Muscovites Lay Flowers at Late Soviet Cosmonaut Leonov's Monument
Moscow citizens are bringing flowers to a monument dedicated to Soviet cosmonaut Alexey Leonov following the announcement of his demise, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Friday
Earlier on Friday, the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center said that the legendary astronaut had passed away aged 85.
Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin has already expressed his condolences to Leonov's wife and daughter.
"On behalf of Roscosmos State Corporation I offer to you, the near and dear, the colleagues and comrades of Alexey Arkhipovich, the sincerest condolences. His name will forever remain in history, and the best way to honor his memory will be new achievements in the nation's cosmonautics, to which he dedicated his vivid, heroic life," Rogozin said.
He recalled that Leonov's name was tied to the first docking of the Souz and the Apollo spacecrafts, ushering a new era of international cooperation in space.
"His life was a vivid example of selfless service to one's motherland, science and the cause of space technology development and space exploration.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has joined Rogozin in honoring Leonov's life.
"I offer my deepest condolences on the demise of Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov. We have lost a remarkable person, one of the first conquerors of space, whose name is well-known throughout the world," Shoigu said in a message to Leonov's family.
Shoigu called Leonov a true officer and a real professional, who successfully performed the most complicated tasks and made an overwhelming contribution to Russian astronautics.
"His life was a vivid example of one's loyalty to his motherland and duty. I sincerely share the burden of the irrecoverable loss," he added.
A memorial service and burial will take place in the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery, established to honor people who performed outstanding service to the nation in their lifetime, on October 15.
Leonov, a two-time Hero of the Soviet Union and the eleventh Soviet cosmonaut, made his 12-minute spacewalk, the fist spacewalk in history, 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.