Space events April 12, 1961. Most Exciting Day

How did it all start? Gagarin's flight into space, which was the first in the history of mankind? And all this happened on April 12, 1961. Y. Gagarin, citizen Soviet Union, who had the rank of senior lieutenant, on the ship "Vostok" was the first person to make a space flight in orbit around the Earth. Thus, he opened the era of space flights on manned spacecraft.

The entire flight of Gagarin into space lasted 108 minutes, but despite this, it was a powerful impetus for the continuation of space exploration. Yu.A. Gagarin, as the first cosmonaut, received the rank of aviation major ahead of schedule and was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Astronaut candidate selection and preparation.

How to determine who is first obliged to fly into space, of course, this, of course, must be a pilot, moreover, a pilot of fighter jet aviation. Taking into account the specifics and capabilities of the then space technology, special candidates were needed - these are people who are absolutely healthy and professionally trained, as well as disciplined and corresponding to the whole complex of physical and medical conditions.

In addition to Yu.A. Gagarin, there were still applicants for the first flight into space. There were only twenty of them. Applicants were selected among fighter pilots, this is how Korolev decided, who believed that it was precisely such pilots who had experience in overloads, as well as stressful situations and large pressure drops.

In addition, the selection of candidates was made taking into account positive characteristics, party membership, as well as political activity and social origin. Moreover, flight qualities did not play a significant role directly in the selection.

There were two leaders in the first cosmonaut training detachment, they were Yuri Gagarin and German Titov.

Of this number, twenty people selected six, this was due to the fact that Korolev was in a hurry, because there was information that somewhere at the end of April 1961, the Americans wanted to send their man into space. Therefore, the launch of the USSR planned April 11 - 17 in 1961. The first cosmonaut was determined at the last moment, it was done at a meeting of the Civil Code, it was Yu. Gagarin, and his comrade, German Titov, became an understudy.

And so, on April 3, 1961, the assembled Presidium of the Central Committee finally made a decision on manned space flight.

And five days later, on April 8, 1961, a regular meeting of the State Commission was held, at which the issue of launching the Vostok spacecraft was decided. This commission approved the task for a man on the first space flight, which was signed by S. P. Korolev, as well as N. P. Kamanin. Here is the text -

“Perform a single-turn flight around the Earth at an altitude of about 180-230 kilometers, as well as a duration of about an hour and a half, with a landing in a given area. The purpose of the flight was also determined, it consisted in this, it was necessary to check the following: the possibility of a person staying in space on a special, equipped ship, the equipment of the ship in flight, the connection of the ship with the Earth, and also to make sure that the ship with the astronaut was necessary to land reliably.

After the end of the open part of the meeting, remaining in a narrow composition, the commission that approved Kamanin's proposal for admission to Yuri Gagarin's flight, that is, Gagarin's flight into space was to be made first, and his friend Titov should be approved for this flight as a reserve cosmonaut.

The first human space flight, Gagarin's flight into space

The participation of the USSR in the race for space exploration leads to the fact that in the work on the creation of the Vostok spacecraft they chose a number of not the best, but simple and quickly feasible solutions.

The Vostok spacecraft launched on April 12, 1961 at 09:07 Moscow time from the Baikonur cosmodrome, located in Kazakhstan, with pilot-cosmonaut Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin on board; Yuri Gagarin had the call sign "Kedr". Dana was the command "to start", then Gagarin uttered his phrase, which has long become famous: "Let's go!".

In flight, Gagarin in space, in orbit, conducted the simplest experiments: i.e. he ate, drank, made notes with a pencil. "Putting" a pencil next to him, he accidentally discovered that he immediately began to swim away. Gagarin concluded from this: pencils and other objects that are in space must be secured, i.e. tie. He recorded his feelings and observations on a tape recorder.

Upon completion of Gagarin's flight into space, the braking propulsion system, the famous designer Isaev, worked successfully, but with a slight shortfall in momentum, so the automation issued a signal to prohibit the regular division of compartments.

During the descent, at an altitude of about 7 km, exactly in accordance with the given flight plan, Yu. Gagarin ejected, after which the capsule, as well as the cosmonaut, began to descend on parachutes separately. This is where the problem arose, oddly enough it turned out to be the landing site. Yuri Gagarin parachuted into the winter river water of the Volga. But this time, Yuri Gagarin was helped by excellent pre-flight preparation - by controlling the lines, he was able to take the parachute away from the river water, and landed at a distance of about 1.5-2 kilometers from the river bank.

Return to Earth

Having made one revolution around the Earth, Yuri Gagarin at 10:55:34 at 108 minutes on his ship completed the flight.

He was first met on the ground, after the flight, by people who turned out to be the wife of a local forester Anna Takhtarova and their six-year-old granddaughter Rita. After a short time, military and local collective farmers arrived at the landing site. A group of military men, one of them guarded the descent vehicle, and the second group took Gagarin to the area where the unit was located. From here, Y. Gagarin reported the following to the air defense division commander by phone: “Please tell the Air Force Commander-in-Chief: I completed the task, landed in the assigned area, I feel good, there are no bruises or breakdowns. Gagarin.

At this time, a Mi-4 helicopter took off from the Engels airfield, the crew of which needed to find and pick up Gagarin. This crew, the crew of the Mi-4, immediately discovered the descent vehicle, but Gagarin was not next to him; local residents explained the situation, they said that Y. Gagarin had left by truck for the city of Engels.

Then the Mi-4 took off and headed for the city of Engels. From the helicopter on the road, not far from the checkpoint, they noticed a car in which Gagarin, after the report, was already heading to his descent vehicle. Here Yuri Gagarin got out of the car, waved his arms, the helicopter pilots picked him up and flew to the Engels airfield, transmitting a radiogram with the following content: "The astronaut has been taken on board, I'm going to the airfield."

At the airfield in Engels, Gagarin was already impatiently awaited, the entire leadership of the base pulled up to the helicopter ladder. Gagarin received a telegram Soviet government congratulations. In a Pobeda car, Gagarin was taken to the command and control tower, and then to the base headquarters in order to contact Moscow.

Approximately three hours after Gagarin's arrival in Kuibyshev, Korolev and several other representatives from the State Commission arrive there. At about 9 pm they set the table and celebrate the successful flight and the return of Gagarin from space.

Given the secrecy of the first manned flight into space, as well as the fact of the launch and flight of Gagarin into space, they were not covered in advance. The widely known shots with Gagarin were filmed not on the day of the launch into space, but later, especially for the newsreel, where Gagarin repeated everything he did during the real launch.

Events after Yu.A. Gagarin's space flight

Successful Conduct of the Planned Research and Fulfillment of the Flight Program On April 12, 1961, at exactly 10:55 Moscow time, the Soviet spacecraft Vostok made an accident-free landing in a given area of ​​the Soviet Union.

Pilot-cosmonaut Major Gagarin said: "I ask you to report to the party and the government that the landing went well, I feel good, I have no injuries or bruises."

This flight of Gagarin into space opened up grandiose prospects for the conquest of space by mankind.

It was a TASS message that was prepared in advance ...

Yuri Gagarin's meeting in Moscow

Initially, no one planned such a grand meeting of Gagarin in Moscow. It was all decided at the last moment, and Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev decided it. He called the Kremlin and insistently demanded a worthy meeting with Gagarin, the first cosmonaut.

On April 14, an Il-18 flew for Gagarin; on approaching Moscow, the plane was accompanied by an honorary escort of fighters, consisting of seven MiG-17 fighters. The plane with an escort solemnly flew over the center of Moscow, then over Red Square, and landed at Vnukovo Airport, where Y. Gagarin was expected by a grand reception: a mass of jubilant people, journalists and cameramen, as well as the country's leadership.

Then there was a trip in an open "ZIL-111V", Gagarin greeted those who met them standing. Congratulations were heard all around, many waved posters. One man managed to break through the cordon and personally handed a bouquet to Gagarin. A rally was held on Red Square, at which Nikita Khrushchev announced that Yuri Gagarin had been awarded the titles of Hero of the Soviet Union, as well as Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR.

Foreign visits

Yuri Gagarin's first trip abroad was to Czechoslovakia. He flew on a regular Tu-104 plane to Prague. The passengers of the flight, when they recognized Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin, rushed for autographs.

Yuri Gagarin visited Finland twice - in 1961 and 1962.

In 1961, in July, Gagarin arrived in the UK, he was invited by the foundry union of England.

And in 1961, Gagarin managed to visit Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Finland, Great Britain, as well as Poland (July 21-22), Cuba, Brazil with a short stop on the island of Curacao, visited Canada in the same year with a stop in Iceland, Hungary, India, Ceylon, Afghanistan.

In general, Yu.A. Gagarin visited almost all countries of the world, where he was greeted joyfully and kindly.

Thus began an era, the era of the exploration of near space by mankind!

April 12 is forever inscribed in the history of mankind as Cosmonautics Day!

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. a blue halo that is darker away from the Earth."

"You can see the stars through the Vzor, how the stars are passing by. A very beautiful sight. The flight continues in the shadow of the Earth," the cosmonaut reported.

Transcripts of Yuri Gagarin's flight have survived. It is 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 all. Candidates were recruited precisely among fighter pilots by the decision of the scientist Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, who believed that such pilots already had experience with overloads, stressful situations and pressure drops.

Selection for the first detachment of cosmonauts was carried out on the basis of medical, psychological and a number of other parameters: age 25-30 years old, height no more than 170 cm, weight no more than 70-72 kg, ability for altitude and stratospheric adaptation, speed of reaction, 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, the selection of candidates took into account a positive characteristic, party membership (Gagarin became a candidate member of the CPSU in 1959, and joined the party in the summer of 1960), political activity, social origin. Directly flying qualities did not play a decisive role.

The one who will fly into space was determined at the last moment, at a meeting of the Civil Code, they were Gagarin and his understudy German Titov.

The event "The flight of a Soviet man into space" - it 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 non-optimal, but simple and quickly feasible solutions were chosen.

Some components did not have time to create, as a result, the emergency rescue system at the start and the soft landing system of the ship had to be abandoned. In addition, a redundant braking system was removed from the construction 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 km 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 calculated 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 worked without remarks, 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 climbed into orbit, the highest point of which turned out to be 100 km higher than the calculated one. Descent from such an orbit with the help of "aerodynamic braking" could take, according to various estimates, from 20 to 50 days

Yuri Gagarin spent two hours before the start checking instruments and whistling his favorite songs. He began with the song "about a distant snub-nosed childhood", then switched to "The Motherland hears, the Motherland knows." Then in the mission control center they listened to "Lilies of the valley" performed by Gagarin. A minute before the launch, the first cosmonaut sang "Fly, doves, fly." Further, the recording captures the rapid breathing of the astronaut. A few seconds later, Korolev said: "Full rise", and Gagarin said his famous "Let's go."

In orbit, Gagarin conducted the simplest experiments: he drank, ate, made notes with a pencil. "Putting" the pencil next to him, he accidentally discovered that he 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 feelings 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 so that the first astronaut, in a fit of insanity, would not try to control the flight of the spacecraft. To enable manual control, he had to open a sealed envelope, inside of which was a sheet with a code, by typing on the control panel it would be possible to unlock it.

The last time Yuri Gagarin got in touch was at 10:23. He reported that the flight was going well, he was feeling great and all systems were working well. This ends the recording. On April 12, 1961 at 10:55 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 (Anihayat) Takhtarova and her six-year-old granddaughter Rita (Rumia).

Soon the military from the division and local collective farmers arrived at the scene. One group of military men guarded the descent vehicle, while the other group took Gagarin to the location of the unit. From there, Gagarin reported by phone to the division commander: I ask you to tell the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force: I completed the task, landed in a 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 human lung and with good humour. Dialogue with the Queen:

"Korolev: There in the tuba laying - lunch, dinner and breakfast.

Gagarin: Clearly.

Queen: Got it?

Gagarin: Got it.

Korolev: Sausage, dragees there and jam for tea.

Gagarin: Yeah.

Queen: Got it?

Gagarin: Got it.

Queen: Here.

Gagarin: Got it.

Korolev: 63 pieces, you will be fat.

Gagarin: Ho-ho.

Korolev: You will arrive today, eat everything right away.

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

Everyone laughs.

Korolev: 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 met at the airport by all of Moscow: a huge crowd of people, the entire top of the government, journalists and cameramen. The plane taxied to the central building of the airport, the ladder was lowered, and Gagarin was the first to descend on it. A bright red carpet was stretched from the plane to the government stands, and Yuri Gagarin walked along it (on the way, his shoe lace came undone, but he did not stop and reached the government stands, risking stumbling and falling, to the sounds of an orchestra performing 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..."

In 1961, our compatriot Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin made the first space flight in the history of mankind on the Vostok spacecraft.

His legendary "Let's go ..." will be preserved in history as the beginning of human space exploration.

The launch was carried out from the first launch complex of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Launch vehicle "Vostok 8K72K" brought to earth orbit Vostok spacecraft, piloted by the first Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The understudy, who had the opportunity to replace Gagarin at any time before the start, was German Titov. A reserve cosmonaut, Grigory Nelyubov, was also appointed for insurance purposes.

The Vostok spacecraft was put into orbit with the following parameters: inclination - 64.95 degrees, orbital period - 89.34 minutes, minimum distance from the Earth's surface - 181 kilometers, maximum - 327 kilometers.

The flight of the first cosmonaut lasted 1 hour 48 minutes. After one orbit around the Earth, the spacecraft's descent module landed in the Saratov region. At an altitude of several kilometers, Gagarin ejected and made a soft landing on a parachute not far from the descent vehicle.

The first cosmonaut of the planet was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the day of his flight became a national holiday - Cosmonautics Day, starting from April 12, 1962.

A bit of history:

Already in 1931, groups for the study of jet propulsion appeared in Moscow, Leningrad, Kharkov, Tiflis, Baku, Arkhangelsk, Novocherkassk and other cities of the country, and in 1933, by decision of the government, the world's first Jet Research Institute was created.

Specialized scientific organizations and design bureaus were created. As a result of many years of joint activity of these organizations, the flight characteristics of missiles have been constantly improved.

In 1957, the first space rocket was created. On October 4, 1957, the world's first artificial Earth satellite was put into orbit in the Soviet Union. The launch of the first satellite opened the space age in human history.

In January 1959, the Luna-1 spacecraft was launched towards the Moon, passing in the immediate vicinity of the Moon's surface and entering a heliocentric orbit. In September of the same year, the Luna-2 spacecraft landed on the surface of the Moon, and a month later, the Luna-3 interplanetary station transmitted photographs to Earth reverse side Moon.

October 4, 1957 entered the history of mankind as the beginning of the space age. On this day - the day of the launch of the first Soviet artificial satellite of the Earth - the eternal dream of mankind was realized - going into space. Made flights to the planets solar system. Automatic devices successfully operated under conditions of enormous pressures and temperatures on Venus, in the vacuum of space and cold on the Moon. On orbital manned stations long time astronauts live and work.

Ahead - new space achievements. But it all started on that October day in 1957. The first Soviet artificial satellite had the shape of a ball with a diameter of 0.58 m, and its mass was 83.6 kg. Two satellite radio transmitters, which made it possible to study the conditions for the passage of radio waves in the ionosphere, made it possible to obtain new information about the atmosphere. The successful operation of the first satellite confirmed the correctness of the theoretical calculations and design solutions incorporated in the creation of the launch vehicle, the satellite itself and its onboard systems.

The second Soviet artificial satellite was launched on November 3, 1957, just like the first one, as part of the program of the International Geophysical Year. The most important experiments carried out on the second satellite are biological. On board was the dog Laika. It was the last stage of the launch vehicle with a total mass of 508.3 kg. The containers housed scientific and measuring equipment, and an experimental animal in a pressurized cabin. The purpose of the biological experiment was to study the basic physiological functions of the animal in various parts of the flight. Before the flight of the second satellite, animals were repeatedly raised in rockets to a height of 500 km in order to test their tolerance for overloads and short-term weightlessness. But only orbital facilities made it possible to comprehensively study the effect of space flight factors - starting overloads, prolonged weightlessness, radiation - on a living organism. The first space flight of a living creature showed that a highly organized animal can satisfactorily endure all the factors of space flight, and confirmed the real possibility of man's flight into space.

The third Soviet artificial satellite (launched on May 15, 1958) became the first integrated scientific geophysical laboratory. The mass of the satellite was 1327 kg, twelve scientific instruments were installed on its board. With their help, direct measurements of the pressure and composition of the upper atmosphere were carried out, the characteristics of the magnetic and electrostatic fields of the Earth and the ionosphere were determined, primary cosmic rays and solar radiation were studied, and micrometeor particles were recorded. The measurements performed on the satellite made it possible to establish the presence of the outer zone of the Earth's radiation belt; an accurate picture of the spatial distribution of the Earth's magnetic field was obtained in the altitude range of 280-750 km. The flight of the third Soviet satellite laid the foundations for a new direction in science - space physics. The flights of the first three Soviet artificial Earth satellites have shown that science has received unique opportunities for conducting a wide range of research in outer space.

The flights of the first three satellites made it possible to work out the main service systems: radio equipment that measures the parameters of the satellite's movement in orbit, radio telemetry systems that record the results of scientific measurements, systems for "storing" and subsequent transmission of these measurements to Earth, systems for active thermal control, power supply, radio communications. A network of stations for tracking and controlling the flight and processing the information received was created.

The first Soviet artificial Earth satellites made it possible to obtain initial, quite general information about the parameters of the Earth's upper atmosphere, about the processes taking place in near-Earth space.

In February 1961, the Venera-1 interplanetary automatic station was launched to Venus.

In the same years, the first manned flights into space were being prepared.

And so, on April 12, 1961, the first Vostok spacecraft in the history of mankind, piloted by Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin, was launched in the Soviet Union. YU. A. GAGARIN - THE FIRST COSMONAUT

Russia celebrates Cosmonautics Day to commemorate the first space flight by Yuri Gagarin. The holiday was established by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 9, 1962 ... Since 1968, the national Cosmonautics Day has received official worldwide recognition after the establishment world day aviation and astronautics.

Yuri Gagarin's flight proved that man can live and work in space. So a new profession appeared on Earth - an astronaut.

The profession of an astronaut is a special one, it makes very high demands on a person. First of all, an astronaut must be in excellent health. He has to work in unusual conditions: when launching into orbit and especially when returning to Earth, considerable overloads act on him. Thus, a tenfold overload means that an astronaut, for example, with his own weight of 80 kg, feels his own weight equal to 800 kg. And in orbit, he finds himself in conditions of weightlessness, completely unusual for a person who was born and lives in the conditions of terrestrial gravity.

An astronaut must be a courageous and courageous person, resourceful in any situation, be able to quickly understand and make the right decisions in a rapidly changing environment. Each launch into space is a flight into an environment hostile to humans, where vacuum, weightlessness, and radiation that is fatal to humans reign. And although an astronaut is protected in a spaceship or at an orbital station by a strong impenetrable body, inside he is provided with living conditions that are almost familiar to humans, unforeseen emergencies can occur on Earth during testing of space technology, and in space, and when returning to Earth. The chronicle of manned space flights keeps not only heroic, but also tragic pages in the history of space exploration.

An astronaut must have an excellent knowledge of space technology and an impeccable command of it. Already the first spaceships had a very complex technical device. Since then, space technology has become even more sophisticated and sophisticated, which makes even higher professional demands on the astronaut. Only the ideal interaction of the astronaut with Finally, the astronaut is a researcher, and he must not only know the program of research and experiments well, but also be able to work with scientific equipment. And every year science programs space flights are becoming wider and richer, scientific equipment is becoming more complex and diverse.

After the flight of Yuri Gagarin, each launch of a man into space became a new step in the exploration of outer space. The duration of flights was lengthened, the programs of scientific and technical research and experiments were expanded, and the cosmonauts mastered more and more complex space technology. The flight of German Titov lasted over a day, and Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman cosmonaut, was in space flight for almost three days.

Valentina Tereshkova. First woman in space.

In March 1965, Alexei Leonov became the first cosmonaut to leave the Voskhod-2 spacecraft in a special spacesuit and spend about 20 minutes in outer space.

Of the US cosmonauts, the most famous are N. Armstrong, E. Aldrin and M. Collins - the crew of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, which in July 1969 flew to the moon with a landing on its surface. N. Armstrong and E. Aldrin became the first people to walk on the moon

In the 1970s, the Soviet program of manned space flights was aimed at creating long-term orbital stations with interchangeable crews - the main path of man in space. Delivered by Soyuz transport spacecraft to the Salyut orbital stations, Soviet cosmonauts made a number of long-term space expeditions. So, the flight of cosmonauts P. I. Klimuk and V. I. Sevastyanov on the Soyuz-18 spacecraft and the Salyut-4 orbital station lasted almost 64 days. On the basis of the Salyut-6 orbital station, the Salyut-6 - Soyuz research complex was created, which was regularly supplied with fuel and other necessary materials by Progress automatic cargo ships. On this orbital research complex, Soviet cosmonauts Yu. V. Romanenko and G. M. Grechko, V. V. Kovalenok and A. S. Ivanchenkov, V. A. Lyakhov and V. V. Ryumin made record-breaking space flights lasting 96, 140 and 175 days, respectively.

Soyuz-Apollo

In the 70s. cooperation of astronauts successfully developed various countries directly in space. In July 1975, a joint experimental flight of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft, piloted by Soviet cosmonauts A. A. Leonov and V. N. Kubasov, and the Apollo spacecraft, piloted by American cosmonauts T. Stafford, D. Slayton and W. Brand. In 1978-1980. under the Interkosmos program, together with our cosmonauts, cosmonauts of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the Polish People's Republic, the German Democratic Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria and the Hungarian People's Republic flew on Soviet Soyuz spacecraft and the Salyut-6 orbital station.

Station "Mir"

The Salyuts were replaced by the third generation of near-Earth laboratories - the Mir station, which was the basic unit for building a multi-purpose permanent manned complex with specialized orbital modules of scientific and national economic importance. The orbital complex "Mir" was in operation until June 2000 - 14.5 years instead of the five provided. During this time, 28 space expeditions were carried out on it, a total of 139 Russian and foreign space explorers visited the complex, 11.5 tons of scientific equipment of 240 items from 27 countries of the world were placed.

The Mir space complex was replaced in orbit by the International Space Station (ISS), in the construction of which 16 countries participated. When creating a new space complex, Russian achievements in the field of manned cosmonautics were widely used. The operation of the ISS is designed for 15 years, but it is possible that it will work much longer than planned.

Today we see the amazing success of space technology: tens of thousands of satellites are orbiting the Earth, spacecraft have landed on the Moon, Venus and Mars, several spacecraft have left the Solar System and carry messages to Extraterrestrial Civilizations. Mars rovers "surf" the surface of Mars. Research space probes have been sent to many planets in the solar system. Astronomers are making amazing discoveries thanks to space telescopes of varying functionality in space.

kosmos-x.net.ru/publ/k …osmonavtiki/12-1-0-163

Addressing all the inhabitants of the Earth before the start on April 12, 1961, Yuri Alekseevich said: “Dear friends, relatives and strangers, compatriots, people of all countries and continents! In a few minutes, a mighty spaceship will take me to the distant expanses of the universe. What can I say to you in these last minutes before the start! My whole life seems to me now as one beautiful moment. Everything that has been lived, that has been done before, has been lived and done for the sake of this moment. You understand, it is difficult to sort out feelings now, when the hour of trial, for which we have been preparing for a long time and passionately, has come very close. It is hardly worth talking about the feelings that I experienced when I was offered to make this first flight in history. Joy! No, it was not only joy. Pride! No, it was not only pride. I experienced great happiness. To be the first in space, to enter one-on-one in an unprecedented duel with nature - is it possible to dream of more! But after that, I thought about the colossal responsibility that fell on me. The first to accomplish what generations of people dreamed of, the first to pave the way for humanity into space. Am I happy going on a space flight! Of course, happy. Indeed, at all times and epochs, it was the highest happiness for people to participate in new discoveries ... "

In a little over an hour, he became the most famous person on Earth, but the first orbit around the Earth of a spacecraft with a man on board was the merit of many, many people, and first of all, the general designer of spaceships, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.

The flight of Yu. A. Gagarin made the hypothesis of the possibility of practical human activity in space a reality, opened a new direction in the development of civilization, and this is its enduring scientific significance.

Happy cosmonautics day to you, my dear visitors!

Chronicle of events April 12, 1961. It details the events of that day.
You will find out what happened on the day of the flight of the first man 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 got up, singing a playful song. The doctor shook his head in satisfaction - the astronauts were cheerful.
After physical exercises - breakfast. The astronauts tasted meat puree with pleasure, then blackcurrant jam and coffee. Squeezing another tube, Yuri could not resist a joke:
- Such food is good only for weightlessness - on the ground you can stretch your legs from it ...

6 hours 00 minutes.
The meeting of the State Commission began. It was very short: "everything is ready." After the meeting, the flight task for Cosmonaut-1 was finally signed.
The first to put on a spacesuit was German Titov. Gagarin - the second, in order to bathe less (the ventilation device could only be connected to a power source on the bus).
When Yuri was dressed, the workers of the cosmodrome asked him for autographs. Yuri was surprised - for the first time in his life he was approached with such a request.
The astronauts left the house - they were met by Sergei Pavlovich. He was tired and preoccupied - apparently, the sleepless night had an effect. Gagarin would later say of this meeting:
- He gave me some recommendations and advice that I had never heard before and which could be useful to me in flight. It seemed to me that, having seen us and talked with us, he became somewhat more cheerful ...
A few minutes later, a special blue bus was already rushing to the launch pad.

6 hours 50 minutes.
Gagarin got off the bus. Many mourners knew him personally. Everyone was gripped by excitement. Everyone wanted to hug Yura goodbye. Andriyan Nikolaev, forgetting in a hurry 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 readiness report to the chairman of the State Commission, Yuri made a statement for the press and radio. This statement fit on several tens of meters of 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 fled into the cab.
Below, with their heads up in fascination, stood both the Chief Designer and Yuri's friends - all those who accompanied him on the flight.

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

8 hours 30 minutes.
30 minute readiness. Titov was told that he could take off his space suit and go to the observation point, where all the experts had already gathered. The surname of the person who will be the first to leave the planet is now finally known - GAGARIN.

8 hours 50 minutes.
NP Kamanin is speaking: A ten-minute readiness has been announced. How is your pressure helmet, is it closed? Report.
Gagarin: Understood - 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, how do you hear?
Gagarin: I understand you - minute readiness. He took up his original position.

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

9 hours 9 minutes.
Department of the first stage. Gagarin must hear how this stage separated and feel that the vibration has sharply decreased. Acceleration increases, as does g-forces. Gagarin's report is awaited at the observation point...
The speakers are silent.
- "Kedr", how do you feel?
Buzzing speakers, no familiar voice.
- "Kedr", answer!
All eyes on the speakers.
- "Kedr"! Get in touch! I am the twentieth. - And into another microphone: - Communication! Fast!
"Twentieth" - Korolev.
Still - silence.
Thoughts come unhappy. Sudden depressurization? Fainting from growing overloads?
Unexpectedly, Gagarin's voice:
- Resetting the head fairing ... I see the Earth ... What a beauty! ..
Only at that moment, many of those present realized: a man in space! Everyone was overwhelmed with joy and merriment. The unrest receded because of the unforeseen silence. As it turned out later, there was a failure in the communication line for just a few seconds. But those seconds were worth it gray hair Queen.

9 hours 22 minutes.
The radio signals of the Soviet spacecraft were taken by observers from the American radar station Shamiya, located in the Aleutian Islands. Five minutes later, the encryption went to the Pentagon. The night watchman took her in and immediately telephoned the home of Dr. Jerome Weisner, President Kennedy's Chief Scientific Adviser.
A sleepy Dr. Weisner glanced at his watch. It was 1:30 am 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 minutes, a TASS message about the launch of a spacecraft sounds at the control center. It was a little late - the order to award the rank of major to Senior Lieutenant Gagarin was on the 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.
In the editorial offices of all the newspapers in the world, running around began - it was necessary to have time to turn them over. "News of the Century" was supposed to be the highlight of today's press.
“The Soviet Union, which first launched an artificial Earth satellite in 1957, was the first to reach the Moon in 1959, and finally, the first to return animals to Earth from space last year, has just given the world its Christopher Columbus of outer space.” That's what the French said. The Americans, Italians, Germans, British did not lag behind them.
Yuri Gagarin became close to all peoples of the globe. But most of all worried and worried about him, of course, the Motherland.

10 hours 25 minutes.
The brake propulsion system was turned on, and the ship went downhill.
Landing is the most crucial stage of space flight: an error per 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.
The 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 descended on a parachute nearby.
The first person who saw Yuri Gagarin was Anna Akimovna Takhtarova. She became known to the whole world as the person who first met the astronaut. She said this: “I raised my head, I see a man walking in my direction. I was taken aback - it was very strange that the man was dressed, not in our way. And he suddenly appeared - from a clear sky, like snow on his head. Then I look: the man is smiling. And he has such a sincere smile that all my fear was taken away like a hand ... "
A few minutes later, sports commissioner Ivan Borisenko, who was in a special search group, asked Gagarin to present his ID (this was required by the sports code). Then, having written down all the necessary information and checking the identification marks of the spacecraft, on which was the inscription "Vostok - USSR", he registered three absolute space records:
- flight duration record - 108 minutes.
- a record for flight altitude - 327 kilometers.
- the record for the maximum load lifted to this height is 4725 kilograms.
A few 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 in a day.
After the airfield, Gagarin went to the hotel. She was on the high bank of the Volga.
The doctors decided to give the astronaut a chance to rest a bit. Then Gagarin, together with Titov, went out to wander along the banks of the Volga. Nature miraculously harmonized with their mood. Herman, noticing that Yuri was thinking, asked:
- Do you dream that someday, just like this, we will, wandering along the banks of the Martian river, admire the setting Sun and the star Earth?
- That would be great! Gagarin laughed.
The day is so long - Yuri counted every second, and so short - everything happened so quickly that it was hard to believe if it was a dream.

22 hours 00 minutes.
An earthly dinner was organized. There were toasts. We talked about the future of mankind. But fatigue set in, closed his eyelids, pressed his weight on his shoulders so that everyone who was entrusted that day was next to Yuri, hugged him for the last time, wished him good dreams and parted ways. The light in the window went out.
The clock showed 23.00.

OUR MOTHERLAND OPENED A NEW ERA IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANITY

THE FLIGHT OF A SOVIET MAN INTO SPACE IS MADE IN THE NAME OF PEACE, PROGRESS, HAPPINESS OF PEOPLE

TASS MESSAGE

0952 According to data received from the Vostok spacecraft, at 0952 Moscow time pilot-cosmonaut Major Gagarin was South America, conveyed: "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 bear the state of weightlessness well."

10.25 am At 10.25 am Moscow time, after the circumnavigation of the globe in accordance with the given program, the braking propulsion system was switched on and the spacecraft-satellite with pilot-cosmonaut Major Gagarin began to descend from orbit to land in the given area of ​​the Sovetsky Union.

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

After the successful completion of the planned studies and the completion of the flight program on April 12, 1961 at 10:55 Moscow time soviet ship"Vostok" made a safe landing in a given area of ​​the Soviet Union.

Pilot-cosmonaut Major Gagarin said: "I ask you to 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 a manned flight into outer space opens up grandiose prospects for the conquest of outer space by mankind.

KOSMONAVT-15 ABOUT KOSMONAVT-1

Flight of Gagarin

I heard about Gagarin's flight on the radio. Despite the fact that I had known about the flight preparations for a long time, the message made me feel like a bombshell. I did not know in advance either the launch date or the astronaut's name. And here it is! Man in space! Flying over the earth! Alone in this endless lifeless space! What a fantasy! Hardly anyone can imagine what he has 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 must have 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 decided and achieved his goal!

Never before had I thought about it. We discussed technical issues, argued about which control would be convenient for a person and which would be inconvenient, 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 himself: is he managing 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 well remember my reaction when I first heard about the selection of candidates for the first flight from the employees of our department, who returned from the Kazakhstan test site, the place where they now start space rockets. 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. Fighter pilots were named first. Each of them is accustomed to the height and to the fact that one bears all responsibility for the flight. The second considered submariners. They can be isolated for a long time, cut off 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 most prepared to study the structure of the ship and control its work.

When the word "engineers" was said, it was like an electric shock struck me, as if someone had said "you." And some kind of inner trembling ran through, as if the choice had already been made. The trace of this feeling remained in me for a long time. Probably, Gagarin had something similar before the flight. Maybe differently colored, but most likely brighter, because he had a real perspective, not an abstract fantasy.

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

I did not have a chance to take part in the preparation of astronauts for the first flight. I dealt only with issues related to the creation of a management system. At that time, many things were unclear to us. We, for example, 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 just like the stars. We did not know whether it would be possible to determine the direction of the flight when the ship was over the ocean - there are no landmarks on the surface of the water, and we did not have sufficient data on how often clouds would occur and how they look from above. The system made it possible for the cosmonaut 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 cosmonaut would tell in which situations this was possible and in which not.

How much debate there was about whether to allow the astronaut to participate in the management of the ship! There was an opinion that he might not be able to cope with the psychological stress of the flight and would start acting recklessly. In this case, taking control over himself, he can destroy himself. As a result, it was decided to complicate the procedure for turning on the system to such an extent that, in the absence of sound thinking, the astronaut could not perform it. The system was locked with a combination lock, similar to those currently installed on front doors. The astronaut was not given the code. 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 cockpit 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 control the ship. It was curious to find out if Gagarin got 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 keep the management technique in mind? It seems like we just wrote it. 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 in the department. He sat down opposite me and said that I urgently needed to write a method for manual orientation. And he began to dictate:

Write: "With the correct orientation, the image of the Earth's horizon in the Vzor should occupy a position that is symmetrical relative to the center of the device."

I write. "Vzor" was called an optical device with which the astronaut must control the position of the ship relative to the Earth. Rauschenbach continues:

Write in a separate line: "Attention".

No, no, all in capital letters: "ATTENTION". Put three exclamation marks. 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?

Put an exclamation point. God forbid, mix it up. Again from a new line: “If the Earth is visible at the top of the Vzor, tilt the handle down and hold it in the deflected position until ...”

And so he dictated the entire instruction. My consent with her was asked only out of politeness. Then he says: "Let's read together - 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 Raushenbakh left with her to the cosmonauts - to a small military unit located not far from 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 methodology, 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 cosmonaut in orbit, a new message was transmitted over the radio: "The flight was successfully completed, the spacecraft landed in the assigned area, Gagarin is feeling well."

Then they did not begin to announce that Gagarin landed not in the descent vehicle, but next to it. The spacecraft did not have a soft landing system, so an automatic ejection of the cosmonaut at a low altitude was provided. After that, the cosmonaut and the apparatus 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 made according to exactly the same program, but with dummies on board. And they also ended successfully. They just weren't reported. Checked the possibility of human life in a confined space? And this was done on Earth in advance. The human tolerance of the overloads that accompany the flight has also been repeatedly tested in studies on a centrifuge. Then what happened? The main significance of the event lies, perhaps, in the fact that the most important psychological milestone has been passed. Gagarin's flight showed that man can fly into space. A person can maintain working capacity and a normal mental state at all stages of space flight - when taking off 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 by Moscow. It seems that the whole of Moscow. This event did not leave anyone indifferent. People either went out into the street to see Gagarin with their own eyes when he was driving from the airfield to the Kremlin, or they followed what was happening on television. The award ceremony took place, then there was a rally on Red Square, the country's leadership gave a big reception, and the 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. 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 podium, and we were all around, who managed to get where. Thousands of people worked at the enterprise and everyone came. All the places from where it was possible to see Gagarin were occupied. Standing on the roads open windows indoors, on the roofs of adjacent buildings.

Oddly enough, but even those who created the ship, the flight made a very strong impression. 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, all of a sudden, it dawned on everyone that a huge event had happened. Unheard-of opportunities have opened up before people - a road has opened up beyond the limits of what belongs to the Earth. Flights into space are flights to a new world. While it was difficult to imagine how this will 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 difficult, but the most important and most difficult - the first step has already been taken. It is clear that ahead of us expected the most interesting programs. The speakers at the meeting spoke about it and the audience thought about it. Of course, we were all very happy with the success, we are proud that the flight was carried out in our country, and that each of us had a chance to participate in its preparation. Excited people left the meeting and everyone knew that the next ships were being manufactured in the workshops.

For many days after the flight, newspapers published materials with assessments of the event. Unfortunately, they were mostly politically oriented. All scientific and technical data of the flight were classified. The names of those who prepared the flight were also secret. The Queen in the articles 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 unnamed "Chief Theorist".

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