Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space. He is a Soviet hero and national figure, and his name reminds us of the potential of human space travel and exploration. Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space and the first human to orbit... [more]

Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space. He is a Soviet hero and national figure, and his name reminds us of the potential of human space travel and exploration. Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space and the first human to orbit the Earth in 1961.

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Written by tusharm on
If the venerable television series “Star Trek” has taught us one thing, it’s that the holodeck will never work properly and you should never go in there. But if it’s taught us two things, the second must be that space is the final frontier. Even when we’ve managed to learn everything there is to know about Earth, there will still be mysteries to explore in space. Are there intelligent species living far beyond our solar system? What exactly is dark matter? Could wormholes hold the secret to faster-than-light travel? The answers to these questions — and others that we haven’t thought of yet — ... Read Full Story
Written by radioflyer1980 on
The 1950’s were coming to an end and Man was preparing to explore the furthest frontiers. In the United States, the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration was designing the Mercury spacecraft. A single astronaut would be set atop a modified ballistic missile. The first flights would go almost 200 miles straight up and down. At the same time, the Soviet Union was working on the Vostok space capsule. Their plan was to launch it using the same rocket that had already scored such space spectaculars as the first two Sputnik satellites. While both nations looked up to the highest heights, the US ... Read Full Story
Written by spacebuff on
Forty-eight years ago today, Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space . He rode the Soviet spaceship Vostok 1 into orbit, shocking America and the world with a major PR coup…and an incredible achievement. Not the best pilot Gagarin was s good pilot, but not the best. Cosmonaut Gherman Titov, who’s flight followed Gagain’s, was widely consider more skilled. Khrushchev liked Gagarin Nonetheless, Gagarin was a good communist and he was from good peasant stock. Khrushchev liked him, so Gagarin got the plum assignment. The downside of being first After his flight, Gagarin instantly became world famous and a national hero. The ... Read Full Story
Written by lumidek on
Honor to the Astronaut (click) (Jaromír Hnilička / Pavel Pácl, translation L.M., sung by Gustav Brom 4/12/1961) The whole world heard the news from the Soviets, the whole world suspended all its chats. The whole world jumped away from radios, and it turned all its eyes to the skies. Good morning, Mr major Gagarin, we couldn't wait but now it is here. The whole world drank wine red as your flag, people were waving all of their hands. 2x Tell the guys who live on the stars, tell the guys who live on the Moon. Tell them the message from us humans, that we ... Read Full Story
Written by CoinLink on
The second release from The Perth Mint’s innovative Orbit and Beyond Series celebrates Yuri Gagarin, Soviet cosmonaut and national hero, who became the first human in space and the first to orbit the Earth on 12 April 1961. Struck by The Perth Mint, the coin comprises 1oz of 99.9% pure silver with a central core made of non-precious metal. Coloured Reverse Design The coin’s reverse comprises the border inscription 1961 FIRST MAN IN SPACE – YURI GAGARIN and a montage of coloured images symbolising his epic journey. Blasting-off in Vostok 1 from Baikonur in Soviet central Asia, Gagarin completed a single orbit of the ... Read Full Story
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Sov Space

Soviet space picture

Sov Space

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Apollo was momentous in a way that Yuri Gagarin's first, heroic orbit could never have been. Gagarin had circled the Earth in 92 minutes in 1961. He had travelled 24,000 miles in an hour and a half; he had made history; he had confirmed Soviet space supremacy; he had done a thing that many thought could never be done. But two things separated him from the Apollo team eight years later.  
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Five Malaysian students, who are part of a group of 14 eager teens visiting the renowned Yuri Gagarin cosmonaut training centre in Moscow, went away awe-struck after exploring the country’s rich space history.  
From thestar.com.my ()
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Drinking at a place you visited as a student has a special off-limits thrill. You can get that feeling Saturday from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. when the Goddard Space Flight Center throws a party. To celebrate the center's 50th anniversary and the first man in space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, Goddard will...  
From news.search.yahoo.com ()
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It's only appropriate that Houston would host the largest celebration of space flight in the world, isn't it? That's what's going down this weekend at Yuri's Night 2009 . Named for the first man to travel into space nearly fifty years ago, Yuri Gagarin, the celebration this Saturday is perfect...  
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Source: Wikipedia.org

On 12 April 1961, Gagarin became the first human to travel into space in Vostok 3KA-2 (Vostok 1). His call sign in this flight was Kedr. During his flight, Gagarin famously whistled the tune "The Motherland Hears, The Motherland Knows" (Russian: "Родина слышит, Родина знает"). The first two lines of the song are: "The Motherland hears, the Motherland knows/Where her son flies in the sky". This patriotic song was written by Dmitri Shostakovich in 1951 (opus 86), with words by Yevgeniy Dolmatovsky.

There are speculations in the media that from orbit Gagarin made the comment, "I don't see any God up here." There are, however, no such words in the full verbatim record of Gagarin's conversations with the Earth during the spaceflight. In a 2006 interview a close friend of Gagarin, colonel Valentin Petrov, stated that Gagarin never said such words, and that the phrase originated from Nikita Khrushchev's speech at the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, where the antireligious propaganda was discussed. In a certain context Khrushchev said, "Gagarin flew into space, but didn't see any God there". As Gagarin was a great people's favorite at the time, Khrushchev's words were soon attributed to Gagarin for them to be more effective.

While in orbit Gagarin was promoted "in the field" from the lowly rank of Senior Lieutenant to Major — and this was the rank at which TASS announced him in its triumphant statement during the flight.

Gagarin being safely returned, Nikita Khrushchev rushed to his side and Gagarin issued a statement praising the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as the "organiser of all our victories". Khrushchev saw Gagarin's achievement as a vindication of his policy of strengthening the Soviet Union's missile forces at the expense of conventional arms. This policy antagonized the Soviet military establishment and contributed to Khrushchev's eventual downfall.

After the flight, Gagarin became an instant, worldwide celebrity, touring widely with appearances in Italy, Germany, Canada, and Japan to promote the Soviet achievement.

In 1962, he began serving as a deputy to the Supreme Soviet. He later returned to "Star City", the cosmonaut facility, where he worked on designs for a reusable spacecraft.

Source: Wikipedia.org
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