Gagarin But Not Forgotten
Today, 12th April, is the anniversary of mankind’s first foray into space.
Back in 1961, some 46 years ago, a Russian cosmonaut named Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first person in space and the first person to orbit the Earth.
After World War II, Gagarin studied at technical school, where he joined the ‘AeroClub’ and learned to fly aircraft. After studying hard and graduating from flight training school in 1955, he moved to Luostari airbase in the Murmansk region of North Eastern Russia. Although the planes he flew were big, Gagarin was not – only 5’2 in height, but perfect for the small Soviet cockpits.
In 1960, after an exhaustive selection process, Gagarin was selected for the Soviet space program along with 19 other lucky cosmonauts. Ultimately, for the first launch, only Gagarin and his friend Gherman Titov were selected because of their training record and physical excellence. Of the two, Gagarin was more outgoing, and because of his poor upbringing, was seen as the perfect candidate.
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| Gagarin: an inspiration for thousands, not least Mr T. |
After returning safely from the flight, he became an instant, worldwide celebrity, touring the world and promoting Soviet science and achievement.
Gagarin died on March 27th 1968 while taking a MiG-15UTI on a routine training flight in Western Russia, although some mystery still surrounds the circumstances of his death.
The tributes to him since his death have included: his home-town of Gzhatsk being renamed Gagarin in his honour, a huge statue of him erected in a Moscow square, several coins commemorating the 20th, 30th and 40th anniversaries and the obligatory crater on the moon.
Main image: Russian Institute of Radionavigation/Time
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