PatchNote

He wouldn’t let me go home.

Transcript of:

Bocxoд-2//Voskhod-2 Mission Debrief

With

Aлексéй Леóнов//Alexei Leonov

March 22nd, 1965

Baikonur, Russia

By Николáй Камáнин//Nikolai Kamanin

For the Official State Record of the CCCP

KAMANIN: Mission Debrief. Voskhod-2. March 22nd, 1965. Interview commenced at 1400 hours. Please state your name and rank for the record.

LEONOV: Alexei Leonov. Mission pilot for the Voskhod-2Space flight. First man to complete an EVA in space.

KAMANIN: While the Soviet State recognises your achievement and great service to this country, now is not the time for bravado, comrade.

LEONOV: Yes, General. My Apologies, General.

KAMANIN: My main focus will be on the events that transpired after the capsule landed in the remote Siberian wilderness. However, the CCCP have cautioned me to also consider the events that took place during the initial space flight, subsequent EVA and then your descent. Is that understood, Leonov?

[Pause – 00:00:23]

Leonov? I said is that understood? My primary objective is to establish the sequence of events that lead to your rescue but in doing so we must discuss the …complications that befell you during the mission.

LEONOV: Understood General. May I smoke?

KAMANIN: Of course. Now, I have copies of the flight transcripts here, as well as all the instrument readings from the Voskhod-2 capsule. We will start at 0700 hours and the initial lift off of the rocket. According to these notes, there were no problems with the launch. Is this correct?

LEONOV: Apart from the fact you removed the ejector seat to make room for that oaf you paired me with? No, there were no issues.

KAMANIN: Now is not the time to criticise the engineers at the CCCP. That will come later. As mentioned, there will be plenty of room for discussion surrounding your later troubles, but for now we should focus on the facts. Blame comes later, Alexei.

[Paper rustling]

So, the launch was successful. You achieved orbit and prepared to inflate the air-lock which had been attached opposite the crew hatch. Can you describe this process for me?

LEONOV: The air-lock was activated by a pull tab located on the inner door. Upon pulling the tab, the airlock successfully inflated and extended away from the capsule. Once I had made my way inside the first chamber, comrade Belyayev was able to cycle the air from inside the crew compartment.

KAMANIN: For the record, comrade Belyayev is Commander Pavel Belyayev, the second cosmonaut present on the mission. Please, continue.

LEONOV: When the cycle was complete, I unscrewed the outer door and was met by the cold and unfeeling vacuum. It beckoned me, general. That infinite black void that stretched beyond time itself was calling to me. I was entranced by its beauty. Each small star that flickered like candle lights on a cold winter eve held secrets I could never know and yet I was floating towards them, ever so slowly, ever so desperate.

[pause – 00:00:51]

Apologies comrade, the memory is simply too beautiful.

KAMANIN: You have nothing to apologise for Alexei. You’ve seen things that children across the republics only dream of. Take your time, please.

LEONOV: As I drifted out, I tethered myself to a small hook on the rim of the outer door and pushed myself away from the capsule, letting myself drift away to the end of the rope. Now I could see the Earth and, my god…, she was beautiful. Fixed in time and slowly turning, exactly like the globe we had in school. I could see all of our glorious country, parts of Europe and Asia and the never-ending blue of the ocean. On the far side of the planet I could see the last grasps of night fade away as the planet turned. Entire cities letting their lights fall away as the day reclaimed its place. One less light meant at least a hundred people each preparing for the day ahead. And here I was, above it all. 

[Pause – 00:00:23]

We are so small, comrade. So pitifully, pitifully small. 

[Pause – 00:00:17]

KAMANIN: What happened next?

LEONOV: I floated. For a good while. Too long. The EVA was only scheduled for twelve minutes but I ended up spending at least fifteen staring out into that dark expanse. Watching the world slowly turn and turn without me. It messes with you, comrade. The dark. Makes you see things. I could have sworn something was staring back at me as I lay there, cradled by the void. I was late back to the capsule, and by the time I had returned, the extra minutes had meant that the outer door had warped. My space suit had also begun to swell due the difference in pressure so I was struggling to articulate the joints in my glove. Between that and the door refusing to budge, you can imagine that this was where panic set in.

KAMANIN: How did you resolve the situation?

LEONOV: I had to get Belyayev to traverse into the airlock and assist me in prying the door open.

KAMANIN: How was this achieved?

LEONOV: Using a piece of sheet metal he unscrewed from one of the computer terminals. He jammed it into the side of the door and, because of the cold, the two metals weld together, creating enough of a gap to pry the door. At this point we had blown right past our window for re-entry.

KAMANIN: Once you had both returned to the capsule, did re-entry proceed as normal? Despite the later window?

LEONOV: There were no issues on re-entry.

KAMANIN: Are you sure, comrade? The logs suggest that you and Belyayev had an altercation and that he had to force you back into your seat because you were begging not to return. That, and I quote…

[pages rustling]

“…It called to me Pavel. Spoke to me! It does not want me to leave. You can’t let me leave!”. End quote.

LEONOV: There were no issues on re-rentry.

KAMANIN: Are you suggesting that the logs are incorrect?

LEONOV: Yes.

KAMANIN: Understood.

[Pause – 00:00:32]

We will now move on to my part of this debrief, that being the events after your landing in Perm region of Russia. It is noted that upon the capsules return, recovery teams were unable to locate the two cosmonauts or their space craft for several hours. This is due to the late re-entry which resulted in a landing zone over three hundred kilometres away from the planned recovery zone. When the team finally managed to locate the crew, they were discovered to be in a dense part of the Siberian forest and could not be extracted via helicopter. What were you doing during those hours before we regained contact, Alexei?

LEONOV: Assessing the situation and forming a strategy for our survival.

KAMANIN: So you knew that we were struggling to locate you?

LEONOV: I knew from the minute I realised we missed our initial re-entry window. We were wildly off course. Even with the navigation systems on board relaying data back to control, I knew it would be a few hours before anyone would make contact.

KAMANIN: So how did you prepare?

LEONOV: We utilised a number of emergency explosive bolts that enabled us to blow open the crew hatch and exit the capsule. From there we assessed our location and I made the decision to locate the nine millimetre Marakov pistol that had been provided to us for our protection.

KAMANIN: Why?

LEONOV: We were in the dense wilderness, there was worry about the threat of wildlife.

[pause – 00:00:12]

From there we established a camp around the capsule and waited for rescue.

KAMANIN: After your discovery, it was deemed that we would be unable to evacuate at this location and supplies were sent down for the night. At what point during your preparation did you decide to disable the heater within your capsule? It was to be your only shelter for the night and would likely have rendered you both considerably more comfortable.

LEONOV: I didn’t disable the heater. It was damaged on re-entry.

KAMANIN: By a nine millimeter bullet?

[Pause – 00:00:14]

You then proceeded to activate the fans inside the capsule and damage the mechanism that allowed them to turn off, locking them on full blast – is that correct?

LEONOV: No. Both systems were damaged on re-entry.

KAMANIN: You said there were no issues on re-entry.

LEONOV: They were damaged on landing.

KAMANIN: Alexei, the crew we sent on the second day to help with your evacuation said they found multiple nine millimetre casings inside the capsule, and damage to the heating and cooling controls consistent with a low low calibre handgun. What do you have to say about that, Alexei.

LEONOV: Both systems were damaged on landing.

KAMANIN: Are you now implying that the members of the rescue team, brave soldiers of the mighty socialist republics – men who risked their lives to rescue you, are lying?

LEONOV: That is correct, comrade. I know what happened out there.

KAMANIN: Do you, Alexei? Because these men also testified that they found you in that freezing capsule rocking back and forth and speaking in tongues. You were, quote “cradling the corpse of a small bird and muttering something about being taken home to the stars” end quote. The men were terrified for you because parts of your skin were turning blue and Belyayev was too terrified to enter the capsule with you. What was the  purpose of this? Why put you and your comrade at greater risk from the elements?

LEONOV: [groans and sputters] I was… I…

KAMANIN: What really happened out there? Why were you trying to sabotage the mission?

[Pause – 00:01:39]

LEONOV: He wouldn’t let me go home.

KAMANIN: Who wouldn’t? We were there to recuse you, there to take you home.

LEONOV: No. You should have left me there. You took me away. Away from the black. Away from the beauty. Away from them. 

KAMANIN: Who are they, comrade Leonov?

LEONOV: They are who lurk in the shadows at night. They are the ones that linger in the dark corners of your eyes, just out of sight but always visible. They are permanent up there. They guide you. Care for you. They let you see the beauty and the secrets we were not meant to see. I saw them. They let me see, and I saw Them. And They saw me. 

KAMANIN: Alexei, what…

LEONOV: They see me now, They see you now. They see all of us They wait and They watch. They saw him too, but he was weak and he wouldn’t let me go home with Them. I have to go home. You have to let me go home.

KAMANIN: Is that why you killed comrade Belyayev?

LEONOV: He was weak. They told me to. He couldn’t see Them. He wouldn’t believe me. I tried to show him, how calm Their cold embrace could be; how They could help him. But he wouldn’t listen. He called me crazy. I’m not crazy. So I shot him, like they told me. Seventeen times. Once for each minute I’d spent with Them. Now he sees Them too.

KAMANIN: Comrade Alexei Leonov, I am placing you under arrest…

LEONOV: No…

KAMANIN: …for intentional sabotage of a government program tantamount to treason…

LEONOV: No! No, no, you can’t!

KAMANIN: and for the murder of Commander Pavel Belyayev.

LEONOV: You have to let me go home…

KAMANIN: From here you will be transferred to a secure facility,

LEONOV: NO YOU HAVE TO LET ME GO HOME, ARRRGGHH!!!

[Sounds of struggle are heard. Several thuds indicate a fight between the two men. One is heard choking, presumably Kamanin.]

LEONOV: Let… me… go… home…

[A loud band is heard. Consistent with a gun shot. A body slumps to the floor, creating another thud. Kamanin is heard choking and breathing heavily. Another sixteen gunshots follow.]

[Pause – 00:02:32]

KAMANIN: Interview terminated… 1424.

End of Transcript.