An expandable airlock attached to the reentry module allowed Lietenant Colonel Leonov to exit the capsule without caussing a loss of air in the descent module. Leonov was in the open airlock for about ten minutes, and he dangled from the end of a 5.35m tether outside thevehicle for another ten minutes before terminating history's first space walk.
The EVA was recorded by a TV camera mounted on the reserve retrorocket assembly and a film camera mounted on the airlock. The suit was very cumbersome, and Leonov experienced a disorienting euphoria while outside of the vehicle. The automatic reentry system failed and they were forced to make a manual descent. The capsule missed the scheduled landing zone by some hundred kilometers, creating a delay of 24 hours before the crew were reached.
