Gagarin - being first is never easy

"I see Earth! It is so beautiful!" source: ESA

“Poyekhali!” (In English, “Let’s go!”)

This became the most emblematic exclamation in Russian from the first man ever being taking off to Space - Yuri Gagarin.

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was born in 1934 on 9th March, in a Russian village called Smolensk Oblast. Being a son of farmers, Gagarin grew up in a small and modest environment.

The first big change in his life took place at the age of 16, when he moved to Russia for an apprenticeship as foundry man in metal works. Shortly after, he was transferred to a technical school in Saratov, and here he started pursuing his interest in flying by joining an ‘AeroClub’ as a hobby, where he learnt how to pilot a light aircraft.

Later in 1957, this club would lead him to graduate from Soviet Air Force cadet school and start serving as a military pilot. Also in this year, he got married to Valentina Goryacheva, with whom he had two daughters.

In 1960, the Soviet Union started a space program, aimed at launching the first man to Space, which would then become famous as the Vostok program. The selection process in the Soviet Union for the suitable candidate was rather secretive and involved several physical and psychological tests before moving to further training. Gagarin became part of the first 20 pilots selected, which was narrowed down to two candidates - Gagarin and his friend and test pilot, Gherman Titov.

Both presented outstanding flight performance during training and ideal physical characteristics, including, among others, being short enough to fit in the small Vostok cockpit. It is claimed that Gagarin was selected due to his modest family background. However, the other candidates had also voted for him as he had stood out for his memory skills, fast reaction instincts and mathematical agility.

At 27 years of age, being 1.57 meters tall and having exceptional engineering and flying skills, Yuri Gagarin made history in the morning of April 12, 1961, as he became the first man to ever fly into outer space.

The Vostok spacecraft took only one orbit around the Earth without any issues, however, landing almost ended in disaster. While going back to Earth’s atmosphere, the cables that connected Vostok’s descendent and service modules failed to detach properly. Gagarin experienced forces up to eight times the pull of gravity and still was able to remain conscious. As the spacecraft did not present any engines to slow down the reentry upon landing, Gagarin had to eject out and parachute to Earth and landed safely near the Volga river.

Following this massive accomplishment, Gagarin became a beloved national hero in the Soviet Union and an international celebrity. The famous cosmonaut was awarded with the ‘Order of Lenin’ in Russia and soon started touring around the world. Only the U.S. saw this achievement as a great blow, having attempted to schedule a flight mission in the following, which took place only in 1962 with the Friendship 7 spacecraft. By that time, Titov had already become the second Soviet going to Space in the Vostok 2, completing 17 orbits around Earth in 25 hours in August 1961.

Despite the fame and triumph aura surrounding Gagarin after pioneering in Space, his life was not entirely “rosy” afterwards, nor had it a great ending. For one, drinking became an issue in his glorious days as a celebrity and only in the late 1960s did he go back to training. Also, his next mission, called  Soyuz 1 and taking place in April 1967, would end in his friend's, Vladimir Komarov, death, who was piloting the aircraft, as his parachutes failed to open upon re-entry to Earth.

Less than one year later, Gagarin at just 34, died tragically in a routine military flight training that resulted in a fatal crash. Alongside with Vladimir Seryogin, Gagarin was flying in a small plane, MiG-15, over a small town in the outskirts of Russia. Investigations suggest that a large jet was being tested on that day around the same area, flying at a much lower altitude than it should, close to Gagarin’s aircraft. This led to a violent crash that threw his plane towards the ground in a spiral dive.

Gagarin’s leading accomplishment in Space will forever be remembered. After the accident, the Soviet Union was in great shock and wanted to honour Gagarin by placing his ashes in a memorial part of the Kremlin wall.

Also, the name of his hometown was changed to his own name.

Article written by Teresa Duarte @ VisionSpace