First human in space

We human beings have been venturing into space since October 4, 1957, when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. This happened during the period of political hostility between the Soviet Union and the United States known as the Cold War. For several years, the two superpowers had been competing to develop missiles, called intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), to carry nuclear weapons between continents. In the U.S.S.R., the rocket designer Sergei Korolev had developed the first ICBM, a rocket called the R7, which would begin the space race. This competition came to a head with the launch of Sputnik . Carried atop an R7 rocket, the Sputnik satellite was able to send out beeps from a radio transmitter. After reaching space, Sputnik orbited Earth once every 96 minutes. The radio beeps could be detected on the ground as the satellite passed overhead, so people all around the world knew that it was really in orbit. Realizing that the U.S.S.R. had capabilities that exceeded U.S. technologies that could endanger Americans, the United States grew worried. Then, a month later, on November 3, 1957, the Soviets achieved an even more impressive space venture. This was SputnikII, a satellite that carried a living creature, a dog named Laika. Prior to the launch of Sputnik, the United States had been working on its own capability to launch a satellite. The United States made two failed attempts to launc...

On April 12, 1961, aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin becomes the first human being to travel into space. During the flight, the 27-year-old test pilot and industrial technician also became the first man to orbit the planet, a feat accomplished by his space capsule in 89 minutes. Vostok 1 orbited Earth at a maximum altitude of 187 miles and was guided entirely by an automatic control system. The only statement attributed to Gagarin during his one hour and 48 minutes in space was, “Flight is proceeding normally; I am well.” After his historic feat was announced, the attractive and unassuming Gagarin became an instant worldwide celebrity. He was awarded the Order of Lenin and given the title of Hero of the The triumph of the Soviet space program in putting the first man into space was a great blow to the United States, which had scheduled its first space flight for May 1961. Moreover, Gagarin had orbited Earth, a feat that eluded the U.S. space program until February 1962, when astronaut John Glenn made three orbits in Friendship 7. By that time, the Soviet Union had already made another leap ahead in the “space race” with the August 1961 flight of cosmonaut Gherman Titov in Vostok 2. Titov made 17 orbits and spent more than 25 hours in space. To Soviet propagandists, the Soviet conquest of space was evidence of the supremacy of communism over capitalism. However, to those who worked on the Vostok program and earlier on Sputnik (which ...

• Afrikaans • Alemannisch • አማርኛ • Аԥсшәа • العربية • Aragonés • Arpetan • অসমীয়া • Asturianu • Avañe'ẽ • Авар • Aymar aru • Azərbaycanca • تۆرکجه • বাংলা • Bân-lâm-gú • Башҡортса • Беларуская • Беларуская (тарашкевіца) • भोजपुरी • Bikol Central • Български • Boarisch • Bosanski • Brezhoneg • Буряад • Català • Чӑвашла • Cebuano • Čeština • Chamoru • Cymraeg • Dansk • Deutsch • Eesti • Ελληνικά • Español • Esperanto • Euskara • فارسی • Fiji Hindi • Føroyskt • Français • Frysk • Gaeilge • Gaelg • Gàidhlig • Galego • 한국어 • Հայերեն • हिन्दी • Hrvatski • Ido • Ilokano • Bahasa Indonesia • Interlingua • Interlingue • Ирон • Íslenska • Italiano • עברית • Jawa • ಕನ್ನಡ • ქართული • Қазақша • Kernowek • Kiswahili • Kreyòl ayisyen • Kurdî • Кыргызча • Кырык мары • Latina • Latviešu • Lëtzebuergesch • Лезги • Lietuvių • Limburgs • La .lojban. • Lombard • Magyar • मैथिली • Македонски • Malagasy • മലയാളം • Malti • मराठी • მარგალური • مصرى • Bahasa Melayu • Minangkabau • Монгол • မြန်မာဘာသာ • Nederlands • Nedersaksies • नेपाली • नेपाल भाषा • 日本語 • ߒߞߏ • Нохчийн • Nordfriisk • Norsk bokmål • Norsk nynorsk • Occitan • Олык марий • ଓଡ଼ିଆ • Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча • ਪੰਜਾਬੀ • پنجابی • پښتو • ភាសាខ្មែរ • Piemontèis • Plattdüütsch • Polski • Português • Qaraqalpaqsha • Qırımtatarca • Ripoarisch • Română • Runa Simi • Русиньскый • Русский • Саха тыла • ᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲᱤ • Scots • Shqip • Sicilianu • සිංහල • Simple English • Slovenčina • Slovenščina • Словѣньскъ / ⰔⰎⰑⰂⰡⰐⰠⰔⰍⰟ • Ślůnski • کوردی • Српски / srpski...

Gagarin's flight came at a time when the United States and the Soviet Union were Before Gagarin's mission, the Soviets sent a test flight into space using a prototype of the Vostok spacecraft. During this flight, they sent a life-size dummy called Ivan Ivanovich and a dog named Zvezdochka into space. After the test flight, the Soviet's considered the vessel fit to take a human into space. [ Becoming a legendary astronaut The third of four children, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934, in a small village a hundred miles from Moscow. As a teenager, Gagarin witnessed a Russian Yak fighter plane make an emergency landing near his home. When offered a chance years later to join a flying club, he eagerly accepted, making his first solo flight in 1955. Only a few years later, he submitted his request to be considered as a cosmonaut. [ More than 200 Russian Air Force fighter pilots were On April 12, 1961, at 9:07 a.m. Moscow time, the Vostok 1 spacecraft blasted off from the Soviets' launch site. Because no one was certain how weightlessness would affect a pilot, the spherical capsule had little in the way of onboard controls; the work was done either automatically or from the ground. Over the course of 108 minutes, Vostok 1 traveled around the Earth once, reaching a maximum height of 203 miles (327 kilometers). The spacecraft carried 10 days' worth of provisions in case the engines failed and Gagarin was required to wait for the orbit to naturally decay. But the s...

One museum, two locations Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC. At the museum and online Discover our exhibitions and participate in programs both in person or virtually. Dive deep into air and space Browse our collections, stories, research, and on demand content. For teachers and parents Bring the Air and Space Museum to your learners, wherever you are. Be the spark Your support will help fund exhibitions, educational programming, and preservation efforts. Every year as the anniversary of the first human spaceflight approaches, I receive calls inquiring about the validity of Yuri Gagarin’s claim as the first human in space. The legitimate questions focus on the fact that Gagarin did not land inside his spacecraft. The reasoning goes that since he did not land inside his spacecraft, he disqualified himself from the record books. This might seem to be a very reasonable argument, but Gagarin remains the first man in space. The justification for Gagarin remaining in that position lies in the organization that sets the standards for flight. Soviet cosmonaut Major Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin, probably on or about April 12, 1961, when he made his orbital space flight in Vostok 1. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) is the world's air sports federation. It was founded in 1905 as a non-governmental and non-profit ma...

Since 1957 Earth-orbiting satellites and robotic Orbiting satellites also have provided, and continue to provide, important services to the everyday life of many people on Earth. Meteorologic satellites deliver information on short- and long-term weather patterns and their Earth-observation satellites have also become extremely useful to the military authorities of several countries as complements to their land, sea, and air forces and have provided important security-related information to national leaders. As the many benefits of space activity have become evident, other countries have joined the Soviet Union and the United States in developing their own space programs. They include a number of western European countries operating both individually and, after 1975, cooperatively through the Significant milestones in space exploration A list of significant Significant milestones in space exploration date accomplished event details country or agency Oct. 4, 1957 first artificial Earth satellite U.S.S.R. Nov. 3, 1957 first animal launched into space dog Laika aboard U.S.S.R. Sept. 14, 1959 first spacecraft to hard-land on another celestial object (the U.S.S.R. Oct. 7, 1959 first pictures of the far side of the Moon U.S.S.R. April 1, 1960 first applications satellite launched U.S. Aug. 11, 1960 first recovery of a payload from Earth orbit U.S. April 12, 1961 first human to orbit Earth U.S.S.R. Dec. 14, 1962 first data returned from another planet ( U.S. June 16, 1963 first w...

One museum, two locations Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC. At the museum and online Discover our exhibitions and participate in programs both in person or virtually. Dive deep into air and space Browse our collections, stories, research, and on demand content. For teachers and parents Bring the Air and Space Museum to your learners, wherever you are. Be the spark Your support will help fund exhibitions, educational programming, and preservation efforts. Every year as the anniversary of the first human spaceflight approaches, I receive calls inquiring about the validity of Yuri Gagarin’s claim as the first human in space. The legitimate questions focus on the fact that Gagarin did not land inside his spacecraft. The reasoning goes that since he did not land inside his spacecraft, he disqualified himself from the record books. This might seem to be a very reasonable argument, but Gagarin remains the first man in space. The justification for Gagarin remaining in that position lies in the organization that sets the standards for flight. Soviet cosmonaut Major Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin, probably on or about April 12, 1961, when he made his orbital space flight in Vostok 1. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) is the world's air sports federation. It was founded in 1905 as a non-governmental and non-profit ma...

• Afrikaans • Alemannisch • አማርኛ • Аԥсшәа • العربية • Aragonés • Arpetan • অসমীয়া • Asturianu • Avañe'ẽ • Авар • Aymar aru • Azərbaycanca • تۆرکجه • বাংলা • Bân-lâm-gú • Башҡортса • Беларуская • Беларуская (тарашкевіца) • भोजपुरी • Bikol Central • Български • Boarisch • Bosanski • Brezhoneg • Буряад • Català • Чӑвашла • Cebuano • Čeština • Chamoru • Cymraeg • Dansk • Deutsch • Eesti • Ελληνικά • Español • Esperanto • Euskara • فارسی • Fiji Hindi • Føroyskt • Français • Frysk • Gaeilge • Gaelg • Gàidhlig • Galego • 한국어 • Հայերեն • हिन्दी • Hrvatski • Ido • Ilokano • Bahasa Indonesia • Interlingua • Interlingue • Ирон • Íslenska • Italiano • עברית • Jawa • ಕನ್ನಡ • ქართული • Қазақша • Kernowek • Kiswahili • Kreyòl ayisyen • Kurdî • Кыргызча • Кырык мары • Latina • Latviešu • Lëtzebuergesch • Лезги • Lietuvių • Limburgs • La .lojban. • Lombard • Magyar • मैथिली • Македонски • Malagasy • മലയാളം • Malti • मराठी • მარგალური • مصرى • Bahasa Melayu • Minangkabau • Монгол • မြန်မာဘာသာ • Nederlands • Nedersaksies • नेपाली • नेपाल भाषा • 日本語 • ߒߞߏ • Нохчийн • Nordfriisk • Norsk bokmål • Norsk nynorsk • Occitan • Олык марий • ଓଡ଼ିଆ • Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча • ਪੰਜਾਬੀ • پنجابی • پښتو • ភាសាខ្មែរ • Piemontèis • Plattdüütsch • Polski • Português • Qaraqalpaqsha • Qırımtatarca • Ripoarisch • Română • Runa Simi • Русиньскый • Русский • Саха тыла • ᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲᱤ • Scots • Shqip • Sicilianu • සිංහල • Simple English • Slovenčina • Slovenščina • Словѣньскъ / ⰔⰎⰑⰂⰡⰐⰠⰔⰍⰟ • Ślůnski • کوردی • Српски / srpski...

On April 12, 1961, aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin becomes the first human being to travel into space. During the flight, the 27-year-old test pilot and industrial technician also became the first man to orbit the planet, a feat accomplished by his space capsule in 89 minutes. Vostok 1 orbited Earth at a maximum altitude of 187 miles and was guided entirely by an automatic control system. The only statement attributed to Gagarin during his one hour and 48 minutes in space was, “Flight is proceeding normally; I am well.” After his historic feat was announced, the attractive and unassuming Gagarin became an instant worldwide celebrity. He was awarded the Order of Lenin and given the title of Hero of the The triumph of the Soviet space program in putting the first man into space was a great blow to the United States, which had scheduled its first space flight for May 1961. Moreover, Gagarin had orbited Earth, a feat that eluded the U.S. space program until February 1962, when astronaut John Glenn made three orbits in Friendship 7. By that time, the Soviet Union had already made another leap ahead in the “space race” with the August 1961 flight of cosmonaut Gherman Titov in Vostok 2. Titov made 17 orbits and spent more than 25 hours in space. To Soviet propagandists, the Soviet conquest of space was evidence of the supremacy of communism over capitalism. However, to those who worked on the Vostok program and earlier on Sputnik (which ...

Gagarin's flight came at a time when the United States and the Soviet Union were Before Gagarin's mission, the Soviets sent a test flight into space using a prototype of the Vostok spacecraft. During this flight, they sent a life-size dummy called Ivan Ivanovich and a dog named Zvezdochka into space. After the test flight, the Soviet's considered the vessel fit to take a human into space. [ Becoming a legendary astronaut The third of four children, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934, in a small village a hundred miles from Moscow. As a teenager, Gagarin witnessed a Russian Yak fighter plane make an emergency landing near his home. When offered a chance years later to join a flying club, he eagerly accepted, making his first solo flight in 1955. Only a few years later, he submitted his request to be considered as a cosmonaut. [ More than 200 Russian Air Force fighter pilots were On April 12, 1961, at 9:07 a.m. Moscow time, the Vostok 1 spacecraft blasted off from the Soviets' launch site. Because no one was certain how weightlessness would affect a pilot, the spherical capsule had little in the way of onboard controls; the work was done either automatically or from the ground. Over the course of 108 minutes, Vostok 1 traveled around the Earth once, reaching a maximum height of 203 miles (327 kilometers). The spacecraft carried 10 days' worth of provisions in case the engines failed and Gagarin was required to wait for the orbit to naturally decay. But the s...