Yuri Gagarin was the first man to set foot in space. On April 12, 1961, he flew for 108 minutes aboard the Soviet Union’s Vostok spacecraft, circling the Earth for slightly more than one orbit. Gagarin became a cultural hero in the Soviet Union after his flight. Even today, more than six decades later, Gagarin is extensively celebrated in Russian space museums, with various artifacts, busts, and sculptures dedicated to him. His ashes are interred at Moscow’s Kremlin, and a portion of his spacecraft is on display at the RKK Energiya Museum.
Gagarin’s mission occurred during a period in which the United States and the Soviet Union were striving for technological superiority in space. In October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into space.
Prior to Gagarin’s trip, the Soviets conducted a test flight into space using a Vostok spacecraft prototype. They launched a life-size dummy named Ivan Ivanovich and a dog named Zvezdochka into space on this flight. Following the test flight, the Soviets deemed the vessel fit to carry a human into space. [Infographic: The First Human Space Flight]
Becoming a legendary astronaut: Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, the third of four children, was born on March 9, 1934, in a rural town a hundred miles outside Moscow. Gagarin was a teenager when a Russian Yak fighter jet made an emergency landing near his home. When he was offered the opportunity to join a flying club years later, he excitedly agreed, making his first solo flight in 1955. Only a few years later, he submitted his application to become a cosmonaut. [Photos: Yuri Gagarin and the 50th Anniversary of Human Spaceflight]
Over 200 Russian Air Force fighter pilots have been chosen as cosmonaut candidates. Such pilots were deemed ideal because they had experience with acceleration forces and the ejection process, as well as high-stress circumstances. Gagarin, a 27-year-old senior officer at the time, was chosen as one of the pilots.
The Vostok 1 spacecraft launched from the Soviet launch pad on April 12, 1961, at 9:07 a.m. Moscow time. Because no one knew how weightlessness would impact a pilot, the spherical capsule had few onboard controls; everything was done automatically or from the ground.
In the event of an emergency, Gagarin was meant to be given an override code that would allow him to take manual control, but Sergei Korolev, the main designer of the Soviet space program, ignored convention and provided the code to the pilot before the flight.
Vostok 1 orbited the Earth once in 108 minutes, reaching a maximum altitude of 203 miles (327 kilometers). The spacecraft contained provisions for ten days in case the engines failed and Gagarin had to wait for the orbit to naturally decay. However, the supplies were superfluous. Gagarin re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, managing to maintain consciousness under forces up to eight times the pull of gravity.
Vostok 1 didn’t have any engines to slow its re-entry and no method to safely land. Gagarin ejected from the spaceship and parachuted to Earth from a height of around 4 miles (7 km). The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the regulating body for aerospace records, has declared that the pilot must land with the spacecraft in order for the mission to be considered an official spaceflight. Gagarin had touched down with the Vostok 1, and Soviet leaders did not acknowledge that he had exited until 1971. Regardless, Gagarin holds the distinction of becoming the first person to leave Earth’s orbit and journey into space. [Images of Human Spaceflight Milestones]
The Legacy of Yuri Gagarin: Gagarin was an international hero upon his return to Earth. A jubilant mob of hundreds of thousands met him at Moscow’s Red Square, a public plaza. Gagarin, a national treasure, traveled around the world to commemorate the great Soviet achievement.
When he returned home, Gagarin was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (the Soviet Union’s highest legislative body) and made leader of the Cosmonauts’ Detachment. The Soviets were hesitant to allow Gagarin to return to space because they did not want to risk losing such an important public figure. He did, however, continue to fly test flights for the Air Force.
Gagarin was killed (together with another pilot) while testing a MiG-15 jet fighter aircraft on March 27, 1968. His wife, Valentina Ivanovna Goryacheva, and two daughters survived him.
The crew of NASA’s Apollo 11, the first mission to land on the moon, left behind a commemorative medallion carrying Gagarin’s name. They also placed medals for other astronauts who died in space or while training to fly.
Over time, the United States and the Soviet Union began to collaborate on spaceflight projects. The first joint US-Soviet spaceflight, Apollo-Soyuz, took place in 1975. Following the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, NASA dispatched four space shuttle astronauts to the Soviet/Russian space station Mir. The shuttle-Mir collaboration cleared the way for NASA and Russia’s space agency (Roscosmos) to become significant partners in the International Space Station program, which began with the launch of modules in 1998 and is still in operation today.
Gagarin’s significance in the Russian space program endures. Crews utilizing the Soyuz spacecraft follow in the footsteps of Gagarin’s momentous journey by partaking in a number of prelaunch traditions, such as urinating on the launch bus tires. Aside from that, Gagarin is frequently held up to younger Russian children as an example of character and heroism.
In 2021, the 60th anniversary of Gagarin’s flight will be celebrated. Every year, the space community honors Gagarin’s feat with Yuri’s Night, a ceremony held on his launch date of April 12. Yuri’s Night was started in 2001 and annually attracts thousands of revelers.
