It was in the year 1957 that man first conquered space and to the Soviet Union goes the honour of being the first to send an earthling to space. And who was this very special earthling who was the first in space? It was none other than Laika, a terrier mutt. It is said that she was taken off the streets of the Russian capital, Moscow, barely a week before she orbited into space on her historic flight.
Laika’s orbit into space paved the way for future space exploration leading to man landing on the moon, exploration of Mars and the setting up of space stations.
It was four years after Laika’s space orbit that man first orbited into space and the honour of being the first man in space fell to Russian Cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin.This article tells us about the brave Cosmonaut who dared to brave a hitherto uncharted world – space. His flight aboard the Vostock 1 spacecraft took place on April 12, 1961. His orbit or flight around earth lasted one hour and 29 minutes.
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| The tree which Gagar planted when he came to Sri lanka |
The honour of being the ‘first man in space goes to Russian Cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin. He was was born on March 9,1934 in Klushino, near Gzhatsk, Russia. His parents were not rich, his father was a carpenter on a collective farm. The family had four children and Yuri Gagarin was the third.
He and his family suffered severely during the Nazi occupation of Russia during World War !1. As a matter of fact, Gagrin lost his first school and missed his education. However, in 1946 young Gagarin’s family moved to Gzhatsk where he continued his education.
In 1950, Yuri Gagarin then aged 16 worked as a foundryman at a steel plant in Lybertsty . In 1957 on May Day he met Valentina Gorgachev and married her the same year after earning hs pilot’s wings on a MIG -15.
In 1951, Gagarin was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Soviet Air Force. After graduation, he was assigned to Luostariairbase in Murmansk, Oblast, close to the Norwegian border for a two year assignment. He became a lieutenant in the Soviet Air Force on November 5 1957, and was promoted to senior lieutenant on November 6, 1959.
In 1959, Gargarin was recommended for the Soviet Space program. On May 30, 1960, Yuri Gagarin was recommended for an accelerated training program known as the ‘Vanguard Six’, from which the cosmonauts for the Vostock program was chosen
The Vostock 1( Vostok 3KA -3) spacecraft was launched at 6.10 a.m on April 12, 1961 from the Baikoonur Cosmodrome. “The feeling of weightlessness was somewhat unusual when compared with the Earth condition” wrote Cosmonaut Gagarin in his post flight report. After the space flight Yuri Gagarin became a national hero in the Soviet Union and a world celebrity. Four months after his historic flight Gagarin visited the United Kingdom, Hungary, Bulgaria, Brazil, and Sri Lanka as well as some other countries.
He also received many awards. Among them were the ‘First man in space' and the 'First pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR'. Gagarin also received gold medals.
Yuri Gagarin died in an aircraft accident on March 27, 1968. April 12, the date of Gagarin's historic space flight has been commemorated from that day. In 2011, the UN declared April 12 as the the ‘Day of international human space fli’ght’.
H. Sandewmi Sahansa Fernando
Grade 9
G/Sanghamitta B.V.
Galle