Alexei Leonov, first person to spacewalk, dies aged 85  

Alexei Leonov, the first person ever to spacewalk, has died.

Leonov passed away at 85 after a long illness and will be buried this month, The Independent reports, citing the Russian news agency TASS.

The cosmonaut made history in 1965, when he stepped outside his spacecraft for just over 12 minutes and floated around, attached by a tether. The pioneering mission nearly ended in disaster when his suit inflated during the spacewalk and he was unable to fit back into the craft.

After the spacewalk was over, Leonov reflected on the beauty of looking down to see the world while floating above it.