calendar: On April 12, 1961

The world's first astronaut was a 27-year-old Soviet aviator named Yuri Gagarin. On April 12, 1961, the 43/4-ton spacecraft Vostok 1 was launched at 9:07 in the morning, Moscow time, from a location in Baikonur, a wasteland in the south-central region of the Soviet Union. The spacecraft orbited the Earth once in 1 hour and 29 minutes at a maximum speed of 27,000 kilometers per hour. It followed an elliptical orbit that carried Gagarin as far as 301 kilometers from Earth. Vostok I landed at 10:55 AM and made the young Soviet cosmonaut a worldwide celebrity. Gagarin's flight in Vostok 1 was an astounding achievement that began mankind's entry into space.

Photo: cosmoworld.ru

 peter&patrick: THE FIRST COSMONAUT