Fifty years ago today, Russian Vostok cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin strapped onto a rocket and rode it up and out of the earth’s atmosphere, becoming the first human to reach space.
Once out of the atmosphere, Gagarin made a single orbit around the earth, then reentered for his return. In all, the cosmonaut spent 108 minutes on his spaceflight, from the launch to his ejection out of the capsule at 7 km above the ground during the return. After he parachuted back to earth, Gagarin was a worldwide hero.
Although American Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard would reach space less then a month later, Gagarin’s flight was the true beginning of a new era in our history, one that showed just how far technology could take us.
As it stands, we’re still finding out. And we’re still celebrating Gagarin and his venture into space.
