First flight to space. Gagarin's flight into space opened the space age, this day became the day of cosmonautics and world aviation The first space flight April 12, 1961

Exactly 55 years ago, on April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first person to fly into space. Time for rest restores the chronology of this day and talks about how Gagarin spent 108 minutes in space.

“Hello, my dear, dearly beloved ... Today, the government commission decided to send me into space first ... Is it possible to dream of more? After all, this is history, this is a new era! In a day I have to start ... "- this is how Yuri Gagarin wrote in a letter to his wife on the eve of the flight.

Yuri Gagarin really found out that it was he who was flying into space, literally a couple of days before the flight - the candidacy of the world's first cosmonaut was approved at a meeting State Commission April 8th. Boris Chertok, a design scientist, one of Sergei Korolev's closest associates, wrote in his book "Rockets and People": "After the open part of the meeting, the commission remained in a narrow composition and approved Kamanin's proposal to allow Gagarin to fly, and to keep Titov in reserve. Now it seems ridiculous, but then, in 1961, the State Commission decided in all seriousness that when publishing the results of the flight and registering it as a world record, “not to allow the disclosure of secret data about the test site and carrier.” In 1961, the world did not know where Gagarin started from and what rocket took him into space.

On April 10, an informal meeting took place on the banks of the Syr Darya, during which Sergei Korolev said: “There are six cosmonauts here, each of them is ready to fly. It was decided that Gagarin would fly first, and others would follow him... Good luck to you, Yuri Alekseevich!”

“Before this meeting, we had behind-the-scenes disputes: Gagarin or Titov? - says Boris Chertok. - I remember that Ryazansky (Mikhail Ryazansky, designer) liked Titov more. Voskresensky (Leonid Voskresensky, rocketry test scientist) said that there is a certain prowess lurking in Gagarin that we do not notice. Raushenbakh (Boris Raushenbakh, one of the founders of Soviet cosmonautics), who examined the cosmonauts, liked both equally. Feoktistov (Konstantin Feoktistov, a member of the first crew of three in the history of space exploration, together with Vladimir Komarov and Boris Yegorov, who flew into space on October 12-13, 1964) tried very hard, but could not hide his desire to be in their place. Before meeting on the shore, it seemed to me that both candidates were too young for the upcoming world fame.

“The last pre-launch preparation was carried out in the morning. According to the doctors, the state of health was good. I myself felt good. Rested before. Sleep. Then the suit was put on. In the technological chair, they tried how the suspension system lies on the spacesuit, the ventilation of the spacesuit. We checked the connection through the suit. Everything worked well,” Yuri Gagarin recalled.

“Then there was a departure to the starting position in the bus. Together with my comrades - German Stepanovich Titov was my deputy - and all my cosmonaut friends, our bosses went to the start. We got off the bus, but then I got a little confused. Reported not to the Chairman of the State Commission, but reported to Sergei Pavlovich and Marshal Soviet Union. I just got lost at some point.

Then the rise in the elevator, landing in a chair by a full-time crew, which included comrade. Vostokov, Oleg Genrikhovich Ivanovsky. Landing in the cockpit was normal... Equipment check went well. When checking the connection, at first they did not hear me, then they began to hear well ... The connection was two-way, stable. Good connection,” Yuri Gagarin described the preparation for the flight.

There was also a small overlay. “The mood at that time was good, I felt good. He reported on checking the equipment, on readiness for the launch, on his well-being. Then hatch No. 1 was closed. I heard how they close it, how they knock with keys. Then they start turning away. Look, the sunroof has been removed. I realized something is wrong. Sergey Pavlovich says to me: “Don't worry, one contact is not pressed against something. Everything will be okay". We rearranged the plates on which the limit switches are placed. Corrected, closed the hatch cover. Everything is fine, ”Gagarin recalled.

Despite the conviction that the flight would go well, Yuri Gagarin tried to prepare his family for the most unfavorable outcome of events.

“I have complete faith in technology. She must not fail. But it happens after all that out of the blue a person falls and breaks his neck. Something can happen here too. But I don't believe in it myself. Well, if something happens, then I ask you and, first of all, you, Valyusha (Valentina is the wife of Yuri Gagarin.), not to be heartbroken ... I hope that you will never see this letter ... Valechka, please do not forget mine parents, if possible, help in something. Give them a big hello from me, and let them forgive me for the fact that they did not know anything about this, and they were not supposed to know, ”Gagarin wrote such a letter to his relatives in case of his death.

"Go!" - shouted Yuri Gagarin (call sign - Kedr) at the time of the launch of the Vostok spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
The head of the launch team during the launch was an engineer-lieutenant colonel missile troops Anatoly Kirillov - he gave commands to the stages of the rocket launch and controlled their implementation, watching the rocket through the periscope from the command bunker. His understudy at the second periscope was rocket science test scientist Leonid Voskresensky

There was a separation of the first stage of the carrier rocket, the second stage earned. “I was literally pressed into a chair,” Gagarin wrote. - As soon as the "Vostok" broke through the dense layers of the atmosphere, I saw the Earth. The ship flew over a wide Siberian river. The islands on it and the wooded shores illuminated by the sun were clearly visible. He looked at the sky, then at the Earth. Mountain ranges and large lakes were clearly distinguished. Even the fields were visible. The most beautiful sight was the horizon, a rainbow-coloured band separating the Earth in the light of the sun's rays from the black sky. The bulge, roundness of the Earth was noticeable. It seemed that she was all girded with a halo of gentle blue color, which passes through turquoise, blue and purple to blue-black.

Resetting the head fairing of the launch vehicle. Gagarin's voice was heard on the air: "I see the Earth ... What a beauty!"

Separation of the second launch vehicle, the third stage has been launched.

Output spaceship into earth orbit.

Gagarin announced that a state of weightlessness had come. “Weightlessness, which I quickly got used to, played a cruel joke on me,” the astronaut recalled. - After one of the entries in the logbook, I let go of the pencil, and it floated freely around the cockpit along with the tablet. But suddenly the knot of the cord, on which the pencil was fastened, was untied, and he dived somewhere under the seat. From that moment on, I never saw him again. Further observations had to be transmitted by radio and recorded on a tape recorder.

“Hearing is excellent. Bykov shines. His Zarya speaks for the first time from space with the voice of a living person, ”recalls Boris Chertok.

“Before entering the shadow of the Earth, the tape recorder ran out of the entire tape,” Yuri Gagarin recalled. - I decided to rewind the tape to make further recordings. Switched it to manual control and rewound. I don't think I rewound it all the way through. And then, when I was making presentations, I recorded on the tape recorder manually, since when the tape recorder is working automatically, it works almost all the time and, naturally, consumes a lot of tapes. It's caused high level noise in the cab.

The spaceship entered the Earth's shadow. “The entrance to the shadow of the Earth is very sharp. Prior to this, it was sometimes necessary to observe strong lighting through the emergency porthole. I had to turn away or cover myself so that the light would not get into my eyes. And then I look out of one window - nothing is visible on the horizon. Dark. In the other, "Vzor", I also look - it's dark. Turned on solar system orientation” – this is how Gagarin described his impressions of the dark side of the Earth.

“Air began to be consumed. By the time it emerged from the shadow, it was about 150–152 atm. I felt that when the attitude control was turned on, the angular movement of the ship changed and became very slow, almost imperceptible. Along the very horizon I observed an iridescent orange stripe, reminiscent of the color of a spacesuit in its color. Further, the color darkens a little and the colors of the rainbow turn into blue, and blue turns into black ... Soon the ship acquired a stable starting position for descent. At that time, there was a very good orientation along the Vzor. In the outer ring, the entire horizon was inscribed perfectly evenly. The objects I saw moved strictly in accordance with the arrows of the Vzor... I prepared for the descent. Closed the right porthole. I pulled on the straps, closed it with a pressure helmet and switched the lighting to working.

Gagarin said that he was flying over America.

There was a TASS message about the launch of the spacecraft. “On April 12, 1961, the world's first spaceship-satellite Vostok with a man on board was launched into the Earth's orbit in the Soviet Union. The pilot-cosmonaut of the Vostok satellite is a citizen of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Pilot Major Gagarin Yuri Alekseevich. The launch of the space multi-stage rocket was successful, and after gaining the first space velocity and separation from the last stage of the launch vehicle, the satellite began free flight in orbit around the Earth ... time feels good. The systems that provide the necessary living conditions in the cabin of the spacecraft are functioning normally. The flight of the Vostok satellite with pilot-cosmonaut comrade Gagarin in orbit continues.

The spaceship came out of the Earth's shadow.

Teletypes (electromechanical printing presses used to transfer text messages between two subscribers over the simplest electrical channel) completed the transmission of the first TASS message. Hundreds of correspondents different countries of the world stormed the building of the Telegraph Agency

Gagarin said that he was flying over Africa. “I’m flying, I’m looking - the northern coast of Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, everything is clearly visible. Everything is spinning like a wheel - head, legs, ”Gagarin recalled.

The brake propulsion system was turned on, and the ship went downhill. “At 10:25, the braking device was automatically turned on,” Gagarin wrote. - The ship entered the dense layers of the atmosphere. Through the curtains that covered the portholes, I could see the crimson reflection of the flames raging around the ship. The weightlessness disappeared, the growing overloads again pressed me to the chair. They increased and were stronger than at takeoff.

There is a separation. “At 10 hours 25 minutes 57 seconds there should be a separation, but it happened at 10 hours 35 minutes,” Gagarin wrote. - I felt the separation sharply. Such a pop, then a push, the rotation continued. All indices on the SCRS went out, only one inscription "Prepare for ejection" turned on. Then it is felt, braking begins, some kind of weak itching along the structure goes, I noticed this, putting my feet on the chair. Then the itching goes away. Here I have already taken a position for ejection, I sit, I wait.

“The ship’s rotation is starting to slow down, and along all three axes. The ship began to oscillate about 90 degrees to the right and left. There was no complete turnaround. On the other axis, there are also oscillatory movements with deceleration. At this time, the Vzor's porthole was covered with a curtain, but such a bright crimson light appears along the edges of this curtain. The same crimson light was observed through a small hole in the right porthole. A crackle is heard. I don’t know, or the design, or maybe the thermal shell expands when heated, or something else, but it crackles infrequently. So, in one or maybe two or three minutes it will sometimes crack. In general, it is felt that the temperature was high.

At the 108th minute, the spacecraft completed its flight, completing one revolution around the Earth. The Vostok landed safely on the field of the Leninsky Put collective farm near the village of Smelovka. Yuri Gagarin ejected by parachute 8 km from the ship.

“After the successful completion of the planned research and completion of the flight program, on April 12, 1961, at 10:55 Moscow time, the Soviet spacecraft Vostok made a safe landing in a given area of ​​the Soviet Union,” TASS reported.
- 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."

The implementation of a manned flight into outer space opens up grandiose prospects for the conquest of outer space by mankind.

“In a bright orange spacesuit, I probably looked strange,” Gagarin shared. - The first "earthlings", a woman and a girl, were afraid to come closer to me. They were Anna Akimovna Takhtarova and her granddaughter Rita. Then machine operators ran up from the field camp, we hugged and kissed each other. In those less than two hours that I spent in space, the radio brought the news of the launch here and to all parts of the Earth. My last name was already known to those who met me. "Vostok" descended a few tens of meters from a deep ravine, in which the spring waters rustled. The ship turned black, burned, but that is why it seemed to me even more beautiful and dear than before the flight. The forester's granddaughter Rita Takhtarova is already going to school. I will never forget that she and her grandmother were the first people to meet me after returning from space.”

It is important that before the flight, the USSR government prepared in advance three TASS messages about the launch of a man into space - including the news of the tragic death of an astronaut and the news of the absence of a satellite ship into orbit and its emergency landing (it also contained an appeal to foreign countries with a request to assist in the search and rescue of the astronaut).

A group of specialists arrived at the landing site to meet Yuri Gagarin.

“The nationwide rejoicing of April 12, 1961 is compared in scale with Victory Day on May 9, 1945. Such a comparison with external similarity seems to me unjustified. Victory Day was an inevitable, long-awaited, history-programmed holiday "with tears in our eyes" for the whole people. The official announcement of the final victory - the signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Germany - served as a signal for an open expression of delight and grief. The mass celebration was historically natural, - said Boris Chertok. The preparation of a manned flight into space was classified, like all of our space programs. The message about the flight into space of an unknown major Gagarin for the inhabitants of the Earth was a complete surprise and caused rejoicing all over the world. Muscovites took to the streets, filled Red Square, smiled, carried home-made posters: “Everyone into space!”

However, after the flight of Major Gagarin, it was no longer possible to name anyone unknown. “Now it’s already difficult for me, like before, not noticed or recognized by anyone, to walk around Moscow in the evening, to come to Red Square,” recalled the world’s first cosmonaut. - Popularity is irreparable. You just have to think: what and to whom you owe it. One foreign correspondent asked me: “Aren't you tired, Gagarin, of the fame that your name received after April 12, 1961? Now, probably, you are provided with rest for the rest of your life ... "-" Rest? - I objected to him. - Everyone works for us and most of all - the most famous people. Heroes of the Soviet Union and Heroes of Socialist Labor, and there are thousands of them in the country, are trying to work as best as possible, captivating others with their personal example.

The successful flight of Gagarin into space really became the beginning of a new stage of work. “The day after the launch of Gagarin, we, who remained at the training ground due to the “evil will of the Queen,” as Kalashnikov put it, joined the rejoicing of the whole country, occasionally including receivers. I consoled my friends with the fact that we, too, were “the first in the world” to have the opportunity to study the telemetric records of the behavior of the systems of the historical carrier and the ship in flight, - Boris Chertok writes in his book. - Details about the demonstrations in Moscow, the reception in the Kremlin and the enthusiastic responses of the world, we learned from the reports of Levitan and the BBC! The resentment against Korolev intensified even more after we learned from the duty officer in Podlipki from a conversation on HF that the government service from the Kremlin delivered invitations to Mishin and me at home “to come to the evening reception with their spouses.”

And the house? Family? .. No, he did not live his thirty-four springs in vain. And words cannot convey all the richness and beauty of the soul of this man.

But all this is only part of his work. Preparing for flights, crew training, a meeting in the design office, visiting factories, studying. Yes, unless you list everything with which he was connected!

But here's one thing I can't say. I can’t explain how he managed to redo a lot of things that constantly fell on his shoulders. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, member of the Central Committee of the Komsomol, president of the "USSR - Cuba" society, representative of many commissions ... He also found time to meet with writers and scientists, visited pioneers and soldiers: he traveled a lot around the country and often traveled for frontier...

Alexey Leonov, the pilot-cosmonaut who made the first spacewalk in the world, also recalled the life of Gagarin after the flight. “A lot can be said about him. Yura is an open soul, no tricks, no catch. He's all over the place...

We conclude the chronology of events on April 12, 1961 with the words of Major Yuri Gagarin: “Having circled the Earth in a satellite ship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, we will preserve and increase this beauty, and not destroy it!”

Thank you for being with us!

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.

The 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 positive characteristics, party membership (Gagarin became a candidate member of the CPSU in 1959, and joined the party in the summer of 1960), political activity, and 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.

Event "Flying 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 began.

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 were not created in time, as a result, the system had to be abandoned emergency rescue at the start and soft landing systems of the ship. 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 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 (Anikhayat) 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 convey to 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 a man of lightness and good humor. 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 inform you that the task of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Soviet government done…"

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 these seconds cost the queen's gray hair.

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 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, writing all necessary information and having checked 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 we will be walking along the banks of the Martian river like this, admiring 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, weighed heavily 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 dispersed. The light in the window went out.
The clock showed 23.00.

April 12, 1961- Yuri Gagarin made the world's first space flight. Before leaving the Earth, he said historical word: "Let's go! .." Gagarin spent 1 hour 48 minutes in near-Earth orbit, once flying around the planet on the Vostok-1 spacecraft. He landed on the banks of the Volga River.

• How it was... To begin with, I would like to recall a little the life path of Yuri Alekseevich.

Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934, in the city of Gzhatsk, Smolensk region. His mother, Anna Timofeevna, and father, Alexei Ivanovich, were ordinary rural workers from the village of Klushino, Gzhatsk region.

Having survived the difficult time of the German occupation, the Gagarin family moved from Klushino to the city of Gzhatsk in 1945. After graduating from school, on September 30, 1949, Yuri entered the Lyubertsy vocational school 10, which he graduated in June as a molder-caster. In August he entered the Saratov Industrial College. Since 1954 (October 25) he began to study at the Saratov flying club. In 1955 he graduated with honors from the Saratov industrial technical school, and on October 10 of the same year - from the Saratov flying club. On October 27, 1957, Yuri Gagarin married Valentina Ivanovna Goryacheva, who became his faithful companion for many years. Two daughters grew up in their family - Lena and Galya.

December 26 he was called to a new assignment: a fighter aviation regiment Northern Fleet. Having learned about the recruitment of candidates for testing new flight equipment, Gagarin writes a report on December 9, 1959, asking him to be enrolled in such a group, and after being called on December 18, he leaves for Moscow, in the Central research aviation hospital for health examination.

March 3, 1960 Lieutenant General of Aviation Kamanin presented to the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Chief Marshal of Aviation Vershinin, a group of selected pilots - candidates for cosmonauts. On March 11, Gagarin and his family left for a new place of work. On March 25, regular classes began under the cosmonaut training program. On April 12, Gagarin was the first earthling to make a space flight on the Vostok-1 spacecraft. For this feat, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the day of Gagarin's flight into space was declared a holiday - Cosmonautics Day, starting from April 12, 1962.

In 1966 Gagarin was elected an honorary member of the International Academy of Astronautics, and in 1964 he was appointed commander of the Soviet cosmonaut corps. In June 1966, Gagarin had already begun training under the Soyuz program. He was appointed understudy for Komarov, who made the first flight on the new ship. Not far off was his own flight ... Gagarin defends thesis project at the Air Force Engineering Academy. Zhukovsky. February 17, 1968 year Yuri Alekseevich defended in VVIA them. Professor Zhukovsky diploma project. The State Examination Commission awarded Colonel Yu.A. Gagarin qualification pilot-engineer-cosmonaut. Before last days Gagarin served as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In honor of Gagarin, his hometown of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin. His name remained forever in the Cosmos, which he rediscovered for humanity: one of the largest (diameter 250 km) craters on the far side of the Moon bears the name Gagarin. And what is symbolic - it is located between the Tsiolkovsky crater and the Sea of ​​Dreams. In 1968. International aviation federation established the Gagarin Medal, which is awarded to individuals who have made a special contribution to aviation and astronautics. The name of Gagarin has long become a household name for pioneers in any field of activity along with the name of Columbus. Gagarin's life motto was the phrase he wrote down in his diary shortly before his death, on March 12: I have no stronger attraction than the desire to fly. The pilot must fly. Always fly. March 27, 1968 He died under unclear circumstances near the village of Novoselovo, Kirzhachsky District, Vladimir Region, during one of the training flights. He was buried near the Kremlin wall on Red Square.

And now, about the flight itself in the words of eyewitnesses ...

3 hours 00 minutes(hereinafter Moscow time). On the launch pad, the final checks of the spacecraft began. Sergei Pavlovich Korolev was present. 5 hours 30 minutes. Yevgeny 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 out 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. Later Gagarin will say about this meeting: - He gave me several recommendations and advice that I had never heard before and which could be useful to me in flight. It seemed to me that when he saw us and talked to us, he became a little 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 cabin entrance, 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. 7 hours 10 minutes. Gagarin's voice appeared on the air. 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 spacesuit 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 ("Cedar"): I understand you - the 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. At the observation point they are waiting for Gagarin's report... There is silence in the speakers. - “Kedr”, how do you feel? Buzzing speakers, no familiar voice. - "Cedar", answer! All eyes on the speakers. -"Cedar"! 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 these seconds cost the queen's gray hair. 9 hours 22 minutes. The radio signals of the Soviet spacecraft were taken by observers from the American Shamiya radar station 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 under 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 had such a sincere smile that all my fear was taken away…” A few minutes later, sports commissar Ivan Borisenko, who was in a special search group, asked Gagarin to present a certificate (this was required by the sports code). Then, having written down all the necessary information and having checked the identification marks of the spacecraft, on which was the inscription "Vostok - USSR", he registered three absolute space records: - record of flight duration - 108 minutes. - 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 we will be like this together, wandering along the bank of the Martian river, admiring 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, weighed heavily 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 dispersed. The light in the window went out. The clock showed 23.00.