably have been the first man to walk on the moon. These missions would be canceled when the Soviets fell behind in the space race. Leonov would train astronauts until his retirement in 1991.