Each student knows who was the first person to find himself in space, but there are hardly any people who know what Gagarin's callsigns were, or why this cosmonaut was chosen for such an important role.
Why exactly Yuri Gagarin?
Obviously, the choice of the person who was the first to fly into space was lengthy and difficult. Among the applicants were two dozen pilots, who, however, were not considered the best pilots in the country. Since the future cosmonaut himself was chosen by Korolev, he primarily drew attention to indicators such as height and weight, since the dimensions of the first spacecraft were very modest. Another condition was membership in the CPSU.
The preparation of the first flight was complicated by the fact that the Soviet Union had to get ahead of America. Those who were lucky to be the first to go into space were selected at the last moment. These were Yuri Gagarin and his understudy German Titov, Gagarin's call sign during the flight was “Cedar”, and his partner - “Eagle”.
Flight
The launch took place on April 12, 1961, the Vostok spacecraft departed from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Having made one revolution around the Earth, the ship completed its flight, after which Gagarin's cosmic call sign, however, like the astronaut himself, became famous throughout the world.
Since there was a failure in the braking system, the apparatus with the new world hero landed not in a place prepared in advance - 110 km from Stalingrad, but near Engels, in the village of Smelovka. He landed where such a valuable guest was hardly expected, and it is unlikely that some of the local residents knew what Gagarin's call sign was.
Cosmonaut meeting
Since Gagarin landed in an uninhabited area, the first person he met was the forester's wife and granddaughter. A little later, the military arrived at the scene, who secured the descent vehicle and took the astronaut to the nearest part. Already being in the unit, Gagarin transmitted a message to the division commander, in which he said that the flight was successful, and he was safe and sound.
At the same time, a helicopter set off from the airport in Engels to find and take on board Gagarin. They did not find the astronaut at the landing site, but the locals informed them that he went to Engels in a truck. On the way to the city, the pilot saw Gagarin waving his hands, and picked him up to go to the airport together.
He was already expected at the Engels aerodrome so that he could go to the base, report on his successful work and so that from that moment the whole world would know what Gagarin had the callsigns during the first space flight. On the spot he was handed a congratulatory telegram from the government of the Soviet Union. Yuri Gagarin, a world-renowned astronaut, was taken to the control room, and then to the headquarters of the base, at Pobeda so that he could report back to Moscow about the results of his work.
Report
Soon, two aircraft appeared at the airport in Engels, on board which arrived the deputy commander of the Air Force and a team of journalists. While the dispatchers were establishing contact with Moscow, Gagarin talked to reporters and took pictures. As soon as contact was made, Yuri Gagarin personally informed Khrushchev and Brezhnev that the flight completed successfully.
Interesting Facts
- Before the "Vostok" went into space, TASS representatives prepared three messages at once. The first was in case the flight went well, the second - if the ship did not land on the territory of the USSR, and the third - about the death of the pilot and an unsuccessful flight. Fortunately, only the first came in handy.
- As a prize, Gagarin received the Volga with a personal number that contained the flight date and the initials of the astronaut 12-04 SAG.
- After the death of the Queen, Gagarin proposed to bury him on the moon.
- In the Soviet Union, every child knew what callsign Gagarin had.
- Since the flight of the “East” took place on autopilot, in fact Gagarin was an observer who would have to take control in the event of a control system failure.
- One of the craters on the moon is named after Gagarin.
- Gagarin’s famous expression “Well, let's go!” - This is a quote taken from one of the heroes of Dickens.
The fact that the first manned space flight took place precisely in the Soviet Union became very important for strengthening the position of the USSR in the international arena. Moreover, not only the USSR benefited from this, but the astronaut himself, who became famous all over the world, and the representative of any continent and nationality found out what callsigns Gagarin had.