On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to enter space and the first to orbit Earth.
Vostok 1’s mission lasted for 108 minutes, and Gagarin and his capsule completed one orbit of Earth. 1/8
Vostok 1’s mission lasted for 108 minutes, and Gagarin and his capsule completed one orbit of Earth. 1/8
The R-7 rocket which lifted Gagarin into space had a 50% success rate at this point in history. Thankfully, Gagarin's launch was successful, and he experienced the wonders of seeing Earth from space. He ate, took notes, and operated the spacecraft during his time in orbit. 2/8
Things were progressing nominally until just after the retrorockets fired for reentry. A tumbling motion, about thirty degrees per second, put Gagarin into an uncontrolled spin. The spherical DM didn’t separate from the instrument section of the spacecraft as planned. 3/8
Eventually, the two parts of the spacecraft separated as they were supposed to, allowing the capsule and Gagarin to return to Earth.
Unlike other spacecraft, Cosmonauts ejected from their Vostok capsule before landing. 4/8
Unlike other spacecraft, Cosmonauts ejected from their Vostok capsule before landing. 4/8
A hatch opened on the side of the spacecraft and seconds later the Cosmonaut, still in their seat, ejected out and landed by parachute.
The capsule landed harder than was survivable, which is why cosmonauts had to bail out early. 5/8
The capsule landed harder than was survivable, which is why cosmonauts had to bail out early. 5/8
Gagarin landed in a field, and after walking a bit, he saw a woman who helped him find a telephone so he could radio back that he was ok.
Gagarin toured the world on goodwill tours and even met Gemini 4 astronauts at the Paris International Air Show in June of 1965. 6/8
Gagarin toured the world on goodwill tours and even met Gemini 4 astronauts at the Paris International Air Show in June of 1965. 6/8
Sadly, Yuri never flew in space again, and he died in a crash in a MiG-15 trainer jet.
He, along with 13 others lost in the pursuit of spaceflight are memorialized on a plaque left behind by Apollo 15 astronauts. 7/8
He, along with 13 others lost in the pursuit of spaceflight are memorialized on a plaque left behind by Apollo 15 astronauts. 7/8
They also left behind a small figure representing the fallen astronauts and cosmonauts. You can read more about the replica Fallen Astronaut statuette we have in our collection here: bit.ly/3wCKuyB 8/8
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