WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th October, 2019) Deceased Soviet cosmonaut Alex Leonov was a true hero who will be remembered for being both the first spacewalker and the first artist in space, retired US Astronaut Nicole Stott told Sputnik.
Earlier in the day, the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center told Sputnik that Leonov, the first man to conduct a spacewalk, had died at the age of 85.
"Saddened to learn of this world's loss of Alexei Leonov... My prayers of sympathy and peace are with his family and friends," Stott said on Friday. "He was a true hero of spaceflight, art and friendship. I am thankful to have met him, but more to have witnessed the friendship he shared with General Tom Stafford.
Their friendship, Scott added, which started during spaceflight training, was strengthened through a handshake across the hatches of Apollo-Soyuz and a bond of friendship and family that continued ever since. It was a beautiful reflection of the power of international cooperation, she said.
"I'm thankful that he will be remembered not only as the first spacewalker, but as the first artist in space," Stott said. "Floating with colored pencils and drawing an orbital sunrise, later sketching portraits of his Apollo-Soyuz crewmates, and throughout his life continuing to use his talents to share his memories of spaceflight through his wonderful paintings. He leaves a legacy to us all through his commitment to create art that so beautifully shares the wonder and awe of space exploration."
Leonov, a two-time Hero of the Soviet Union and the eleventh Soviet cosmonaut, made his 12-minute spacewalk, the first 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.
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.
