1961 the first manned flight into space. First flight to space

April 12, 1961- Yuri Gagarin made the world's first flight into space. Before leaving the Earth, he uttered the historic word: “Let's go!” Gagarin spent 1 hour and 48 minutes in low-Earth orbit, once flying around the planet on the Vostok-1 spacecraft. He landed on the banks of the Volga River.

• How it was... To begin with, I would like to remind you a little about the life path of Yuri Alekseevich.

Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934, in the city of Gzhatsk, Smolensk region. His mother, Anna Timofeevna, and father, Alexey Ivanovich, were ordinary rural workers from the village of Klushino, Gzhatsky district.

Having survived the difficult time of the German occupation, the Gagarin family moved from Klushino to the city of Gzhatsk in 1945. After graduating from school, Yuri entered Lyubertsy Vocational School 10 on September 30, 1949, from which he graduated in June with a degree in molding and foundry. In August he entered the Saratov Industrial College. In 1954 (October 25) he began training at the Saratov flying club. In 1955 he graduated with honors from the Saratov Industrial College, and on October 10 of the same year he graduated from the Saratov Aero Club. On October 27, 1957, Yuri Gagarin married Valentina Ivanovna Goryacheva, who became his faithful companion for many years. Two daughters grew up in their family - Lena and Galya.

December 26 he was called to his new assignment: the fighter aviation regiment of the Northern Fleet. Having learned about the recruitment of candidates for testing new flight equipment, Gagarin wrote a report on December 9, 1959, asking to be included in such a group, and after being called on December 18, he went to Moscow, to the Central Research Aviation Hospital for a health examination.

March 3, 1960 Aviation Lieutenant General Kamanin presented a group of selected pilots - cosmonaut candidates - to the Air Force Commander-in-Chief, Air Chief Marshal Vershinin. On March 11, Gagarin and his family left for a new place of work. On March 25, regular classes began under the cosmonaut training program. On April 12, Gagarin was the first earthling to fly into space on the Vostok-1 spacecraft. For this feat, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the day of Gagarin's flight into space was declared a holiday - Cosmonautics Day, starting on April 12, 1962.

In 1966 Gagarin was elected an Honorary Member of the International Academy of Astronautics, and in 1964 he was appointed commander of the Soviet cosmonaut corps. In June 1966, Gagarin had already begun training under the Soyuz program. He was appointed as Komarov's backup, who made the first flight on the new ship. His own flight was just around the corner... Gagarin is defending his graduation project at the Air Force Engineering Academy. Zhukovsky. February 17, 1968 Yuri Alekseevich defended his studies at the VVIA named after. Professor Zhukovsky's graduation project. The State Examination Commission awarded Colonel Yu.A. Gagarin qualified as a pilot-engineer-cosmonaut. Until his last days, Gagarin served as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In honor of Gagarin, his hometown of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin. His name remains forever in Space, which he rediscovered for humanity: one of the largest (250 km in diameter) craters on the far side of the Moon is named Gagarin. And what is symbolic is that it is located between the Tsiolkovsky crater and the Sea of ​​Dreams. In 1968. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale has established the Gagarin Medal, which is awarded to individuals who have made a special contribution to aviation and astronautics. The name Gagarin has long become a household name for pioneers in any field of activity, along with the name of Columbus. Gagarin’s life motto was the phrase he wrote in his diary shortly before his death, on March 12: I have no stronger desire than the desire to fly. The pilot must fly. Always fly. March 27, 1968 year, he died under unclear circumstances near the village of Novoselovo, Kirzhach district, Vladimir region, during one of the training flights. He was buried near the Kremlin wall on Red Square.

And now, about the flight itself in the words of eyewitnesses...

3 hours 00 minutes(hereinafter Moscow time). Final checks of the spacecraft began at the launch pad. Sergei Pavlovich Korolev was present. 5 hours 30 minutes. Evgeny Anatolyevich Karpov entered the bedroom and shook Gagarin by the shoulder: - Yura, it’s time to get up... He jumped up. German Titov also stood up, humming a humorous song. The doctor shook his head with satisfaction - the astronauts were cheerful. After exercise - breakfast. The astronauts enjoyed the meat puree, then blackcurrant jam and coffee. Squeezing out another tube, Yuri couldn’t resist making a joke: “Such food is only good for weightlessness - on the ground you can stretch your legs from it... 6 hours 00 minutes. The meeting of the State Commission has begun. It was very short: “everything is ready.” After the meeting, the flight assignment for Cosmonaut-1 was finally signed. German Titov was the first to be put into a spacesuit. Gagarin - the second, in order to sweat less (the ventilation device could be connected to a power source only on the bus). When Yuri was dressed, the cosmodrome workers asked him for autographs. Yuri was surprised - it was the first time in his life that he had been approached with such a request. The cosmonauts left the house and were met by Sergei Pavlovich. He was tired and anxious - apparently, the sleepless night was taking its toll. Gagarin would later say about this meeting: “He gave me several recommendations and advice that I had never heard before and that could be useful to me on the flight. It seemed to me that after seeing us and talking to us, he became somewhat more cheerful... A few minutes later, a special blue bus was already rushing to the starting site. 6 hours 50 minutes. Gagarin got off the bus. Many mourners knew him personally. Everyone was filled with excitement. Everyone wanted to hug Yura goodbye. Andriyan Nikolaev, having forgotten in his haste that Gagarin was already wearing a helmet, wanted to kiss him and hit his forehead on the visor, so much so that a bump appeared on his forehead. After the report on readiness to the Chairman of the State Commission, Yuri made a statement for the press and radio. This statement was contained on several tens of meters of tape tape. Five hours later it became a sensation... Being on the iron platform in front of the entrance to the cabin, Gagarin raised both hands in greeting - farewell to those who remained on Earth. Then he disappeared into the cabin. Below, with their heads raised up in fascination, stood both the Chief Designer and Yura's friends - all those who saw him off on his flight. 7 hours 10 minutes. Gagarin's voice appeared on the air. 8 hours 10 minutes. 50-minute readiness announced. The only problem has been fixed. It was discovered when closing hatch No. 1. They quickly opened it and fixed everything. 8 hours 30 minutes. 30-minute readiness. It was announced to Titov that he could take off his spacesuit and go to the observation point, where all the specialists had already gathered. The name of the person who will be the first to leave the planet is now definitively known - GAGARIN. 8 hours 50 minutes. N.P. Kamanin says: A ten-minute readiness has been announced. How is your pressure helmet closed? Report back. Gagarin: I understand - a ten-minute readiness has been announced. The helmet is closed. Everything is fine, I feel good, I’m ready to start. 9 hours 6 minutes. Korolev: Minute readiness, do you hear? Gagarin: I understand you - minute readiness. Took the starting position. 9 hours 7 minutes. Korolev (excitedly): The ignition of “Kedr” is given. Gagarin (“Kedr”): I understand you - the ignition is given. Korolev: Preliminary stage... Intermediate... Main... Rise! Gagarin (shouting): Let's go!.. 9 hours 9 minutes. First stage department. Gagarin should hear this stage separate and feel that the vibration has sharply decreased. Acceleration increases, as do g-forces. At the observation point they are waiting for Gagarin's report... There is silence in the speakers. - “Cedar”, how do you feel? The speakers hum, there is no familiar voice. - “Cedar”, answer! All attention to the speakers. -"Cedar"! Get in touch! I am “twentieth”. - And into another microphone: - Communication! Fast! “Twentieth” - Korolev. Still - silence. Unhappy thoughts come. Sudden depressurization? Fainting from growing overloads? Suddenly Gagarin's voice: - Reset of the head fairing... I see the Earth... How beautiful!.. Only at that moment many of those present realized: a man in space! Everyone was filled with joy and fun. The unrest subsided due to unexpected silence. As it turned out later, there was a failure in the communication line for just a few seconds. But these seconds cost Korolev his gray hair. 9 hours 22 minutes. The radio signals of the Soviet spacecraft were detected by observers from the American Shamiya radar station located in the Aleutian Islands. Five minutes later, the encryption went to the Pentagon. The night duty officer, having received her, immediately called the home of Dr. Jerome Weisner, President Kennedy's Chief Scientific Advisor. Sleepy Dr. Weisner glanced at his watch. It was 1 hour 30 minutes Washington time. 23 minutes have passed since the start of Vostok. There was a report to the president - the Russians were ahead of the Americans. 9 hours 57 minutes. Yuri Gagarin reported that he was flying over America. At these moments, the TASS message about the launch of the spacecraft sounds at the control center. It was a little late - the order to award senior lieutenant Gagarin the rank of major was pending signature. 10 hours 13 minutes. Teletypes have finished transmitting the first TASS message. Hundreds of correspondents from small and large countries stormed the building of the Telegraph Agency. The editorial offices of all the newspapers in the world began to run around - they had to have time to remake them. “News of the Century” should have become the highlight of all today's press. “The Soviet Union, which was the first to launch an artificial Earth satellite in 1957, the first to reach the Moon in 1959, and finally the first to return animals from space to Earth last year, has just given the world its Christopher Columbus of outer space.” This is what the French said. The Americans, Italians, Germans, and British did not lag behind them. Yuri Gagarin became close to all peoples of the globe. But most of all, of course, the Motherland was worried and worried about him. 10 hours 25 minutes. The braking propulsion system turned on, and the ship began to descend. Landing is the most critical stage of space flight: an error of one meter per second at a speed of 8000 meters per second deviates the landing point by as much as 50 kilometers... 10 hours 55 minutes. A burnt iron ball hit the plowed soil - the field of the Leninsky Put collective farm, southwest of the city of Engels, not far from the village of Smelovka. Yuri Gagarin landed nearby by parachute. The first person to see Yuri Gagarin was Anna Akimovna Takhtarova. She became known throughout the world as the person who first met the astronaut. She said this: “I raised my head, I saw a man walking in my direction. I was taken aback - that man was dressed very strangely, not like us. And he appeared unexpectedly - out of the blue, out of the blue. Then I look: the man is smiling. And his smile was so sincere that all my fear disappeared…” A few minutes later, sports commissar Ivan Borisenko, who was in a special search group, asked Gagarin to present his identification (this was required by the sports code). Then, having written down all the necessary information and checked the identification marks of the spacecraft, on which there was the inscription “Vostok - USSR,” he registered three absolute space records: -flight duration record - 108 minutes. -record for flight altitude - 327 kilometers. -the record for the maximum load lifted to this height is 4725 kilograms. A few more hours later, the plane carrying Yuri Gagarin headed for Kuibyshev. At this time, a tailor was called and ordered to sew a new suit for Gagarin within 24 hours. After the airfield, Gagarin went to the hotel. It was located on the high bank of the Volga. The doctors decided to give the astronaut the opportunity to rest a little. Then Gagarin and Titov went out to wander along the banks of the Volga. Nature miraculously harmonized with their mood. Herman, noticing that Yuri was thoughtful, asked: “Do you dream that someday the two of us will be like this, wandering along the banks of a Martian river, admiring the setting Sun and the little star Earth?” -That would be great! - Gagarin laughed. The day was so long - Yuri counted every second, and so short - everything happened so quickly that it was hard to believe that it was a dream. 22 hours 00 minutes. An earthly dinner was organized. Toasts were made. We talked about the future of humanity. But fatigue set in, closed his eyelids, weighed heavily on his shoulders so that everyone who was entrusted with Yuri that day hugged him for the last time, wished him good dreams and went away. The light in the window went out. The clock showed 23.00.

When Vostok-1 entered orbit, Gagarin transmitted: “I see the horizon, the horizon of the Earth is floating up. But the stars are not visible in the sky. The earth’s surface, the earth’s surface is visible through the window. The sky is black, and along the edge of the Earth, along the edge of the horizon is so beautiful blue halo, which is darker as it moves away from the Earth."

“You can see the stars through the Vzor, as the stars pass. It’s a very beautiful sight. The flight continues in the shadow of the Earth,” the cosmonaut reported. “I’m now watching an asterisk through the right window, it passes from left to right. The asterisk is gone, going away, going away...”

The transcript of Yuri Gagarin's flight has been preserved. It's amazing that in 108 minutes a person saw the whole world.

In addition to Gagarin, there were also contenders for the first flight into space; there were twenty of them in total. Candidates were recruited specifically from fighter pilots by the decision of the scientist Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, who believed that such pilots already had experience of overload, stressful situations and pressure changes.

Selection for the first group of cosmonauts was carried out on the basis of medical, psychological and a number of other parameters: age 25-30 years, height no more than 170 cm, weight no more than 70-72 kg, ability to adapt to altitude and stratospheric conditions, reaction speed, physical endurance, mental balance The requirements for height and weight arose due to the corresponding restrictions on the Vostok spacecraft, which were determined by the power of the Vostok launch vehicle. In addition, when selecting candidates, positive characteristics, party membership were taken into account (Gagarin became a candidate member of the CPSU in 1959, and joined the party in the summer of 1960), political activity, and social origin. Direct flight performance did not play a decisive role.

The one who would fly into space was determined at the last moment, at a meeting of the Civil Committee; they were Gagarin and his backup German Titov.

The event "Soviet man's flight into space" was an event. Rocket scientist Sergei Pavlovich Korolev pursued his goals. The fact is that on April 17 or 20, American scientists were going to launch a man into space. The space race has begun.

The participation of the USSR in the space race led to the fact that when creating the Vostok spacecraft, a number of suboptimal, but simple and quickly implementable solutions were chosen.

Some components were not created in time; as a result, the emergency rescue system at the launch and the soft landing system of the ship had to be abandoned. In addition, the backup braking system was removed from the design of the Vostok-1 ship under construction. The latter decision was justified by the fact that when the ship was launched into a low 180-200 kilometer orbit, it would in any case leave it within 10 days due to natural braking on the upper layers of the atmosphere and return to earth. Life support systems were also designed for the same 10 days.

The Vostok-1 spacecraft was launched on April 12, 1961 at 09:07 Moscow time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome; Gagarin's call sign was "Kedr". The Vostok launch vehicle operated without any problems, but at the final stage the radio control system, which was supposed to turn off the 3rd stage engines, did not work. The engine was turned off only after the backup mechanism (timer) was triggered, but the ship had already ascended into orbit, the highest point of which was 100 km higher than the calculated one. Departure from such an orbit using “aerodynamic braking” could take, according to various estimates, from 20 to 50 days

Yuri Gagarin spent two hours before the start checking the instruments and whistling his favorite songs. He started with the song “about a distant snub-nosed childhood,” then moved on to “The Motherland Hears, the Motherland Knows.” Next, at the mission control center we listened to "Lilies of the Valley" performed by Gagarin. A minute before the launch, the first cosmonaut sang “Fly, pigeons, fly.” Next, the recording records the astronaut’s rapid breathing. A few seconds later, Korolev said: “Full rise,” and Gagarin said his famous “Let’s go.”

In orbit, Gagarin carried out simple experiments: he drank, ate, and made notes in pencil. “Putting” the pencil next to him, he accidentally discovered that it instantly began to float away. From this, Gagarin concluded that it is better to tie pencils and other objects in space. He recorded all his sensations and observations on the on-board tape recorder. Before the flight, it was not yet known how the human psyche would behave in space, so special protection was provided to prevent the first cosmonaut, in a fit of insanity, from trying to control the flight of the ship. To enable manual control, he had to open a sealed envelope, inside of which was a piece of paper with a code that, by typing on the control panel, could unlock it.

The last time Yuri Gagarin made contact was at 10:23 am. He reported that the flight was successful, his health was excellent, and all systems were working well. At this point the recording ends. On April 12, 1961, at 10:55 am Moscow time, the cosmonaut successfully landed.

The first people who met the astronaut after the flight (more precisely, ejection) were the wife of a local forester, Anna (Anikhayat) Takhtarova, and her six-year-old granddaughter Rita (Rumiya).

Soon, military personnel from the division and local collective farmers arrived at the scene of events. One group of military men took guard over the descent module, and the other took Gagarin to the unit’s location. From there, Gagarin reported to the division commander by telephone: “ Please convey to the Air Force Commander-in-Chief: I completed the task, landed in the given area, I feel good, there are no bruises or breakdowns. Gagarin»

"Cedar, welcome!"

During the flight, the following transcript was recorded, which characterized Gagarin as an easy-going person with good humor. Dialogue with Korolev:

" Korolev: There's lunch, dinner and breakfast in the tube packing.

Gagarin: I see.

Korolev: Got it?

Gagarin: Got it.

Korolev: Sausage, dragee and jam for tea.

Gagarin: Yeah.

Korolev: Got it?

Gagarin: Got it.

Korolev: Here.

Gagarin: Got it.

Korolev: 63 pieces, you'll be fat.

Gagarin: Ho-ho.

Korolev: When you arrive today, you’ll eat everything right away.

Gagarin: No, the main thing is that there is sausage to snack on the moonshine.

Everyone laughs.

Korolev: It’s an infection, but he writes down everything, you bastard. Hehe"

"Happy landing!" (Yu.A. Gagarin and S.P. Korolev)

On April 14, 1961, Gagarin was greeted at the airport by the whole of Moscow: a huge crowd of people, the entire top government, journalists and cameramen. The plane taxied to the central building of the airport, the ramp was lowered, and Gagarin was the first to descend. A bright red carpet was stretched from the plane to the government stands, and Yuri Gagarin walked along it (along the way his shoe lace came undone, but he did not stop and reached the government stands, risking tripping and falling, to the sounds of an orchestra playing the Soviet air march “We were born to make a fairy tale come true.” Approaching the podium, Yuri Gagarin reported to Nikita Khrushchev:

"Comrade First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR! I am glad to report to you that the task of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Soviet Government has been completed..."

Chronicle of the events of April 12, 1961. It describes in detail the events of that day.
You will find out what happened on the day the first man flew into space.

5 hours 30 minutes.
Evgeny Anatolyevich Karpov entered the bedroom and shook Gagarin by the shoulder:
- Yura, it’s time to get up...
He jumped up. German Titov also stood up, humming a humorous song. The doctor shook his head with satisfaction - the astronauts were cheerful.
After exercise - breakfast. The astronauts enjoyed the meat puree, then blackcurrant jam and coffee. Squeezing out another tube, Yuri couldn’t resist making a joke:
- Such food is only good for weightlessness - on the ground you can stretch your legs from it...

6 hours 00 minutes.
The meeting of the State Commission has begun. It was very short: “everything is ready.” After the meeting, the flight assignment for Cosmonaut-1 was finally signed.
German Titov was the first to be put into a spacesuit. Gagarin - the second, in order to sweat less (the ventilation device could be connected to a power source only on the bus).
When Yuri was dressed, the cosmodrome workers asked him for autographs. Yuri was surprised - it was the first time in his life that he had been approached with such a request.
The cosmonauts left the house and were met by Sergei Pavlovich. He was tired and anxious - apparently, the sleepless night was taking its toll. Gagarin would later say about this meeting:
“He gave me several recommendations and advice that I had never heard before and that could be useful to me on the flight. It seemed to me that after seeing us and talking to us, he became somewhat more cheerful...
A few minutes later, a special blue bus was already rushing to the launch site.

6 hours 50 minutes.
Gagarin got off the bus. Many mourners knew him personally. Everyone was filled with excitement. Everyone wanted to hug Yura goodbye. Andriyan Nikolaev, having forgotten in his haste that Gagarin was already wearing a helmet, wanted to kiss him and hit his forehead on the visor, so much so that a bump appeared on his forehead.
After the report on readiness to the Chairman of the State Commission, Yuri made a statement for the press and radio. This statement was contained on several tens of meters of tape tape. Five hours later it became a sensation...
Being on the iron platform in front of the entrance to the cabin, Gagarin raised both hands in greeting - farewell to those who remained on Earth. Then he disappeared into the cabin.
Below, with their heads raised up in fascination, stood both the Chief Designer and Yura's friends - all those who saw him off on his flight.

8 hours 10 minutes.
50-minute readiness announced. The only problem has been fixed. It was discovered when closing hatch No. 1. They quickly opened it and fixed everything.

8 hours 30 minutes.
30-minute readiness. It was announced to Titov that he could take off his spacesuit and go to the observation point, where all the specialists had already gathered. The name of the person who will be the first to leave the planet is now definitively known - GAGARIN.

8 hours 50 minutes.
N.P. Kamanin says: A ten-minute readiness has been announced. How is your pressure helmet closed? Report back.
Gagarin: I understand - a ten-minute readiness has been announced. The helmet is closed. Everything is fine, I feel good, I’m ready to start.

9 hours 6 minutes.
Korolev: Minute readiness, do you hear?
Gagarin: I understand you - minute readiness. Took the starting position.

9 hours 7 minutes.
Korolev (excitedly): The Kedr ignition is given.
Gagarin (“Kedr”): I understand you - the ignition is given.
Korolev: Preliminary stage... Intermediate... Main... Rise!
Gagarin (shouting): Let's go!..

9 hours 9 minutes.
First stage department. Gagarin should hear this stage separate and feel that the vibration has sharply decreased. Acceleration increases, as do g-forces. At the observation point they are waiting for Gagarin’s report...
The speakers are silent.
- “Cedar”, how do you feel?
The speakers hum, there is no familiar voice.
- “Cedar”, answer!
All attention to the speakers.
- “Cedar”! Get in touch! I am "twenty". - And into another microphone: - Communication! Fast!
"Twentieth" - Korolev.
Still - silence.
Unhappy thoughts come. Sudden depressurization? Fainting from growing overloads?
Suddenly Gagarin's voice:
- Reset of the head fairing... I see the Earth... How beautiful!..
Only at that moment did many of those present realize: a man in space! Everyone was filled with joy and fun. The unrest subsided due to unexpected silence. As it turned out later, there was a failure in the communication line for just a few seconds. But these seconds cost Korolev his gray hair.

9 hours 22 minutes.
The radio signals of the Soviet spacecraft were detected by observers from the American Shamiya radar station located in the Aleutian Islands. Five minutes later, the encryption went to the Pentagon. The night duty officer, having received her, immediately called the home of Dr. Jerome Weisner, President Kennedy's Chief Scientific Advisor.
Sleepy Dr. Weisner glanced at his watch. It was 1 hour 30 minutes Washington time. 23 minutes have passed since the start of Vostok. There was a report to the president - the Russians were ahead of the Americans.

9 hours 57 minutes.
Yuri Gagarin reported that he was flying over America.
At these moments, the TASS message about the launch of the spacecraft sounds at the control center. It was a little late - the order to award senior lieutenant Gagarin the rank of major was pending signature.

10 hours 13 minutes.
Teletypes have finished transmitting the first TASS message. Hundreds of correspondents from small and large countries stormed the building of the Telegraph Agency.
The editorial offices of all the newspapers in the world began to run around - they had to have time to remake them. “News of the Century” should have become the highlight of all today's press.
“The Soviet Union, which was the first to launch an artificial Earth satellite in 1957, the first to reach the Moon in 1959, and finally the first to return animals from space to Earth last year, has just given the world its Christopher Columbus of outer space.” This is what the French said. The Americans, Italians, Germans, and British did not lag behind them.
Yuri Gagarin became close to all peoples of the globe. But most of all, of course, the Motherland was worried and worried about him.

10 hours 25 minutes.
The braking propulsion system turned on, and the ship began to descend.
Landing is the most critical stage of space flight: an error of one meter per second at a speed of 8000 meters per second deviates the landing point by as much as 50 kilometers...

10 hours 55 minutes.
A burnt iron ball hit the plowed soil - the field of the Leninsky Put collective farm, southwest of the city of Engels, not far from the village of Smelovka. Yuri Gagarin landed nearby by parachute.
The first person to see Yuri Gagarin was Anna Akimovna Takhtarova. She became known throughout the world as the person who first met the astronaut. She said this: “I raised my head, I saw a man walking in my direction. I was taken aback - that man was dressed very strangely, not like us. And he appeared unexpectedly - out of the blue, out of the blue. Then I look: the man is smiling. And his smile was so heartfelt that all my fear disappeared..."
A few minutes later, sports commissioner Ivan Borisenko, who was in a special search group, asked Gagarin to present his identification (this was required by the sports code). Then, having written down all the necessary information and checked the identification marks of the spacecraft, on which there was the inscription “Vostok - USSR,” he registered three absolute space records:
- flight duration record - 108 minutes.
- record for flight altitude - 327 kilometers.
- the record for the maximum load lifted to this height is 4725 kilograms.
A few more hours later, the plane carrying Yuri Gagarin headed for Kuibyshev.
At this time, a tailor was called and ordered to sew a new suit for Gagarin within 24 hours.
After the airfield, Gagarin went to the hotel. It was located on the high bank of the Volga.
The doctors decided to give the astronaut the opportunity to rest a little. Then Gagarin and Titov went out to wander along the banks of the Volga. Nature miraculously harmonized with their mood. German, noticing that Yuri was thoughtful, asked:
- Do you dream that someday the two of us will be like this, wandering along the banks of a Martian river, admiring the setting Sun and the little star Earth?
- That would be great! - Gagarin laughed.
The day was so long - Yuri counted every second, and so short - everything happened so quickly that it was hard to believe that it was a dream.

22 hours 00 minutes.
An earthly dinner was organized. Toasts were made. We talked about the future of humanity. But fatigue set in, closed his eyelids, weighed heavily on his shoulders so that everyone who was entrusted with Yuri that day hugged him for the last time, wished him good dreams and went away. The light in the window went out.
The clock showed 23.00.

OUR MOTHERLAND HAS OPENED A NEW ERA IN HUMAN HISTORY

THE FLIGHT OF A SOVIET MAN INTO SPACE WAS COMPLETED IN THE NAME OF PEACE, PROGRESS, AND HAPPINESS OF PEOPLE

TASS REPORT

9:52 am According to data received from the Vostok spacecraft, at 9:52 am Moscow time, pilot-cosmonaut Major Gagarin, being over South America, reported: “The flight is going well, I feel good.”

10:15 At 10:15 Moscow time, pilot-cosmonaut Major Gagarin, flying over Africa, transmitted from the Vostok spacecraft: “The flight is proceeding normally, I can tolerate the state of weightlessness well.”

10:25 At 10:25 Moscow time, after circling the globe in accordance with a given program, the braking propulsion system was turned on and the spacecraft-satellite with pilot-cosmonaut Major Gagarin began to descend from orbit to land in a given area of ​​Sovetsky Union.

ABOUT THE SUCCESSFUL RETURN OF A MAN FROM THE FIRST SPACE FLIGHT

After successfully carrying out the planned research and completing the flight program, on April 12, 1961, at 10:55 a.m. Moscow time, the Soviet ship Vostok made a safe landing in a given area of ​​the Soviet Union.

Pilot-cosmonaut Major Gagarin said: “Please report to the party and the government and personally to Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev that the landing went well, I feel good, I have no injuries or bruises.”

The implementation of human flight into outer space opens up grandiose prospects for the conquest of space by mankind.

COSMONAUT-15 ABOUT COSMONAUT-1

Gagarin's flight

I heard about Gagarin's flight on the radio. Despite the fact that I had known about the preparations for the flight for a long time, the message gave me the impression of an exploding bomb. I did not know in advance either the launch date or the name of the astronaut. And it happened! Man in space! Flying over the Earth! Alone in this endless lifeless space! What a fantasy! Hardly anyone can imagine what is in his soul right now. Delight in what he feels and sees? A celebration of a dream come true? The joy of personal achievement? Or something else? He's probably been thinking about this flight lately. And it was not the study of the ship or parachute jumps that filled his inner world, but something stronger. The very thing that inspired him to fly. After all, being very young, he understood that he was really risking his life, but, nevertheless, he made up his mind and achieved his goal!

I've never thought about this before. We discussed technical issues, argued about which controls would be convenient and which would be inconvenient for a person, but did not take into account the internal state of the future cosmonaut. After all, declaring his desire to fly, he had to answer the question: is he harnessing his life correctly? And this is when there is no war, there is a good profession, family and so many interesting things around. But he chose such a risky flight.

I remember well my reaction when I first heard about the selection of candidates for the first flight from employees of our department who had returned from the Kazakhstan test site, the place from which space rockets now launch. The first unmanned satellite-ship was being prepared for launch there. The guys said that at the test site the management discussed which professions best form the qualities that are most important for an astronaut. The first to be named were fighter pilots. Each of them is accustomed to heights and to the fact that one bears full responsibility for the flight. Submariners were considered second. They can be isolated for a long time, separated from normal earthly life, and at the same time perform very responsible functions. Finally, engineers were named as the third group - people who are professionally best prepared to study the structure of the ship and control its operation.

When the word “engineers” was said, I felt like I had an electric shock, as if someone had said “you.” And some kind of internal trembling ran through, as if the choice had already been made. The trace of this feeling remained with me for a long time. Gagarin probably had something similar before his flight. Maybe differently colored, but most likely more vibrant - after all, he had a real perspective, and not an abstract fantasy.

Later I learned that the choice was made of pilots and six people were selected. Once I saw them on the territory of our enterprise. They quickly moved from one building to another, clearly trying to be unnoticed. I then felt a feeling of deep respect for these people. It was necessary to have a strong character to take on a grandiose task.

I did not have the opportunity to take part in the preparation of the cosmonauts for the first flight. I dealt only with issues related to the creation of a management system. At that time, much was unclear to us. For example, we did not know whether the Earth would be visible from the ship at night; Is it possible to distinguish the night Earth from the starry sky - the lights of big cities sometimes shine the same way as the stars. We didn’t know whether it would be possible to determine the direction of flight when the ship was above the ocean - there were no landmarks on the surface of the water, and we did not have sufficient data on how often clouds would be encountered and what they looked like from above. The system allowed the astronaut to turn the ship in any direction, but he had to determine the position of the ship visually, and we hoped that after the flight the astronaut would tell us in which situations this was possible and in which it was not.

How much debate there was about whether to allow an astronaut to participate in the control of the spacecraft! It was believed that he might not be able to cope with the psychological stress of flying and would begin to act recklessly. In this case, having taken control himself, he can destroy himself. As a result, they decided to complicate the procedure for turning on the system to such an extent that, in the absence of sound thinking, the astronaut would not be able to complete it. The system was locked with a combination lock, similar to those now installed on entrance doors. The code was not communicated to the astronaut. It was printed on a sheet of paper, which was sealed in an envelope, and the envelope had to be placed in one of the wall pockets in the cabin before the start. It was assumed that if the astronaut could find the code, enter it and then turn on the system, then he would be able and intelligently to control the ship. It was interesting to know whether Gagarin took out the envelope. I would probably take it out and look at the code - just in case, so as not to waste time if I need to act quickly. Does he retain the management technique in his memory? It seems like we wrote it quite recently. I remember well how it was.

One afternoon Rauschenbach called me and asked me to take a secret notebook and wait for him in the evening. He arrived late, when there was no one else in the department. He sat down opposite me and said that I urgently needed to write a manual orientation method. And he began to dictate it:

Write: “With the correct orientation, the image of the Earth’s horizon in Vzor should occupy a position symmetrical relative to the center of the device.”

I write. “Gaze” was the name given to the optical device with which the astronaut must control the position of the spacecraft relative to the Earth. Rauschenbach continues:

Write on a separate line: “Attention.”

No, no, all in capital letters: “ATTENTION.” Put three exclamation points. So. From a new line: “In the central field of view, the image of the earth’s surface should “run” from the feet to the instruments.” Have you written?

Add an exclamation point. God forbid he gets confused. Again from a new line: “If the Earth is visible at the top of the “Gaze,” tilt the handle down and hold it in the tilted position until...”

And so he dictated all the instructions. He asked my consent with her only out of politeness. Then he says: “Let’s read together to see if we made a mistake somewhere.” We read it and came to the conclusion that everything is correct. I took the technique to the typing bureau, and the next morning Rauschenbach went with it to the cosmonauts - to a small military unit located near the town of Chkalovskaya near Moscow. There, in the forest behind the fence, the pilots were preparing for a historic flight.

There was nothing complicated in the technique, but when life depends on the correctness of actions, doubts may arise even where it is simple.

While I was trying to mentally imagine the state of the astronaut in orbit, a new message was transmitted over the radio: “The flight has been successfully completed, the spacecraft has landed in the specified area, Gagarin is feeling well.”

Then they did not announce that Gagarin landed not in the descent module, but next to it. The ship did not have a soft landing system, so automatic ejection of the astronaut at a low altitude was provided. After this, the astronaut and the vehicle descended on different parachutes independently of each other. Judging by the message, everything went well.

So, the first manned flight into space took place! What does it mean? A major scientific and technological achievement? Undoubtedly. However, before Gagarin's flight, two flights of exactly the same ships were carried out according to exactly the same program, but with dummies on board. And they also ended successfully. They just weren't reported. Has the possibility of human life in a confined space been verified? And this was done on Earth in advance. Human tolerance to the overloads that accompany flight has also been repeatedly tested in centrifuge studies. Then what happened? The main significance of the event is, perhaps, that the most important psychological milestone has been passed. Gagarin's flight showed that man can fly into space. A person can maintain efficiency and a normal mental state at all stages of space flight - during takeoff on a rocket, in prolonged weightlessness and when the descent vehicle, like a meteor, surrounded by hot plasma, moves in the Earth’s atmosphere.

A day later, Yuri Gagarin was met in Moscow. It seems like all of Moscow. This event left no one indifferent. People either went out into the street to see Gagarin with their own eyes as he drove from the airfield to the Kremlin, or watched what was happening on television. An award ceremony took place, then there was a rally on Red Square, the country's leadership arranged a large reception, and an atmosphere of general celebration reigned everywhere. The people celebrated the victory of human genius, skill and courage. Gagarin became a symbol of this victory.

And a day later there was a meeting with Gagarin at our enterprise. It was organized by Korolev. He wanted people to see the man who trusted them with his life; I wanted to thank and congratulate everyone on their success. The meeting was attended by the President of the Academy of Sciences M.V. Keldysh, Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force K.A. Vershinin and the pilots who, together with Gagarin, were preparing for the flight. The meeting took place on the street. The guests stood on a hastily made platform, and we all stood around, whoever managed to get a seat. Thousands of people worked at the enterprise and everyone came. Every place from where one could see Gagarin was occupied. They stood on the roads, near open windows in rooms, on the roofs of adjacent buildings.

Oddly enough, even those who created the ship were very impressed by the flight. In preparation for it, everyone worked on some relatively small task. At the same time, he understood that a flight was being prepared, but mostly he thought about his own business. And now it suddenly dawned on everyone that a huge event had happened. Unheard of possibilities opened up before people - a road opened up beyond what belongs to the Earth. Flights into space are flights to a new world. It was difficult to imagine how this would affect our lives. It is only clear that an inexhaustible source of new knowledge, and perhaps new material values, has appeared. Now it's forever. Further flights will be longer and more complex, but the most important and most difficult - the first step has already been taken. It is quite obvious that the most interesting programs awaited us ahead. The speakers at the meeting spoke about this and those gathered thought about it. Of course, we were all very happy about the success, proud that the flight was carried out in our country, and that each of us had the opportunity to participate in its preparation. They left the meeting excited and everyone knew that the next ships were being manufactured in the workshops.

For many days after the flight, newspapers published materials assessing the event. Unfortunately, they were mainly politically oriented. All scientific and technical data of the flight were classified. The names of those who prepared the flight were also secret. In the articles, Korolev was simply called “Chief Designer”, without a surname. President of the Academy of Sciences M.V. Keldysh, who directly supervised scientific developments and supported the program in the country's leadership, was referred to as the nameless “Chief Theorist.”

For contacts with foreigners, the Academy of Sciences allocated several scientists who were not directly related to space programs, so they could not give away secrets, but were known to the world community.

The legendary first human flight into space, carried out on April 12, 1961, is a great event not only for the USSR and its successor Russia, but also for the whole world. In this round of the space race, the USSR unconditionally won over its main competitor, the United States. But how were the preparations and the flight itself carried out? and What happened after Gagarin flew over our land and landed back? All this, of course, still arouses the interest of many people.

How was the preparation carried out?

Leading Soviet specialists prepared very carefully for sending a man into space. The applicants for the role of the first cosmonaut (initially there were 20 of them) were not the best aces, but this was not necessary - they were selected according to other parameters. Korolev, the chief designer of the Vostok-1 satellite and a pioneer of practical cosmonautics, needed a pilot under thirty years old, weighing up to seventy-two kilograms and up to one hundred and seventy centimeters tall, with excellent psychophysical health.

Such requirements were dictated by the complexity of space flights and the design of the cabin of the Vostok-1 module - only one person with certain data could fit in it. Plus, it was necessary that the astronaut be a real communist, and not a non-party member.

When designing the Vostok, several simple but very effective solutions were invented, which were later used on other space rockets. It was not possible to do some things on time, and, for example, for this reason it was decided not to install an emergency rescue system here at launch. In addition to this, the second braking system, which duplicated the first, was removed from the design of the ship already under construction. The refusal was justified by the fact that Vostok-1, having entered a not too high orbit (up to 200 kilometers), would still have flown out of it within ten days due to braking from the higher atmospheric layers and would have returned back to our planet . And the life support systems on the satellite ship were also enough for a maximum of ten days.

Sergei Korolev wanted to launch his apparatus into outer space as quickly as possible, because there was information that the States were planning to implement something similar in the second half of April 1961. First, out of 20 applicants, 6 were chosen, and the final decision on who exactly should fly was made at one of the meetings of the state commission - the candidacy of Yuri Gagarin was approved (German Titov was appointed as an understudy). And April 12 was chosen as the date for the launch of Vostok-1.

Biography of Gagarin before the day of flight

Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934 in an ordinary working-class family. He spent most of his childhood in the town of Gzhatsk (now this city in the Smolensk region is called Gagarin) and neighboring villages, and survived the fascist occupation as a little boy. In October 1955, Gagarin was drafted into the armed forces and sent to Chkalov (this city is now called Orenburg) to the local aviation school. Gagarin studied with pilot Yadkar Akbulatov, who at that time was considered one of the best specialists in his field.

In his studies, Yuri had very high grades in all subjects and was even appointed assistant platoon commander. But at the same time, he could not master the landing perfectly - the nose of the plane was always slightly tilted down. At one point, because of this, it was even decided to expel him. But Gagarin begged to be given another chance, declaring that he could not imagine his life without the sky. In the end, he managed to achieve a perfect landing. In October 1957, a document confirming graduation from the school was finally issued to Yuri Gagarin.

Then he served for two years in a fighter aviation regiment near Murmansk. And at the end of 1959, he was included in the list of candidates for cosmonaut and asked to come to the capital for a medical examination. By this time he had the rank of “starley” (senior lieutenant).

The probability of launch success was not one hundred percent

The fact of the launch of Vostok-1 was not covered in any way in advance - the authorities sought to ensure secrecy. And in general, many had doubts about the success of this flight - many facts speak about this. For example, it is known that on the eve of the flight, Gagarin wrote a touching farewell letter to his wife and children. But since he was still able to return back to Earth, the letter was not shown to the recipients that day. Only after the death of the astronaut in 1968 was it handed over to his wife.

And TASS (the main news agency of the Soviet Union) prepared in advance, even before April 12, three different messages about this flight: in case of its successful completion, in case of a search for the cosmonaut abroad, and in case of a fatal disaster.

One cannot discount the fact that before the April flight of Vostok-1, six test launches had already been carried out and three of them ended in tragedy. On May 15, 1960, the satellite ship launched into orbit was unable to descend to the ground due to problems in the orientation system - it still flies around our planet today. In September 1960, a rocket exploded immediately during takeoff; there were two dogs on board. The launch on December 1 started well: the dogs Pchelka and Mushka rose into orbit as planned. But the descent trajectory at the end of the flight turned out to be incorrect - the ship with the animals inside it exploded and completely burned out.

Legendary flight: 108 minutes that changed history

Vostok-1, piloted by Yuri Gagarin, launched from Baikonur on April 12, 1961 at 09:07 (Moscow time). The launch manager was rocket engineer Anatoly Kirillov - he gave commands for the stages of the rocket launch and monitored their implementation, monitoring the situation from the command room.

As soon as the launch vehicle began its ascent, Gagarin said that famous word: “Let's go!” In general, the launch vehicle performed its functions without any problems. Only at the final stage did the system responsible for shutting down the third stage engines fail to work. The engines turned off only after the backup mechanism was activated. By this time, the satellite ship was already one hundred kilometers above the planned orbit.

Gagarin, while in orbit, talked about his own observations. He looked through the porthole window at the Earth with its clouds, mountains, oceans and rivers, saw clouds and the atmosphere from the blackness of space, the Sun and distant stars. He liked the view of our planet that opened up to him. He even urged people to preserve this beauty and not destroy it. Gagarin was most impressed by the horizon line - it separated the globe from the very black sky.

Gagarin also conducted several experiments: he ate, drank water, and made a couple of notes with a simple pencil. At some point, he let go of the pencil, and it immediately began to float away from him. Gagarin came to the conclusion that such things should be recorded in zero gravity.

Before the flight, it remained a mystery how the human psyche could react to the conditions of space, so special protection against pilot insanity was implemented inside the ship. To control the ship, Gagarin had to switch to manual control. And to do this, he needed to open an envelope with one piece of paper on which a mathematical problem was written. Only by solving it could you find out the access code to the control panel.

In general, the flight went smoothly and no serious emergencies occurred. The duration of this flight was 108 minutes, during which time the satellite ship made one single revolution around the globe.

But when returning to Earth, during landing, the braking system failed a little and there was a slight deviation from the course.

At an altitude of seven kilometers, in full accordance with the plan, Gagarin ejected, after which the module and the cosmonaut in the spacesuit began to descend down on two different parachutes (this landing method was used, by the way, in the other five Vostok rockets). By adjusting the parachute lines, the cosmonaut was able to avoid falling into the cool waters of the Volga and landed on the shore. Thus ended this space flight.

After the flight

After landing, Gagarin was accidentally met by the forester's wife and her granddaughter - they were just walking in these places. Then the military appeared in the landing area - they took the pilot-cosmonaut to the military unit. Here he got in touch with the command and reported that the task assigned to him had been completed.

As soon as Khrushchev became aware of this, he called Defense Minister Malinovsky. During the conversation, Khrushchev asked that Gagarin be promoted to the rank of major as quickly as possible. And, by the way, TASS reports dated April 12 already featured Major Yuri Gagarin. But the cosmonaut himself learned about his new rank only after landing. And a little later he was awarded the title “Hero of the Soviet Union.”

Initially, no celebrations related to Gagarin’s appearance in Moscow were planned. But suddenly plans changed, and a ceremonial meeting was organized at a hasty pace. On an Il-18 plane, the cosmonaut arrived at the capital's Vnukovo airport, where an enthusiastic crowd, media representatives, and top officials of the Soviet state were already waiting for him. Next, Gagarin was driven along the main streets of Moscow in an open-top ZIL car. Gagarin rode standing and greeted those who came to meet him. Congratulations came from all sides, many brought posters with them. Some man even made his way through the cordon and handed flowers to Gagarin.

Then on Red Square, the cosmonaut, walking along the red carpet, reported on the successful flight to Nikita Khrushchev. Some people watching this newsreel noticed the untied lace on Gagarin's boot. This funny detail made the astronaut even more popular among the people.

The legendary footage of Gagarin in a heavy helmet saying “Let’s go” was filmed not before the launch itself, but much later - that is, this is pure imitation. On April 12, none of the main participants in the launch had time to film. Then they decided to recreate these shots - Yuri Gagarin and Sergei Korolev repeated in front of the cameras everything they said and did on the morning before the launch.

This space flight attracted the attention of people from all over the globe, and Gagarin became a celebrity on an international, planetary scale. At the invitation of top officials of other states, he visited approximately three dozen countries. The cosmonaut made many trips throughout the territory of the Soviet Union. Interestingly, in the sixties of the last century, the name Yuri became the most popular male name in the USSR. Many couples wanted to name their children after the man who flew into space.

Gagarin speaks to the audience: Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida looks at him enthusiastically

In the sixties, Gagarin carried out noticeable social activities, worked at the Cosmonaut Training Center, and had plans for a second space flight...

However, on March 27, 1968, Gagarin unexpectedly and prematurely died in a plane crash in the Vladimir region. He crashed when, together with instructor Vladimir Seryogin, he was carrying out a scheduled flight on a MiG-15UTI aircraft. The circumstances of the disaster have not been fully clarified to this day. It’s just that communication with the MiG was lost, and then its wreckage was found several tens of kilometers from the airfield.

In connection with the death of Gagarin, mourning was declared in the Soviet Union. Settlements, individual avenues, alleys and streets were named in honor of the cosmonaut. On top of that, a huge number of monuments and sculptures dedicated to Gagarin were discovered in different parts of the Earth.

The significance of Gagarin's flight on Vostok-1

This flight, of course, opened a new era - the era of human exploration of previously unexplored and amazing in its scale outer space. How far this development will go, and what we can achieve along this path, is not yet very clear. For example, there is now talk about the colonization of the Moon and Mars.

But there is no doubt that this journey began on April 12, 1961. And it is quite natural that every year on this spring day such a holiday as Cosmonautics Day is celebrated.

The history of human space exploration began with Gagarin's flight

Forever, Soviet citizen Yuri Gagarin will be in our memory and the memory of our descendants as the first person to be in space. No one will ever take this status and this title away from him.

Documentary film “A Star Named Gagarin”