Pavel Belyayev - Space Flight

Space Flight

After the success of the first Voskhod mission in 1964, a second more technically demanding mission was planned for 1965. Its primary aim was to have a cosmonaut leave the capsule and "space-walk". Belyayev was confirmed as prime crew commander of Voskhod 2 just 3 days prior to launch. There had been concern about his mission fitness following a poor performance in the altitude chamber testing 2 months before. It was his crewman Alexei Leonov who finally reported that "Those responsible for the malfunction were the factory specialists supporting the equipment", and that Belyayev had successfully corrected the fault himself, thereby also taking responsibility for the problem himself. Leonov, who had been chosen to perform the space walk described how he preferred to have Belyayev as his mission commander over Khrunov. "I lobbied hard for Pasha, whom I thought more capable than Khrunov. I had worked with him more; I trusted him."