Alexey Leonov
Alexey Leonov was a Soviet cosmonaut who, to the public, was believed to have been the first man to walk in space.
Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]
In 1965, Leonov took part in a classified Soviet space mission, Vostok 11, which sought to study the effects of bombs in the atmosphere. During this mission, his crew mate Dmitri Selonovitch was eaten by the Vashta Nerada. Leonov's distress call to Moscow was picked up by the Eleventh Doctor, who entered the capsule without a spacesuit, having extended the TARDIS force field.
The Doctor noted that Leonov was in space earlier than recorded history states, and that Vostok 11 was officially a cancelled mission. With the TARDIS protecting itself, the Doctor sealed the rocket capsule and turned on every light. Leonov informed the Doctor of the mission's true intention, and using the propulsion from the capsule's stored dud bombs, the pair pushed themselves towards the TARDIS.
Upon entering the TARDIS, the Doctor noticed that the console room was much darker than usual, realising that the Vashta Nerada had made their way inside. The Doctor told Leonov of the dangers if the Vashta Nerada made their way to Earth, and switched off the TARDIS atmosphere, giving Leonov an oxygen mask. In doing so, the Doctor successfully contained the beings.
Leonov was returned to Earth, at Red Square. As he left, the Doctor said that civilised men don't go to space to "burn it down", but told him that he would go on to do "amazing things".
Testifying before a government committee, Leonov lied that he did not know how he returned to Earth without his capsule and adamantly stated that he would no longer take part in "off-the-books" military space missions. He insisted that all space suits should have an internal lighting array, otherwise he threatened to inform NASA of missions involving nuclear weapons in space. Leonov refused to elaborate why, despite the committee's confusion.
Two years later, in 1967, Leonov would be the first publicly recognised man to walk in space. (COMIC: Space Oddity [+]Loading...["Space Oddity (comic story)"])
Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]
Space Oddity [+]Loading...["Space Oddity (comic story)"] incorrectly states that Leonov's spacewalk was in 1967. In the real world, Leonov's spacewalk was in 1965, when the story takes place.
In the real world, Vostok 11 was a cancelled Soviet space mission. Space Oddity explores the "Lost Cosmonauts" conspiracy theory that the Soviet government covered up the deaths of cosmonauts during space missions.
