The flight of Yuri Gagarin into space was a grandiose event for all mankind. The name of the first cosmonaut entered world history. You will learn about the details of the first space travel, the dangers that lay in wait for a person in the unknown spaces of the Universe, from this article.
Purpose of the flight
During the first flight on the Vostok spacecraft, Gagarin had to make one revolution around the Earth. The flight altitude was to be 180-230 kilometers, duration - 80 minutes. During an extraterrestrial journey, the astronaut needed to find out how a person feels in outer space on a ship specially equipped for his life, evaluate the operation of all aircraft systems, and check communication with the Earth. Gagarin had to make sure that the means of landing the cosmonaut and the ship were safe and reliable. How long did Gagarin's flight last? You will learn about this by reading this article.
Possible risks
The USSR participated in the space race. There was information that in 1961 (April 20) the Americans plan to send a man into space. Therefore, the decision on who will become the first cosmonaut was made very quickly. At a meeting of the Civil Code, the candidacy of Yuri Gagarin was approved, German Titov became his understudy. The ship "Vostok" was also created in a short time. The equipment of the aircraft has been greatly simplified. The designers had to sacrifice the ship's soft landing and emergency rescue systems at the start. In addition, there was no backup braking system on the ship. This decision was motivated by the fact that in such a low orbit it would leave the trajectory and fall to the Earth itself due to natural causes - deceleration on the upper atmosphere. This process, according to experts, was supposed to take ten days. For the same time were calculated About how long Gagarin's space flight actually lasted - further.
Start
The launch of the Vostok spacecraft was carried out at 09:07 Moscow time, in 1961, with Gagarin on board, a pilot-cosmonaut who decided to conquer outer space, despite the possible risk to life and health. Before the start, Yuri said the legendary phrase: "Let's go!" The Vostok worked satisfactorily, but at the last stage the radio control system failed, so the third stage engine was turned off after the ship was in space. The real altitude of the orbit, along which the spacecraft began to move, exceeded the calculated one by 100 km. According to declassified data, its parameters were 327x180 km. If the ship's braking system did not work, then under the influence of the atmosphere, the device could return to Earth from 20 to 50 days. This would mean the inevitable death of the astronaut. Everyone knows how long Gagarin's flight lasted. Fortunately, Yuri's journey ended happily.
In orbit
On the same day, the whole world learned how many minutes Gagarin's flight lasted - the cosmonaut was on board the Vostok spacecraft for 108 minutes. All this time, Yuri conducted the simplest experiments: he drank, ate, tried to write. Gagarin's attempt to put a pencil next to him led to the fact that he immediately swam away. The astronaut concluded that the necessary items in space need to be tied. Yuri recorded all his observations on a tape recorder. Since before the flight, scientists did not know how stable the human psyche would be in space, the ship's control panel was blocked. The password was in a special envelope that Gagarin had to open in orbit. According to legend, well-wishers told Yura the cherished combination of numbers (125) even before the flight.
emergency situation
How long did Gagarin's flight last? It could turn out to be much shorter and end with the death of the first cosmonaut, because the landing of the ship turned out to be no less dangerous than the launch. The braking system designed by Isaev worked with a slight flaw. The automatic separation of the compartments did not take place, as a result of which, before entering the upper atmosphere, the spacecraft was randomly thrown from side to side at a speed of 1 revolution per second. Gagarin did not lose his composure and reported to Earth about the emergency situation in conditional terms. Fortunately, the cables of the instrument-aggregate compartment burned out in denser layers of the atmosphere, and he finally separated from the ship. Further landing of the apparatus took place in a more relaxed mode. How long was Yuri Gagarin's flight? Only 108 minutes, and how many events happened in this short period of time!
Overload
The descent of the Vostok spacecraft, like all other spacecraft of the same class, passed along a ballistic trajectory. This meant that the astronaut experienced tenfold G-forces during landing. Yuri was prepared for this test, and he successfully passed it. All scientists and designers involved in the launch of the first man into space knew how long Gagarin's flight lasted, because they followed the ship in real time. However, it is unlikely that the astronaut had the opportunity to keep track of time. Psychological stress was much stronger than physical. After the ship entered the dense layers of the atmosphere, the metal plating began to melt under the influence of high temperature, the value of which increased to 3-5 thousand degrees. Streams of liquid metal trickled down the windows of the portholes. The cabin of the ship crackled menacingly. It was difficult even for an astronaut prepared for any surprises to withstand such a load on the psyche. Interestingly, Gagarin's wristwatch passed the G-force test with honor during the flight and worked properly during the entire trip.
hard landing
After the Vostok dropped to seven kilometers above the Earth, Gagarin ejected. The capsule and the astronaut began to descend to earth separately, each on his own parachute. In a completely sealed spacesuit, the breathing valve did not immediately open. The astronaut almost died. The last test was the threat of sinking into the icy current of the Volga. Skillfully managing the lines, Gagarin managed to avoid this danger. He landed a few kilometers from the river bank.
Meeting on Earth
How long Gagarin's flight in space lasted no longer mattered. Thanks to his courage, incredible endurance and will to win, the cosmonaut forever imprinted his name on the pages of world history. The task was completed. The first space explorer was our compatriot, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin. And this event is difficult to overestimate. Due to failures in the operation of the brake propulsion system, the landing took place not in the planned area, the Stalingrad region, but in the Saratov region, in the vicinity of the city of Engels. According to the official version, Corporal V. G. Sapeltsev was the first to notice Gagarin, and Major A. N. Gassiev met and delivered the first cosmonaut to the nearest military unit. However, according to other sources, the first people Yuri met after landing were Anna, the forester's wife, and her granddaughter Margarita. Later, the military and local residents arrived at the scene. Gagarin was taken to a military unit, from where the first cosmonaut reported to the local air defense commander about the successfully completed mission.
Glory to the hero!
Yuri Gagarin became a man-symbol who took the first step into the unknown expanses of the Universe. It is well known that he flew into space as a senior lieutenant, and landed as a major. All sorts of prizes and awards rained down on a simple Russian guy. called him not an earthly person, but "heavenly" and, contrary to etiquette, took a picture with him. Gagarin's sunny smile has become a real brand. Yuri worthily passed the test of glory. His feat showed the whole world what a Russian person is capable of. And now we are proud that it was our compatriot who made the first flight into space. Gold medal to them. Yuri Gagarin is awarded to astronauts and cosmonauts who have contributed to the Federal Space Agency established a special award - the Gagarin badge. Many squares, districts, streets, boulevards, avenues are named after the first cosmonaut. The city of Gzhatsk, where Yuri spent his childhood, was renamed Gagarin. How long Gagarin's flight lasted is known all over the world. The name of the astronaut is repeated in different languages with pride and admiration.
On April 12, 1961, the most fantastic and audacious dream of mankind came true - flight into space. Senior Lieutenant Yuri Gagarin on the Vostok-1 spacecraft circled the Earth at an altitude of 302 kilometers at a speed of about 28 thousand kilometers per hour.
He was the first to see that the Earth is indeed round and blue. And very beautiful.
Gagarin's flight lasted only 108 minutes. But these minutes turned the whole world, all ideas about the possible impossible. A distant and unknown cosmos has spoken! He spoke in Russian. The planet applauded Gagarin, Soviet scientists and designers, the triumph of a great country. "The goal has been shown to all. Shall we not now begin the reckoning from the day when a man rose above the limits of imagination with one leap?" - said then the French writer Louis Aragon.
In just 108 minutes, Yuri Gagarin's life ceased to belong to him. Literally every minute - from birth to death - has become part of the legend of the great Soviet man who was the first to fly into space.
Nine months before the legendary flight, the select six pilots met with Academician Korolev. He showed the first spaceship. Everyone huddled around a silver-white ball with a diameter of about two and a half meters. Korolev asked: "Is there anyone who wants to get acquainted with the cabin?"
"Allow me?" - Yuri Gagarin took a step forward. He took off his boots and in socks climbed the ladder to the hatch... Sergei Pavlovich nudged his deputy with his elbow: "This one will probably fly first."
Yuri Gagarin was well aware that it was possible to return from a flight to the stars on a chariot of glory, but it was just as easy to turn into a flying sarcophagus. Therefore, he left a letter to his wife Valentina: "I completely believe in technology. It should not fail. But it happens, after all, that out of the blue a person falls and breaks his neck. Something can happen here too." It's that simple. This letter was given to Valentina Ivanovna seven years later. After the tragic death of her husband in 1968.
On the first Gagarin photograph after landing - a haggard face, tired eyes. 108 minutes is not one moment.
Why did the first manned space flight take place on April 12? Largely because the start of the American Shepard was scheduled for the end of April. The competition between the Soviet Union and the USA was very tough. And the Chief Designer was in a hurry: he had no right to give primacy in space to overseas colleagues...
"Hurry" - does not mean to be the first "at any cost." Although the risk, indeed, was huge. Of the seven flights of the Vostok spacecraft to Gagarin, only three were successful. And two returned to Earth. “But according to the level of our knowledge and our capabilities, everything was done for flight safety. They simply couldn’t think of anything else,” says Oleg Ivanovsky, the leading designer of the Vostok spacecraft. The last one to close the hatch cover behind Gagarin.
Now it is difficult to understand, but then everyone was preoccupied with one problem: what will happen? Can a person bear weightlessness? Will his psyche suffer? And even the leading experts did not know the answers to most of the questions.
Many seriously thought: the psyche of the first cosmonaut might not be able to cope with loneliness in the boundless blackness of space. The designers decided to play it safe - they came up with a secret code. The number "25" was under the strictest stamp. However, as it turned out, almost all the "initiates" whispered it to Yuri Gagarin before the start. Why? Yes, because they believed him, as themselves.
It is difficult to say whether we will ever know absolutely all the details of that flight. It turns out that the first start almost failed due to a technical problem. While the specialists sorted it out, Yuri whistled softly: "The Motherland hears, the Motherland knows ..."
And from the recently declassified report of the first cosmonaut at a meeting of the State Commission, it became known that Yuri Gagarin was on the verge of death for ten out of 108 minutes. The descent vehicle did not separate from the spacecraft.
The first cosmonaut also had to go through another test - after the flight he was burdened by tough guardianship "from above". To spend the night with relatives, he had to take permission from Kamanin. Sometimes all this was damn annoying, and he allowed himself mischievous boyish antics. They loved him for who he was, they saw him as "their" ...
Few people know that back in 1964, Yuri Gagarin was one of the first to propose restoring the Cathedral of Christ the Savior destroyed by the Bolsheviks. And it sounded not just anywhere - at a meeting of the plenum of the Central Committee. Gagarin's motive was very simple: you can't raise patriotism without knowing your roots. They say that the reaction was amazing, thunderous applause broke out. The presidium, of course, was seriously frightened, but they, of course, could not do anything against Yuri Alekseevich.
Gagarin's flight into space predetermined the future of more than one generation of earthlings. Before people opened the road beyond what belongs to the Earth. Road to the new world. And now it's forever. As the American astronaut Neil Armstrong, who first set foot on the moon, said, earthlings will be in space, entering through the door that Gagarin opened.
How to say, perhaps without Gagarin's flight, the American spurt blitz to the moon would not have taken place.
For Russians, Yuri Gagarin is a favorite hero of Russian history of the 20th century. According to a study by VTsIOM, he owns 35 percent of the vote. Following are Vladimir Vysotsky and Marshal Zhukov, Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin.
How did it all start? Gagarin's flight into space, which was the first in the history of mankind? And all this happened on April 12, 1961. Yuri Gagarin, a citizen of the Soviet Union, who had the rank of senior lieutenant, was the first person to make a space flight in orbit around the Earth on the Vostok spacecraft. Thus, he opened the era of space flights on manned spacecraft.
The entire flight of Gagarin into space lasted 108 minutes, but despite this, it was a powerful impetus for the continuation of space exploration. Yu.A. Gagarin, as the first cosmonaut, received the rank of aviation major ahead of schedule and was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Astronaut candidate selection and preparation.
How to determine who is first obliged to fly into space, of course, this, of course, must be a pilot, moreover, a pilot of fighter jet aviation. Taking into account the specifics and capabilities of the then space technology, special candidates were needed - these are people who are absolutely healthy and professionally trained, as well as disciplined and corresponding to the whole complex of physical and medical conditions.
In addition to Yu.A. Gagarin, there were still applicants for the first flight into space. There were only twenty of them. Applicants were selected among fighter pilots, this is how Korolev decided, who believed that it was precisely such pilots who had experience in overloads, as well as stressful situations and large pressure drops.
In addition, the selection of candidates was made taking into account positive characteristics, party membership, as well as political activity and social origin. Moreover, flight qualities did not play a significant role directly in the selection.
There were two leaders in the first cosmonaut training detachment, they were Yuri Gagarin and German Titov.
Of this number, twenty people selected six, this was due to the fact that Korolev was in a hurry, because there was information that somewhere at the end of April 1961, the Americans wanted to send their man into space. Therefore, the launch of the USSR planned April 11 - 17 in 1961. The first cosmonaut was determined at the last moment, it was done at a meeting of the Civil Code, it was Yu. Gagarin, and his comrade, German Titov, became an understudy.
And so, on April 3, 1961, the assembled Presidium of the Central Committee finally made a decision on manned space flight.
And five days later, on April 8, 1961, a regular meeting of the State Commission was held, at which the issue of launching the Vostok spacecraft was decided. This commission approved the task for a man on the first space flight, which was signed by S. P. Korolev, as well as N. P. Kamanin. Here is the text -
“Perform a single-turn flight around the Earth at an altitude of about 180-230 kilometers, as well as a duration of about an hour and a half, with a landing in a given area. The purpose of the flight was also determined, it consisted in the following, it was necessary to check the following: the possibility of a person staying in space on a special, equipped ship, the equipment of the ship in flight, the connection of the ship with the Earth, and also to make sure the necessary reliability of the landing of the ship with the astronaut.
After the end of the open part of the meeting, remaining in a narrow composition, the commission, which approved Kamanin's proposal for admission to Yuri Gagarin's flight, that is, Gagarin's flight into space was to be the first, and his friend Titov should be approved for this flight as a reserve cosmonaut.
The first human space flight, Gagarin's flight into space
The participation of the USSR in the race for space exploration leads to the fact that in the work on the creation of the Vostok spacecraft they chose a number of not the best, but simple and quickly feasible solutions.
The Vostok spacecraft launched on April 12, 1961 at 09:07 Moscow time from the Baikonur cosmodrome, located in Kazakhstan, with pilot-cosmonaut Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin on board; Yuri Gagarin had the call sign "Kedr". Dana was the command "to start", then Gagarin uttered his phrase, which has long become famous: "Let's go!".
In flight, Gagarin in space, in orbit, conducted the simplest experiments: i.e. he ate, drank, made notes with a pencil. "Putting" a pencil next to him, he accidentally discovered that he immediately began to swim away. Gagarin concluded from this: pencils and other objects that are in space must be secured, i.e. tie. He recorded his feelings and observations on a tape recorder.
Upon completion of Gagarin's flight into space, the braking propulsion system, the famous designer Isaev, worked successfully, but with a slight shortfall in momentum, so the automation issued a signal to prohibit the standard separation of compartments.
During the descent, at an altitude of about 7 km, exactly in accordance with the given flight plan, Yu. Gagarin ejected, after which the capsule, as well as the cosmonaut, began to descend on parachutes separately. This is where the problem arose, oddly enough it turned out to be the landing site. Yuri Gagarin parachuted into the winter river water of the Volga. But this time, Yuri Gagarin was helped by excellent pre-flight preparation - by controlling the lines, he was able to take the parachute away from the river water, and landed at a distance of about 1.5-2 kilometers from the river bank.
Return to Earth
Having made one revolution around the Earth, Yuri Gagarin at 10:55:34 at 108 minutes on his ship completed the flight.
He was first met on the ground, after the flight, by people who turned out to be the wife of a local forester Anna Takhtarova and their six-year-old granddaughter Rita. After a short time, military and local collective farmers arrived at the landing site. A group of military men, one of them guarded the descent vehicle, and the second group took Gagarin to the area where the unit was located. From here, Y. Gagarin reported the following to the air defense division commander by phone: “Please tell the Air Force Commander-in-Chief: I completed the task, landed in the assigned area, I feel good, there are no bruises or breakdowns. Gagarin.
At this time, a Mi-4 helicopter took off from the Engels airfield, the crew of which needed to find and pick up Gagarin. This crew, the crew of the Mi-4, immediately discovered the descent vehicle, but Gagarin was not next to him; local residents explained the situation, they said that Y. Gagarin had left by truck for the city of Engels.
Then the Mi-4 took off and headed for the city of Engels. From the helicopter on the road, not far from the checkpoint, they noticed a car in which Gagarin, after the report, was already heading to his descent vehicle. Here Yuri Gagarin got out of the car, waved his arms, the helicopter pilots picked him up and flew to the Engels airfield, transmitting a radiogram with the following content: "The astronaut has been taken on board, I'm going to the airfield."
At the airfield in Engels, Gagarin was already impatiently awaited, the entire leadership of the base pulled up to the helicopter ladder. Gagarin was handed a telegram from the Soviet government with congratulations. In a Pobeda car, Gagarin was taken to the command and control tower, and then to the base headquarters in order to contact Moscow.
Approximately three hours after Gagarin's arrival in Kuibyshev, Korolev and several other representatives from the State Commission arrive there. At about 9 pm they set the table and celebrate the successful flight and the return of Gagarin from space.
Given the secrecy of the first manned flight into space, as well as the fact of the launch and flight of Gagarin into space, they were not covered in advance. The widely known shots with Gagarin were filmed not on the day of the launch into space, but later, especially for the newsreel, where Gagarin repeated everything he did during the real launch.
Events after Yu.A. Gagarin's space flight
Successful carrying out of the planned research and fulfillment of the flight program On April 12, 1961, at exactly 10:55 Moscow time, the Soviet spacecraft Vostok made an accident-free landing in a given area of the Soviet Union.
Pilot-cosmonaut Major Gagarin said: "I ask you to report to the party and the government that the landing went well, I feel good, I have no injuries or bruises."
This flight of Gagarin into space opened up grandiose prospects for the conquest of space by mankind.
It was a TASS message that was prepared in advance ...
Yuri Gagarin's meeting in Moscow
Initially, no one planned such a grand meeting of Gagarin in Moscow. It was all decided at the last moment, and Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev decided it. He called the Kremlin and insistently demanded a worthy meeting with Gagarin, the first cosmonaut.
On April 14, an Il-18 flew for Gagarin; on approaching Moscow, the plane was accompanied by an honorary escort of fighters, consisting of seven MiG-17 fighters. The plane with an escort solemnly flew over the center of Moscow, then over Red Square, and landed at Vnukovo Airport, where Y. Gagarin was expected by a grand reception: a lot of jubilant people, journalists and cameramen, as well as the country's leadership.
Then there was a trip in an open "ZIL-111V", Gagarin greeted those who met them standing. Congratulations were heard all around, many waved posters. One man managed to break through the cordon and personally handed a bouquet to Gagarin. A rally was held on Red Square, at which Nikita Khrushchev announced that Yuri Gagarin had been awarded the titles of Hero of the Soviet Union, as well as Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR.
Foreign visits
Yuri Gagarin's first trip abroad was to Czechoslovakia. He flew on a regular Tu-104 plane to Prague. The passengers of the flight, when they recognized Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin, rushed for autographs.
Yuri Gagarin visited Finland twice - in 1961 and 1962.
In 1961, in July, Gagarin arrived in the UK, he was invited by the foundry union of England.
And in 1961, Gagarin managed to visit Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Finland, Great Britain, as well as Poland (July 21-22), Cuba, Brazil with a short stop on the island of Curacao, visited Canada in the same year with a stop in Iceland, Hungary, India, Ceylon, Afghanistan.
In general, Yu.A. Gagarin visited almost all countries of the world, where he was greeted joyfully and kindly.
Thus began an era, the era of the exploration of near space by mankind!
April 12 is forever inscribed in the history of mankind as Cosmonautics Day!
In the last century, there have been a lot of discoveries, scientific and technological achievements that literally turned the life of mankind on the entire planet. This includes Gagarin's flight into space.
This event has become one of the brightest for its time and even now it is a kind of calling card of the Soviet and Russian cosmonautics.
Launching a man into space is a most difficult task that required the mobilization of the best minds of the country, the availability of well-functioning high-precision production and advanced electronics. Only all this together made it possible to accomplish this great event and open up new horizons of development for people.
At one time, the name of Yuri Gagarin thundered all over the world, but now even he has begun to be gradually forgotten. Modern schoolchildren and students are no longer so interested in the great achievements of the past, so from time to time they just need to be reminded of this. After all, this is our common history.
Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin - the most important thing from the biography of the astronaut
The future world-famous cosmonaut began his life on March 9, 1934 in a village called Klushino, in the Smolensk region. In the sad 1941, Yura was going to go to school to study, the Nazi attack changed the course of events and his studies were forcibly interrupted until 1943.
In the 54th year, the Gagarin family moved to Gzhatsk, where Yuri graduated from the 6th grade of the school and went to study at the Lyubertsy vocational school. In 1951, the guy went to study at the Saratov Industrial College.
When they began to select a candidate for the first Vostok-1 spacecraft to be sent into space, Gagarin filed a report to enroll him in the team. Having passed all the necessary commissions and checks, he was approved as the main candidate.
Yuri's understudy is German Titov, who was supposed to replace him in the event of any force majeure. These people were chosen because they were the most suitable for the established requirements.
What year did Gagarin fly into space?
April 12, 1961 was an epochal day in the history of not only the Soviet Union, but of all mankind. It was on this day that Yuri Gagarin boarded the Vostok-1 spacecraft and successfully launched into space.
The date was chosen in advance and at this time all the necessary work was carried out to debug the equipment, prepare the cosmonaut himself, the side on which he flew. Everything required a thorough check and diagnosis, because even the slightest mistake could lead to Yuri's death.
Were there people in space before Gagarin? The official version says no, but as usual there are lovers of secret theories who claim that a certain cosmonaut Vladimir Ilyushin was the first person in orbit.
What spaceport did you start from?
Yuriy took off into space at 9:00 7:00 Moscow time from the Baikonur cosmodrome, known to the whole world even today.
It is the first cosmodrome on the planet and in our time retains leadership in many respects, in particular, in terms of size it is the largest such object on the planet.
The Vostok rocket was launched from the cosmodrome under the control of Colonel of the Missile Forces Kirillov A.S. The second person in charge during this process was the deputy of the legendary designer Korolev Voskresensky L.A.
What was the name of the ship
As mentioned above, the spacecraft on which Gagarin went into space was called Vostok. He opened a whole series of ships with the same name, which in the future carried out more than one successful flight beyond the earth's atmosphere.
The Vostok was built by the designer O. G. Ivanovsky. Under the careful supervision and guidance of the same legendary Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.
Quite simple, but at the same time extremely reliable and effective technical solutions and materials were used in the ship. The main tasks that were set before the spacecraft were the collection of information about how the human body, psyche and performance will be affected by being in orbit, as well as the development of all systems and mechanisms.
How long was the flight
Yuri Gagarin, who became the first person in space, spent 108 minutes in earth orbit and during this time made a complete revolution around the planet Earth.
As for the first flight in the history of mankind, this time was very impressive, because in order to ensure it, it was necessary to perform very high-quality work of the ship itself, careful and competent training of the astronaut, and the creation of all conditions for him to stay in orbit.
The duration of the flights of future ships was already much longer. For example, the pilot of the Vostok-5 spacecraft, Bykovsky Valery Fedorovich, went into space on 06/14/1963 and stayed there for 5 whole days, flying around the earth more than 80 times.
On the ship "Vostok-6", simultaneously with Bykovsky, but two days later, the first woman cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, set off and perfectly coped with the task.
How many revolutions did he make around the earth
The ship "Vostok" made 1 revolution around our planet. It was an outstanding and unparalleled result.
The launch date of the ship remained in the memory of people forever and made it possible to open a new stage in the development of all mankind. The feat of Yuri Gagarin even now excites young minds and makes them strive for high things.
Gagarin's call sign during the first flight
During his first flight, Gagarin received the call sign "Kedr". The reason for this was not his height or other physical dimensions, but the desire of the project participants to use symbolism in this way.
Monument to Yuri Gagarin in Moscow
Cedar is an eternal tree that will always live in the memory of the people. So the feat of Yuri must live forever, like an ancient cedar. There are different stories about this call sign, but they are mostly speculation.
Where did the first astronaut land?
After flying around the orbit, the Vostok device began to descend, but due to a breakdown in the braking system, it landed not where it was originally planned.
The arrival of the apparatus fell on the territory between the villages of Podgornoye and Smelovka. Then Gagarin was picked up by the military by helicopter and taken to the Engels airfield. Photos of these significant events are probably stored in state archives.
Here are some interesting moments from the life of the most famous astronaut of mankind:
- Probably every student knows what Gagarin said at the start of his rocket. He uttered the iconic phrase "Let's go!".
- Not everyone knows how old Gagarin flew into space. The answer will surprise many young people, because when he was first sent in 1961, Yuri was 27 years old.
- The flight altitude of the Vostok spacecraft was 250-300 km.
- This legendary and brave man died at a young age. He died at just 34 years old during an aircraft test. The causes of the disaster are still quite vague.
This is the basic information about how the launch of the Vostok spacecraft and its sole captain, Yuri Gagarin, went. This historical breakthrough still remains in the people's memory, stimulating ever new levels of knowledge of the cosmos.
Yuri Gagarin spent one hour and forty-eight minutes in flight. But this short period of time has fundamentally changed the ideas of mankind about what is possible and what is impossible. Far space has become closer, and the stars now began to shine with a special alluring brilliance. Not only the inhabitants of the USSR, but the whole world applauded the first person who rose so high above the surface of the planet.
None of the leading experts could answer these and other questions. Only practice could confirm the correctness of the scientists' assumptions. The successful flight of Gagarin dispelled the fears of specialists, for whom the historical one hundred and eight minutes turned into an endless agonizing wait.
Why did the flight take place on April 12? The time for the launch of the Soviet spacecraft was chosen consciously. The Soviet leadership had information that on the last days of April of the same year, the first launch of the apparatus with a person on board was scheduled by the Americans. In the conditions of tough competition between the two world systems, it was decided to get ahead of overseas colleagues. Give them precedence
