That was the words of Anton Ivanov, the director of Skoltech’s Space Center, as he watched Yuri Gagarin calm down in position, preparing for the historic trip.
60 years ago, astronaut Yuri Gagarin made history, paving the way for hundreds of astronauts to follow him into space over the next decades.
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.
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