A Leap Into The Universe 

April 12, 1961 marked the beginning of the space era. Soviet pilot Yuri Gagarin was the first person to ever orbit the Earth, sparking a powerful impetus for further space exploration. The cosmonaut himself became an idol and a model for the entire generation. Gagarin's biography is written down to the minute — from his birth to his tragic death. Nevertheless, many details of his space mission are still relatively unknown.

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the founder of Russian cosmonautics, was convinced that the first human spaceflight would not take place before 2017. In 1935, speaking to the participants of the May Day demonstration on Red Square on All-Union Radio, he said: “We, in the Soviet Union, have many young fliers — this is how I call children-aviamodelists, child glider pilots, young men on the planes. On them, I place my highest hopes. They will help implement my discoveries and train talented builders of the first interplanetary spacecraft”.

These words largely predicted the biography of the future cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who was only one year old at the time and who was to be the first in the history of mankind to fly into space. However, half a century earlier than Tsiolkovsky had anticipated.

Yuri Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934, in the small village of Klushino in the Smolensk region. Under the responsive guidance of his father, he and his brothers learned craftsmanship, in which he succeeded quite well. At the age of six, the future cosmonaut started first grade, but his studies were interrupted by the war — the German occupiers started actively occupying the Soviet territories, one day reaching Klushino — the Gagarins were taken from their home and the older children were captured.

In 1943 the village was liberated by Soviet troops, but Yury’s parents, wishing to get rid of painful memories, decided to move to Gzhatsk, where the boy continued his studies. At the age of 15, finding life in Gzhatsk too monotonous and unpromising, Yuri left for Moscow. There he graduated with honours from a trade school and then graduated from an industrial technical school in Saratov. It was in this city that Gagarin made his acquaintance with the sky — in 1954 he joined the local flying club for the first time.

Studying planes practically round the clock, Yuri linked his future only to them. In 1955, Gagarin was conscripted into the Soviet army and sent to study at a military aviation school, after graduating from which he was sent to the Arctic Circle, to a fighter aviation regiment of the Northern Fleet.

After flying a total of 256 hours, Yuri Gagarin was qualified as a 3rd class military pilot and achieved the rank of Senior Lieutenant. At the end of 1959, he wrote a report requesting to be enrolled in the group of candidates for cosmonauts.

Many people dreamed of becoming space pioneers, perhaps, most of all, Sergei Korolev himself. However, due to the age of the constructor, it was not feasible — people were counting on very young pilots who could better withstand the unpredictable overloads of the first space flights. After interviews and medical examinations, 20 people were left out of 3461 applicants. Yuri was among them. The psychologists who tested Gagarin gave him the following characteristic: “...His favourite word is “work”. Constantly confident in himself, in his abilities. Training is easy to tolerate and works effectively. He is very well-developed. Pure-hearted. He is polite, tactful and punctual. He stands out among his friends with a wide scope of active attention, quick wit, and quick reactions. He is studious. Not shy to defend a point of view, which he considers correct”.

Despite the fierce competition, Gagarin behaved kindly with all comrades, and they showed respect for him. Interestingly enough, Yuri was not a leader in any of his training but his combination of skills, psychological stability and certain character traits made him the best candidate for the first space flight.

On 12 April 1961, at 9 o’clock 7 minutes Moscow time, the “Vostok 1” spaceship was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, with Yuri Gagarin on board. Gagarin recorded everything he felt during the flight on a tape recorder. Observing our planet from an incredible altitude, the cosmonaut remarked its beauty and urged people to cherish its nature, conducted some simple experiments — he drank water, ate, and made a note in a pencil in his notebook. Having completed one revolution around the Earth, 108 minutes into his flight Gagarin successfully landed near the village of Smelovka in the Saratov region, from where he was promptly taken to a military unit for a report. The text of it was as follows: “Please report to the party and the government that the landing went well. I feel well; I have no injuries or bruises”.

Due to the strict secrecy of the flight, even the national media learned about it only 24 hours later. During Gagarin’s flight, the head of the country Nikita Khrushchev made sure that the cosmonaut would be awarded properly. In honour of his arrival, a great party was organized and the cosmonaut was awarded a medal “For the Development of Virgin Lands”. On the same day, he was promoted to the rank of major. Then, already in the capital, Yuri Gagarin was awarded the titles of Hero of the Soviet Union and Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR.

One month after his space flight, Gagarin was sent abroad on the “United Nations peace mission”, where he had to visit more than 20 countries, including his work in a diplomatic capacity. During numerous trips and various meetings, Gagarin not only won the sympathy of ordinary people but also heads of state and monarchs. In Great Britain, for instance, the cosmonaut was invited to dinner with Queen Elizabeth II, after which they were photographed, although etiquette did not permit the Queen to do so. However, she explained this breach of protocol as follows: “I had my picture taken with a celestial person and so I did not breach anything”.

The “Gagarin Effect” touched many hearts on the planet. Most countries said: “Yuri Gagarin showed sincere love to people of all nations and peoples, sought to preserve peace on Earth, was simple and charming, which is inherent to the Russian people”. Gagarin himself, accepting numerous gifts, invariably said: “This is for all our people”.

For three years after the space flight, Gagarin was mainly engaged in social activities, put a lot of effort to promote cosmonautics, entered and successfully graduated from the Military Air Academy of Engineering, was preparing to become a member of the lunar space crew. However, these plans were never fulfilled.

On March 27, 1968, Yuri Gagarin was performing a training flight and for unknown reasons performed a maneuver, that he failed to complete. The plane crashed into the ground, killing Gagarin and his instructor Vladimir Seregin. The bodies of the pilots were cremated and the urns with ashes were buried in the Kremlin wall.

by Irina Sheikhetova
Initially published in the “Vestnik” of the Commission
of the Russian Federation for UNESCO (№44 2021)