On April 12, the Russian people celebrated the 60th anniversary of the successful flight to bring the first man in the world – the astronaut Yuri Gagarin – into space. This flight opened a new era in space exploration history and became the pride of Russia.
Astronaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person to fly into space. Photo: history.com
On April 12, 1961, the Vostok spacecraft carrying astronaut Gagarin was launched from Baikonour Space Airport in Kazakhstan, then part of the Soviet Union. The flight lasted just 108 minutes when the ship completed one orbit of the Earth and returned. Since then astronaut Gagarin also became a legend, and the day he took his flight became Russia’s Astronaut Day.
The historian Alexander Zheleznyakov called this a moment that gave humanity a firm conviction that discovering another world outside of the vast universe was entirely within reach. The event has made such a deep impression that the 27-year-old astronaut’s “Poekhali” has become a symbolic catchphrase for the Russian people throughout the years to come.
After 60 years, astronaut Yuri Gagarin, still mentioned as a hero of the nation. Every year, many Russian people still come to place flowers at his memorial sites across the country on April 12. Historian Vyacheslav Klimentov calls Gagarin’s miracle an inspiration to unite all Russians.
Not only loved by courage and ingenuity, Yuri Gagarin is also a shining example, a symbol of success rising from difficulties. Gagarin grew up in a working family, whose parents were carpenters and peasants. He initially studied steelmaking before being recruited to pilot the Soviet army and, at the age of 27, became the first person to fly into space.
While Gagarin was honored, the Vostok spacecraft was also put on display at the Space Travel Foundation in Moscow. Here, on April 13, there will also be an exhibition about Gagarin’s life and career, with many artifacts such as Gagarin’s documents, photos and personal belongings, from when he was a child or when he was still sitting. school chair.
Up to now, Gagarin’s flight has always been referred to as national pride for each Russian, a symbol of the Soviet Union’s power in the aerospace field. Four years before Gagarin’s flight, on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union was also the first country in the world to put a satellite in orbit on Earth – the Sputnik satellite. Until now, the world still considered the first two “beep-beep” signals Sputnik sent to Earth triggered a race between the Soviet Union and the United States in the space field. .
In the years that followed, Russia always took the lead when Gagarin successfully flew his flight, or the fact that the astronaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to step into space and the fact that Russia was the first country to launch. the lunar probe was launched in 1966. However, three years later, the United States became the first country to send a man to the Moon.
Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft carrying three astronauts off the launch pad at Baikonur Space Airport, Kazakhstan, April 9, 2021. Photo: AFP / VNA
Over the past 60 years, Russia has maintained its leading position in space exploration, steadily sending astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). However, observers assess that Russia is competing with strong competitors such as the US and China in the race to develop space technology. In 2020, Russia loses its monopoly on human launchers on the ISS when US tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Space X Company develops and successfully put into use reusable missile systems, put astronauts the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) successfully landed on the ISS. Although the director of the Russian Aerospace Agency (Roscosmos) Dmitry Rogozin insists the agency is pursuing ambitious projects such as a mission to Venus, Mars or setting up a space station on the Moon, the Industry insiders still see this as a difficult time for Russia as competitors emerge increasingly strong.
However, the Russian people still believe in future success when looking at the historical fact that this country always appears at memorable times in human history. Not only has an influence in the aerospace field, Russia has made its mark on the historic arena with great inventions such as the AK-47 rifle, the hypersonic weapons or most recently, the COVID vaccine. -19 world’s first Sputnik-V.
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