NASA broke into its live broadcast of a spacewalk by two Americans outside the International Space Station to report that Alexei Leonov, the Soviet cosmonaut who became the first human to walk in space, had died.

“A tribute to Leonov as today is a spacewalk,” NASA Mission Control in Houston said. The US space agency also tweeted its condolences, praising Leonov for beginning “the history of extravehicular activity that makes today’s @Space_Station maintenance possible.”

We’re saddened by the loss of legendary @roscosmos cosmonaut Alexei Leonov who became the first human to walk in space on March 18, 1965. His venture into the vacuum of space began the history of extravehicular activity that makes today’s @Space_Station maintenance possible. pic.twitter.com/8EavxJd5R1 — NASA (@NASA) October 11, 2019

Roscosmos confirmed Leonov’s death, at the age of 85, on Friday. He became the first human to walk in space on March 18, 1965, leaving his capsule for 12 minutes, and later served on the Soviet crew that formed the first temporary space station with an American crew during the Soyuz-Apollo mission in 1975.

Also on rt.com Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov who conducted first ever spacewalk dies at the age of 85

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