The moment the Vostok 1 and Gagarin left the launch pad. Photo: AP

Not to be outdone, in 1958, the US also successfully put the Explorer 1 satellite into orbit. After this period, the two sides entered a fierce race to conquer space, aiming to become the first country able to bring people to space.

Finally, the Soviet Union was the country to finish earlier, with astronaut Yuri Gagarin’s orbit exactly 60 years ago, on April 12, 1961 – the flight is historic and is considered to have changed change the world.

According to RBTH, Yuri Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934 in an ordinary carpenter family in Smolensk. At the age of 16, he moved to Moscow and then entered an engineering school in Saratov. Gagarin has been dreaming of the sky since childhood. One of the first pictures of Gagarin that his family still has is a young man standing by the wing of an airplane, raising his hand in excitement.

Image of Gagarin sitting on the Vostok spacecraft 1. Photo: ITN

While still a student in Saratov, Gagarin volunteered to join an aviation club. Thanks to his talent and relentless efforts, in 1955, at the age of 21, Gagarin was sent to the Chkalov First Air Force Pilot School in Orenburg and graduated with excellent results after 2 years.

In November 1957, he officially became a military pilot with the rank of lieutenant in the Soviet Air Force. At the same time, the Soviet Union launched an artificial satellite to bring the dog Laica into space. In the early 1960s, he enrolled in the secret program of selecting astronauts for a flight to space and became one of the group of 20 brightest candidates.

Yuri Gagarin. Photo: ITN

After nearly a year of hard training, Gagarin has proven the qualities that show he is the best person, passing all rigorous physical and mental tests – the most important factor for an astronaut. The universe.

On April 8, 1961, major pilot Gagarin was officially selected to be the first person to fly into space. His substitute was none other than astronaut Gherman Titov, who later flew into space aboard the Vostok 2 spacecraft on August 6, 1961.

The night before the flight, April 11, 1961, Gagarin and Titov spent the night in a small bungalow in Baikonur. “I’m leaving tomorrow and I can’t even believe it will be me,” Gagarin told his colleague. At 5:00 a.m. on April 12, 1961, two astronauts were awakened and taken to Baikonur airport.

The convoy carried Gagarin when he returned to Moscow on April 14, 1961. Photo: TASS

After completing the final procedures, Gagarin boarded the Vostok 1 train, Titov remained for the next mission. At 9:07, the ship and Gagarin left the launch pad. After 10 minutes, the train enters orbit at a speed of 29,000 km / h, reaching a maximum altitude of 327 km. Gagarin became the first person to see the species’ common home from outer space.

“I see the Earth, it’s beautiful,” he said from space in his colleague’s rupture on the ground.

After completing a 108-minute round-the-Earth journey, Gagarin and his landing gear landed safely by parachuting into a field in the state of Saratov. Due to his landing a few kilometers from the proposed site, the first two people to see him were an old farmer woman and a baby girl. Gagarin once spent several minutes explaining to them he was … not a Western spy, according to WION.

Gagarin’s landing gear landed in a field in Saratov. Photo: ITN

When a colleague appeared, he was greeted with glee. He rested for a few days and was brought back to Moscow on April 14, 1961 on a jet. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens filled the streets of Moscow at that time to celebrate the country’s hero.

According to Russian media, because of the dangerous and secret nature of the flight mission, after being selected as the first astronaut, Yuri Gagarin even wrote a suicide note. If the worst happens, the letter will be sent to your family.

Also, since no one had ever been to space before Gagarin, Soviet scientists could not predict every situation that happened to astronauts. Therefore, the Vostok is controlled from the ground and Yuri Gagarin can only intervene in case of emergency.

Talking about the moment in space, Gagari said seeing the soft blue Earth, next to the dark sky, but with many bright stars. Gagarin could not see the Moon but the Sun was very bright, many times brighter than from Earth.

Gagarin visited London in 1961. Photo: Russian DSQ in London

After the legendary flight, Gagarin participated in Soviet space training and research activities. He also spends a lot of time traveling around the world to inspire his travels and met many famous people.

In 1967, after witnessing his best friend, astronaut Vladimir Komarov, died when a mission to connect two spacecraft in orbit failed, he collapsed.

On March 27, 1968, more than a year after the death of his best friend, Yuri Gagarin returned to the flight route with the task of training a test pilot on the first generation MiG-15 jet fighter. However, the MiG-15 crashed shortly after takeoff, killing him.

Gagarin before the fateful flight in 1968. Photo: ITN

At that time, the Soviet Union decided not to publish specific information about the cause of Gagarin’s death, creating many speculations. In 2011, 50 years after Gagarin’s space flight, the Russian government published more than 700 pages of documents about Gagarin, which revealed that the weather on March 27, 1968 was very complicated and the dive moves. Gagarin, or its co-pilot, put the plane in danger.

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.

Astronaut Yuri Gagarin. Photo: Heritage.

While waiting for the Vostok-1 to be launched, the famous saying “Поехали!” Gagarin’s (“Let’s go!”) Shows his daring personality. This personality has also become a brief motto in the human travels later on.

Over the years, the space exploration community has made great strides, including the first crewed flight flight, the first female astronaut’s space walk, and a pairing experiment. to examine the impact of the environment in space on humans. Of the twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly, Mark will be on Earth and Scott will fly into space.

April 12 was officially recognized as the United Nations’ International Astronaut Day. Many space lovers take part in a global space party known as “Yuri’s Night” to mark a big occasion.

“Endless exploration is deeply entrenched in each of us, and space travel is a practical way to realize this extraordinary cosmic mission,” said Clément Fortin, Professor of Practice at the Center. Space under the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) in Moscow, Russia, writes in an email.

According to him, the achievement of Yuri Gagarin opens up other great possibilities, though it is difficult to achieve in particular.

Yuri Gagarin and the first voyage into space

The first crewed trip was a milestone for all of humanity, but the day astronaut Yuri Gagarin first flew into space was a special resonance for Russians, who saw Gagarin as a taste. Valuable national hero. His name is given to many monuments, buildings and locations across the country.

“In Russia there are a lot of events being held on this day. We will participate in events that explain how space technology works and how the future of space exploration,” said Anton Ivanov. , Director of Skoltech’s Space Center, replied in an email.

The Vostok-1 is launching at the Baikonur Cosmodrome station, Kazakhstan.

Human space travel is an effort that has been successful in the past 60 years, but also leaves a lot of regret for many young people. Teenagers under the age of 20 have never experienced an undiscovered space, when there are no humans in orbit, as the space station (ISS) has been occupied since day 2. 11/2000.

Earlier, Russia’s Mir space station flew into Earth orbit from 1986-2001, pioneering multi-day crew trips. Russian astronauts Mir still holds the record for the 3rd longest in the history of mankind’s longest journeys.

Before the Gagarin flight 60 years ago, no one had set foot in space. The Soviet space program put many animals into space, such as the famous Laika, the first animal to fly around the Earth. Even so, Gagarin still faces a completely new challenge with great principles that will change the entire history of space travel, regardless of the mission.

“In the early 1960s, the missile technology was still incomplete, despite many tests, the missile was blown up,” Mr. Ivanov said.

According to him, before Gagarin’s ship was launched, there were several failed launches. Gagarin sat on the train as if riding a bomb. Since the astronauts knew the statistics well, they had the courage to board the Vostok-1 and carry out their mission.

He’s like he’s riding on a bomb

Anton Ivanov, Director of Skoltech’s Space Center

Fortunately, Gagarin and his crew’s courage paid off. After hours inside the Vostok-1 on the launch pad, Gagarin was finally launched into the air at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch station, Kazakhstan, at 6:07 Coordinated International (UTC).

Gagarin entered orbit a few minutes later, maintaining a calm and positive attitude throughout the 108-minute flight.

Lessons from the first flight

The cockpit of the Vostok-1 has a spherical shape made mainly of aluminum alloy and covered with abrasive material. Unlike today’s capsule cocktails, the ship carrying the Gagarin was not designed to reach the ground safely.

The small metal ball was equipped with only one escape option that Gagarin had to manipulate in order to be dropped from a great distance from the ground, so that he could parachute into a safe place while the Vostok-1 landed separately. .

After completing a round-trip around the Earth, the Vostok-1 is sent back into space. At that time, Gagarin successfully escaped an open door and fell into the countryside in Kazakhstan.

The ship carrying Gagarin was not designed to land safely, so he had to parachute to escape the ship while it landed somewhere else.

Even though the mission was a success, this was still a hair-raising risk on the back of the neck. In an email, Ms. Anastasia Ilina, founder of the Russian space diffusion community Space Flight and project coordinator of the Skoltech Space Center, described the Vostok-1 as “flight into space, one the flight has no guarantees “.

“During Yuri Gagarin’s flight, we had difficulty closing the spacecraft lid, and after launching, the ship moved in orbit faster than planned,” she said.

When she returned, she said, the push-and-brake system produced unsafe braking impulses, making the ship twisted and landed with difficulty.

“But even though there were technical difficulties, we all got over it,” added Ms. Ilina.

According to her, it was important that the first flight taught the crew (astronauts, guides, engineers) a lesson on how to coordinate work and manage space equipment.

In fact, Yuri Gagarin proved that one can step inside a metal sphere and change the trajectory of human discovery forever. Within a decade of his first flight, many astronauts in the Apollo program had landed on the Moon.

This is an American achievement born of the Cold War due to the successes of the Soviet Union that sparked the space race.

While possibly strong interstate geopolitical tensions over space travel still exist, mankind’s travels have evolved into a collaborative endeavor.

Astronauts from 18 different countries and new international collaborations such as the Artemis program led by NASA aim to bring people back to the Moon.

The advent of commercial crews also reshaped human spacecraft, heralding a new era of space travel that is imminent in the near future.