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called “Vostok 1” on April 12, 1961.
The capsule was carrying Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who took his place in history as the first human to leave the bounds of Earth and enter outer space.
On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin blasted off the launch pad in Baikonur at 9:08 AM local time. His call-sign for the flight was “Cedar.” Sergei Korolev, the Program’s Chief Designer, would call from the ground, “Dawn’ calling ‘Cedar.'” Gagarin made his historic 108 minute flight (orbiting around the whole Earth once) and parachute landed near his Vostok 1 capsule in the plains of Russia. This flight made him the first human to orbit the Earth and an international hero.
Yuri was only 27 years old. Seven years after his flight, on Wednesday March 27, 1968, Yuri was piloting a MiG-15 when he got into a tragic crash that ended his life.
He was 34.
The Cosmonaut program is rich with traditions that honour Yuri’s first flight. It is customary to visit the Gagarin Memorial before your mission, to sign the log book in Yuri’s unchanged office, and to urinate on the tire of the bus that brings you to the launch pad (mostly because Yuri had to himself right before his flight).
We hope the world will celebrate April 12 together and create new traditions of space and unity.
Source: Russian Embassy in Harare