Yuri Gagarin

Russian cosmonaut

• Born: March 9, 1934
• Birthplace: Klushino, near Gzhatsk, Smolensk Oblast, Soviet Union (now Gagarin, Russia)
• Died: March 27, 1968
• Place of death: Near Moscow, Soviet Union (now in Russia)

Gagarin ushered the world into the space age as the first human in space with his orbital mission in Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961.

Early Life

Yuri Gagarin (YUHR-ee geh-GAHR-yihn) was born to Aleksey Ivanovich Gagarin, a carpenter on a collective farm, and Anna Timofeyevna Gagarin, a dairymaid, in the village of Klushino. This tiny village is west of Moscow, near the town of Gzhatsk (now known as Gagarin) in the Smolensk region of the Soviet Union. Gzhatsk is typically considered Gagarin’s hometown.

Gagarin began his formal education at the age of seven, but it was temporarily interrupted when the Nazis occupied his village during World War II. After the occupation ended, he resumed his education and completed secondary school in 1949. By this time, Gagarin had grown into an intelligent and handsome (though short) young man. He continued his education by enrolling in the Lyubertsy Agricultural Machinery School, from which he graduated in 1951. He then entered the Saratov Industrial Technical School to begin his training as a foundry technician. In late 1954, while still a student at Saratov, Gagarin enrolled in night classes at the Saratov Aero Club to study aviation. In 1955, he graduated with honors from Saratov Industrial Technical School. That same year, he also earned his ground school diploma from Saratov Aero Club and made his first solo flight. At this point, Gagarin knew he wanted to be a pilot, a field in which his short stature would be an asset.

Gagarin pursued his goal of flying by enrolling in the First Chkalov Orenburg Military School for Pilots. While in training, he met his future wife, Valentina Ivanovna Goryacheva. In the autumn of 1957, Gagarin graduated with high honors from Orenburg and married Valentina. Following graduation, he joined the Soviet Air Force as a junior lieutenant and, from late 1957 until the spring of 1960, served as a fighter pilot in the Arctic. During this time, Gagarin applied for admission into the first cosmonaut training group, and Valentina gave birth to their first child, Yelena. In March, 1960, after several months of physical, psychological, and political testing, Gagarin received orders to transfer to the cosmonaut team, and he and his family moved to Moscow.

Life’s Work

At the time of his assignment to the cosmonaut team, work on the space program in the Soviet Union was so secret that Gagarin could not even tell his wife Valentina about his new assignment. Within days of moving to Moscow, Gagarin began his training with the nineteen other pilots assigned to the cosmonaut team. In the first few months of training, Gagarin demonstrated that he was one of the top cosmonaut candidates and in May became one of six cosmonauts assigned to advanced training for the Vostok flights (Vostok meaning “east” was the name of the first Russian piloted spacecraft).

In June, 1960, Gagarin joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Seven months later, he was officially given the title of pilot-cosmonaut of the Soviet Union. In early March, his second daughter, Galina, was born. Later that month, Gagarin was informed that he had been chosen to make the first Vostok flight. At this time, he received permission to tell Valentina about his training as a cosmonaut and his being chosen to fly the first Soviet space mission, which was less than one month away.

On the morning of April 12, 1961, Gagarin entered the spacecraft, Vostok 1. Though he had been in training for over one year and several unpiloted missions had been successfully flown, there were still many unknowns. Gagarin’s Vostok 1 launched at 9:07 a.m. Moscow time. His flight lasted 108 minutes, during which time he completed one orbit of the Earth. During the flight, which was entirely automated (though the pilot could override the automated systems if necessary), Gagarin’s main responsibilities were to monitor the spacecraft systems and record his observations of the flight and its effect on him. After reentering Earth’s atmosphere and descending to an altitude of 7,000 meters, Gagarin ejected from the spacecraft and parachuted to the ground, landing in the Saratov region near Smelovka, Saratskaya. Until 1987, the Soviets insisted that Gagarin landed in his spacecraft.

Gagarin received many honors in recognition of his Vostok 1 mission. During the mission, he was promoted to the rank of major, and following the mission, he was awarded the title of military pilot, first class. Gagarin was also named a hero of the Soviet Union and was awarded the Order of Lenin and the K. E. Tsiolkovsky Gold Medal of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Following the festivities and ceremonies in the Soviet Union, Gagarin traveled around the world for several weeks making public appearances as part of a goodwill tour. During his visits to other countries, he was awarded a variety of international commendations. The publicity generated from this tour provided valuable propaganda for the Soviet Union. The handsome young Gagarin made an excellent hero for his country.

After completing his touring duties, Gagarin accepted an appointment as commander of the Cosmonaut Detachment. In this position, Gagarin ceased training for future missions and entered into a more managerial role, where he was involved in making many critical program decisions. In March, 1962, the first group of women joined the cosmonaut team with Gagarin’s full support. Though Gagarin was no longer training for missions, he remained directly involved in many of the missions by serving as capsule communicator and technical director for various Voskhod flights (the Voskhod spacecraft was the first Soviet multicrewmember spacecraft). In December, 1963, Gagarin became deputy director of the Cosmonaut Training Center and was eventually given responsibility for the lunar exploration projects. Gagarin continued to claim that he would make another spaceflight, and many people assumed that it would be as commander of the first Soviet lunar landing team. Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, confirmed this rumor during a trip to Cuba by announcing that she was assigned to the lunar team and that Gagarin was head of that team.

Gagarin was taken off flight status in June, 1964. Many people believed that he was ordered not to fly because he was such a valuable symbol to the Soviet Union that Soviet officials did not want to risk losing him in an accident. Gagarin was reinstated into cosmonaut training in April, 1966, and assigned to the Soyuz 1 and 2 training group; the following September he received permission to fly again. In October, Gagarin was named as the backup for Vladimir Komarov on Soyuz 1. The Soyuz 1 mission, scheduled to be a rendezvous and docking mission with Soyuz 2, experienced many problems after it launched on April 23, 1967. These problems forced an early return to Earth after only nineteen orbits. Unfortunately, the primary and secondary parachute systems failed to deploy properly, and the Soyuz 1 spacecraft crashed, killing Komarov. Five days after this tragedy, Gagarin was again taken off flight status.

In early 1968, Gagarin resumed cosmonaut training and in March was given permission to fly once more. On the morning of March 27, 1968, Gagarin took off on a training flight with his flight instructor. During this flight, Gagarin’s Mig-15 went into a steep dive and crashed 30 miles east of Moscow. On that day the Soviet Union lost its greatest living hero, but they would not forget him, and neither would the rest of the world. American Neil A. Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the lunar surface, left commemorative medals for Gagarin and Komarov at Tranquillity Base on the Moon and presented similar medals to their widows during a trip to the Soviet Union.

Significance

Gagarin’s Vostok 1 flight paved the way for future piloted expeditions into space by proving that a human could withstand the many unusual factors of spaceflight. In addition, Gagarin’s accomplishment brought overwhelming support for the new Soviet challenge of space exploration and gave the Soviet people a hero to personify this new endeavor. Gagarin was considered of such importance that the town of Gzhatsk, the Red Banner Air Force Academy, the Cosmonaut Training Center, a Soviet space tracking vessel, and a crater on the far side of the Moon were all named in his honor.

Also, Gagarin’s flight proved the Soviet Union’s technical expertise and proved that it was ahead of the United States in the space race, an important element during the Cold War. The United States was not able to duplicate Gagarin’s orbital feat until February 20, 1962, with the launch of John H. Glenn, Jr., in Friendship 7, the United States’ third piloted space mission. Gagarin’s flight made such an impact on the world that after the United States’ first piloted mission, a fifteen-minute suborbital flight by Alan B. Shepard, Jr., in Freedom 7 on May 5, 1961, U.S. president John F. Kennedy felt it necessary to commit the United States to sending a person to the Moon and returning him (or her) safely to the Earth by the end of the decade in an effort to surpass the Soviets in space superiority. Regardless of what advances any nation achieved in space, Gagarin will forever hold the title of the first human in space.

Bibliography

Clark, Phillip. The Soviet Manned Space Program: An Illustrated History of the Men, the Missions, and the Spacecraft. New York: Orion, 1988. Presents a general overview of the Soviet space program, incorporating interesting photographs, informative illustrations, and detailed statistics. Includes an index and valuable appendixes containing vehicle, mission, and cosmonaut information.

Cole, Michael D. Vostok I: First Human in Space. Springfield, N.J.: Enslow, 1995. Presents six milestones in space exploration in brief yet dramatic narratives with a wealth of detail.

Doran, Jamie, and Piers Bizony. Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin. London: Bloomsbury, 1998. A good account of the trials and tribulations of Gagarin’s life before and after his famous orbit of the Earth.

Golovanov, Yaroslav. Our Gagarin: The First Cosmonaut and His Native Land. Translated by David Sinclair-Loutit. Moscow: Progress, 1978. A compilation of recollections about Gagarin by family, friends, and associates; excerpts from Gagarin’s autobiography Road to the Stars (1961); portions of books and articles written about Gagarin; and a variety of essays. In addition, the book contains hundreds of photographs that make up an illustrated history of Gagarin’s life.

Hooper, Gordon R. The Soviet Cosmonaut Team: A Comprehensive Guide to the Men and Women of the Soviet Manned Space Programme. 2d ed. Suffolk, England: GRH, 1990. Volume 1 is a well-organized collection on the Soviet space program, with lists and descriptions of missions, crew assignments, call signs, cosmonaut EVAs (extra vehicular activity), Soviet honors and awards, time in space, facilities, and equipment. Volume 2 contains biographies of more than two hundred cosmonauts, both with and without spaceflight experience, making it one of the most comprehensive references on cosmonauts. Biographies contain information specific to each individual’s work as part of the cosmonaut team as well as general background information.

Riabchikov, Evgeny. Russians in Space. Edited by Nikolai Kamanin. Translated by Guy Daniels. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1971. Describes the significant events in the Soviet space program from the momentous first of Sputnik to the tragic ending of the Soyuz 11 mission, focusing mainly on the cosmonauts’ perspective of the program. Includes several chapters dedicated to Gagarin and his historic flight.

Schefter, Jim. “When Yuri Took Flight.” Astronomy 29, no. 4 (April, 2001): 36. Recounts Gagarin’s space flight, his background and training, and the significance of this first human voyage into space.

Shelton, William. Soviet Space Exploration: The First Decade. New York: Washington Square Press, 1968. Traces the first decade (1957-1967) of the Soviet space program, looking at the people, policies, and machines that carried the Soviet Union into space. Also includes an index, a selected bibliography, a chronology of Soviet space flights from that period, and an introduction by cosmonaut Gherman Titov.

Siddiqi, Asif A. Sputnik and the Soviet Space Challenge. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2003. An award-winning book that offers a comprehensive and detailed history of the Soviet space program, from its earliest days, including Gagarin’s orbit. An essential resource.

Smolders, Peter L. Soviets in Space. Translated by Marian Powell. New York: Taplinger, 1973. Provides a general description and analysis of Soviet accomplishments in space, both piloted and unpiloted, from bringing German rocket technicians to the Soviet Union for continuation of V-2 rocket development to planning for the joint Soviet-American Apollo-Soyuz mission. Includes a foreword by Patrick Moore and an index.