Tributes paid to Russian cosmonaut Leonov, first man to walk in space

ALEXEI LEONOV, the legendary Soviet cosmonaut who was the first human to walk in space 54 years ago, has died in Moscow aged 85.

Russian space agency Roscosmos confirmed his death in a statement on its website, but gave no further details.

Mr Leonov staked his place in space history on March 18, 1965, when he exited his Voskhod 2 capsule secured by a tether.

Spacewalking always carries a high risk but Mr Leonov’s pioneering venture was particularly nervewracking, according to details of the exploit that only became public decades later.

His spacesuit had inflated so much in the vacuum of space that he could not get back into the spacecraft. He had to open a valve to vent oxygen from his suit to be able to fit through the hatch.

His 12-minute spacewalk preceded the first US spacewalk, by Ed White, by less than three months.

On his second trip to space 10 years later, Mr Leonov commanded the Soviet half of the Apollo-Soyuz 19 mission. It was the first joint space mission between the Soviet Union and the United States, carried out at the height of the Cold War.

Messages of condolences poured in from around the globe following news of his death.

On Twitter, Nasa added: ‘His venture into the vacuum of space began the history of extra-vehicular activity that makes today’s Space Station maintenance possible.’

Roscosmos said Mr Leonov’s funeral will take place on Tuesday at in a military cemetery outside Moscow.