NEW YORK: A Russian cosmonaut who made history as the first man to walk in space has spoken about his brush with death during the mission 50 years ago.
Alexei Leonov was visiting London’s Science Museum to announce the launch of its Cosmonauts: Birth Of The Space Age exhibition which opens on September 18.
He was hailed a hero in the Soviet Union after the 12-minute space walk that took place on March 18 1965.
But Leonov and crew-mate Pavel Belyayev very nearly never survived the mission after encountering a series of life-threatening emergencies.
Leonov battled to re-enter the spacecraft after his walk, then had to steer the craft manually towards the Earth after the navigation system failed.
During re-entry the capsule tumbled violently, exposing the two men to ten times the force of gravity.
Finally, their adjusted descent meant they landed hundreds of miles off course in the Ural Mountains and were forced to spend the night in temperatures of minus 25C.
