Just a little over half a century ago, new horizons were conquered by humanity. And today no one is surprised that in the Earth’s orbit, people not only live, but also conduct research. The profession of an astronaut has become as ordinary as any other. Nobody is trying to remember their names and surnames. Although the name of the first person in space, and the name of the Gagarin spaceship, is remembered and known by all the inhabitants of the planet so far. So amazing was the very first flight.
On the way to the stars
Today, the name of Yuri Gagarin for all is inextricably linked with space. And perhaps it’s hard to even imagine that someone else could have made this legendary flight. The same applies to the Vostok-1 ship itself, although due to the arms race, the designers had to abandon a number of fundamental decisions. It did not provide for an emergency rescue system at launch, there was no emergency braking system and a soft landing system for the ship.
Special requirements were presented to the first detachment of astronauts. In addition to good health and high moral qualities, it was required that their height be no more than 170 cm and weight up to 75 kg. This is due to the fact that Gagarin's spacecraft simply could not accommodate a heavier and taller passenger. As a result, the leadership, and the general designer himself, for a long time could not choose a candidate. And just before the start Sergey Korolev gave preference to Gagarin. Herman Titov was appointed his understudy .
Legendary flight
On April 12, 1961, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin made the first ever human flight into space. This fact was a milestone in the development of modern civilization. On that day, in all languages of the world, journalists and ordinary citizens repeated what Gagarin's spaceship is called. Vostok-1 became as legendary as its pilot.
And this despite the fact that the first astronaut posed very simple tasks. Yuri Gagarin had to successfully enter the Earth’s orbit, make 1 revolution around it and land at a given point. In addition, it was necessary to keep a detailed diary of their observations and sensations during the entire flight. True, Gagarin’s first spacecraft did not cope with all the tasks successfully. So, it rose 100 km above the planned orbit, and during the descent due to friction against air currents it heated up so that the metal melted. In addition, the first astronaut landed instead of the planned location near Stalingrad in the Saratov region. During the flight there were many other emergency situations that could lead to the death of the pilot and the complete failure of the mission.
Life after
From that day on, the whole world became aware of the name of the Gagarin spaceship. And Yuri Alekseevich himself became a real legend during his lifetime. Everyone wanted to meet him and shake hands with the first "heavenly man." As a result, fearing the loss of the first astronaut, the command did not allow Gagarin to take off again for a long time.
But the ship "Vostok-1" was repeatedly modernized and until 1963 was successfully operated. German Titov and Valentina Tereshkova still went into space on it. And then, after the next series of ships was developed, it was exhibited in 1965 at the Exhibition of Economic Achievements. What was the surprise of the foreign media, which until then knew only what the name of the spaceship Gagarin was. He surpassed all the wildest assumptions of foreign designers and science fiction writers.