Soviet Cosmonaut Leonov, First to Conduct Spacewalk, Dies Aged 85 - Training Center
Soviet cosmonaut Alexey Leonov, the first man to conduct a spacewalk, has died aged 85, the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center told Sputnik on Friday
"Yes, unfortunately, this is true," the center's spokesman said.
A source close to Leonov told Sputnik that the cosmonaut spent most of his time in hospitals after undergoing a surgery on his foot due to suffering from diabetes in February.
"He used to be in hospitals all the time after the foot surgery," the source told Sputnik, adding that Leonov had not even attended the celebration of his 85th birthday in May.
The Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos extended its condolences to the cosmonaut's relatives.
"The leadership and the staff members of the state corporation extend deep condolences to relatives and close people of Alexey Arkhipovich [Leonov]," Roscosmos said in a comment to Sputnik.
The European Space Agency (ESA) extended its condolences as well.
"We are very sad to learn of the passing of Alexei Leonov, pioneering Russian cosmonaut and the first spacewalker, aged 85," the ESA wrote on Twitter.
Leonov, a two-time Hero of the Soviet Union and the eleventh Soviet cosmonaut, made his 12-minute spacewalk on March 18, 1965, during the Voskhod 2 mission. In July 1975, Leonov participated in the first joint US-Soviet Union space mission. It involved the docking of the US Apollo and the Soviet Soyuz-19 spacecraft.