The twentieth century was one of rampant technological development, of unprecedented flourishing of science, a century in which grandiose, fantastic ideas became reality, and when the dreams of many generations of people who lived and now live on Earth came true.
There were a great many ideas, discoveries, projects, and accomplishments in the century just past. But among all the numerous outstanding human achievements in the twentieth century that captured the contemporary imagination, the most thrilling were the launch of the first artificial satellite and, especially, the flight of the planet’s first cosmonaut, Yuriy Alekseyevich Gagarin on the Vostok spacecraft.
The launch of the first artificial satellite into orbit around Earth took place on 4 October 1957 at 22:28 Moscow time marking the start of the Space Era in human history. Yuriy Gagarin’s spaceflight, launched on 12 April 1961 at 09:07 Moscow time, lasted for 108 minutes, during which the spacecraft carrying the first cosmonaut completed a full orbit around Earth and then landed safely in the scheduled recovery area. This flight marked the start of the Era of Human Presence in Space.
These two events are directly linked; without the first, the second could never have occurred. The first became a momentous milestone in the history of technological progress; the second was the embodiment of a centuries-old dream of humankind, one dreamt both by ordinary people gazing at the starry sky and by the world’s great science fiction writers, seers, and creators.
The Prehistory of the First Artificial Earth Satellite Vehicles and Orbital spacecraft
Manned spaceflight is part of the regular process of development in history and reflects the eternal human desire to learn the secrets of nature and to discover new living environments. The idea of flying to the Moon and the stars arose many centuries ago, when people still did not know either the structure of the solar system; or that Earth is round, rotates on its axis, and revolves around the Sun; or that Moon is its satellite. Indeed they knew very little about the continents of Earth itself. This did not prevent them, though, from creating legends and tales about flights into the sky in which they proposed the most unlikely vehicles for such voyages. In these legends and tales, heroes flew on swans, eagles, flying carpets, winged horses, balloons, and other exotic vehicles. In more recent times, in association with the development of technology, somewhat more scientifically justified projects began to be proposed, for example, giant cannons. The famous science fiction writer Jules Verne sent his hero to the Moon in a missile shot from a cannon that had a barrel approximately 300 meters long. His topic is even titled in Russian To the Moon by Cannon. As science and technology developed, science fiction writers kept proposing new types of interplanetary craft and materials from which they could be manufactured.
However, the actual means that later made spaceflights possible was only discovered in the nineteenth century. This was the use of rocket engines to propel a spacecraft. Rockets had been used even earlier, for many years before this, mainly for military purposes. As early as the Middle Ages, inventors had begun to propose various ways to use rockets for propelling loads (missiles) across long distances. Rockets were used in war in sieges and taking of forts. The military aspect of rocket use predominated in the majority of inventions associated with them.
In the nineteenth century, the building of rockets had already developed extensively. Rockets were invented that used powder as well as those with liquid-fuel engines. However, the use of rockets for military purposes was still less effective and extensive than the use of artillery tube systems. Nevertheless, enthusiasts, believing in the future of rockets, continued working to improve them.
The scientific principles underlying the use of rockets for spaceflight were developed in Russia through the work of an outstanding self-taught scientist, a schoolteacher from the provincial city of Kaluga, K.E. Tsiolkovskiy. In 1883, Tsiolkovskiy, in his manuscript Free Space, advanced the idea that it would be possible to use the principle of reaction propulsion for spaceflight and provided a sketch of a spacecraft that would take humans into space. In 1895, in another of his works, Dreams of the Earth and the Sky and the Effects of Universal Gravitation, he gave a rationale for the belief that it was possible to attain the velocity necessary to break away from Earth and demonstrated that it was theoretically possible to build an orbital spacecraft. In 1897, Tsiolkovskiy derived the basic equation for rocket velocity, which is widely known as ”Tsiolkovskiy’s formula.”
Tsiolkovskiy’s fundamental scientific work, Space Exploration Using Reaction Propelled Vehicles, was published in two parts in 1903 and 1912. In this work, he established the laws of motion for rockets as bodies of variable mass, defined the efficiency coefficient for a rocket, investigated the effects of air resistance on its motion, noted the advantages of rocket engines at high speeds, and provided a sketch of an interplanetary rocket, for which he pointed out the advantages of a liquid propellant. Considering the rocket as the only practical and acceptable means of spaceflight, Tsiolkovskiy did a great deal to define the rational path along which cosmonautics and rocket building had to develop. He published hundreds of scientific works on these problems. It was he who spoke the prophetic words, ”Human beings will not remain on Earth forever; in the pursuit of light and space, they will first timidly penetrate beyond the bounds of the atmosphere and then conquer the space within the solar system.” Tsiolkov-skiy’s ideas were developed very intensively by his students and followers in the 1920s and 1930s. Work on rocket technology was also taking place in other countries. The most significant such work is associated with the names of Robert Goddard (U.S.A.), H. Oberth (Germany), and R. Esnault-Peterie (France). By this time, in the Soviet Union, the efforts of individual rocket building enthusiasts had been combined in the Group for the Study of Reaction Propulsion (GIRD). A special laboratory was also founded and subsequently named the Gas-Dynamics Laboratory (GDL). These organizations played a prominent role in developing various types of rockets, including launch rockets using smokeless powder and liquid rocket engines for aircraft and torpedoes.
In 1933, the Government decided to found the Reaction Propulsion Scientific Research Institute (RNII) to centralize the efforts of the country’s rocket builders. The efforts of this institute were responsible for the development of many types of rockets, and liquid-fueled rocket engines for missiles and aircraft. Modified models and new types of rocket that they developed were subsequently used extensively as weapons at the fronts of the Great Patriotic War of 19411945 (World War II). Among these, the legendary Katyusha, whose crushing salvos sowed panic and destroyed enemy troops and weapons, was especially popular in the army.
Germany was highly successful in developing and using rocket technology for military purposes during World War II. These successes are associated with the name of Werner von Braun—the Project Director for building the V-1 and V-2 rockets, which were used to bomb London. After the defeat of Germany, technical documentation on these rockets, a few examples of the rockets themselves, and some components found their way to the United States and the Soviet Union. These were used by both countries in the postwar period to build improved military rockets. And von Braun himself went to America and directed work on rocket technology.
As a result of worsening international tensions and the threat that atomic weapons would be used, the Soviet Union resolved to build a powerful intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a warhead many thousands of kilometers. In a short time, this task had been accomplished: on 27 August 1957, the Soviet Union successfully fired one of these rockets. During this period, work on creating multistage intercontinental ballistic missiles was directed by Academician S.P. Korolev, who had been working in the area of rockets since the end of the 1920s. Successful testing of these military rockets showed that spaceflight and the launch of orbital satellites was technically possible.
The First Artificial Earth Satellites—Practical Preparation for Manned Space Flight
On 5 January 1957, Korolev sent to the Government ”Proposals for the First Artificial Satellites of the Earth Before the Start of the International Geophysical Year.” These proposals were examined and the USSR Government tasked scientists, leaders of industry, and the military to implement preparations for launching the first artificial satellite of Earth, in full accordance with the program of scientific research for the International Geophysical Year. Preparations for the conquest of space required setting up special scientific institutes and laboratories, industrial enterprises, a cosmodrome, and a network of ground-based tracking stations in the country and training highly qualified work forces. All this had to be done despite the lack of any previous experience anywhere in the world. Nevertheless, the work was completed on an accelerated schedule.
On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite in the world into orbit around Earth. The date of that launch entered history as the start of the Space Era.
The first Soviet satellite was a sphere 0.58 meters in diameter and a mass of 83.6 kg. The satellite’s two radio transmitters would make available new data about the atmosphere. The successful functioning of the first satellite confirmed the correctness of the theoretical calculations and design solutions underlying construction of the launch vehicle, the satellite itself, and all onboard systems.
After the first launch, other, heavier satellites carrying improved onboard equipment were put into orbit. Meanwhile, the ground-based components of the space infrastructure were undergoing parallel development. The research program implemented in the second satellite included unique experiments with the dog Layka—the first space voyager belonging to a higher animal species. Flights of dogs continued subsequently and made it possible to study the status of a living creature under conditions of weightlessness. A foundation was being laid for the decisive conquest of space through manned spaceflights.
The first U.S. artificial satellite, Explorer 1, was launched into orbit on 1 February 1958. The United States thus became the world’s second space power.
In May 1959, the USSR Government adopted two resolutions, ”On preparing Humans for Space Flight.” Based on these resolutions, the Government conducted a series of experiments involving flights of satellites carrying dogs and human . At the same time, a spacecraft in which a human could be sent into space was being developed. Spacecraft of this type were named Vostok; until the first manned flight, they were launched into space unmanned. Experiments with dogs were not conducted on them.
Orbital spacecraft were launched on
* 15 May 1960—with no living things on board;
* 19 August 1960—with the dogs, Belka and Strelka, on board (recovered safely);
* 1 December 1960—with the dogs Pchelka and Mushka (caught fire on reentry, the dogs died);
* 22 December 1960—with the dogs, Zhemchuzhina and Zhulka (the capsule failed to go into orbit; the descent module was recovered after 2 days; the dogs survived);
* 9 March 1961—with the dog, Chernuskha, and a human dummy (recovered safely);
* 25 March 1961—with the dog, Zvezdochka, and a human dummy on board (recovered safely).
The missions of these launches were to refine development of the spacecraft design and systems, to conduct biomedical experiments with dogs and other biological subjects, to return the descent modules to Earth, and to implement ejection and parachute landing of a dummy simulating a suited cosmonaut. The generally successful accomplishment of this flight program confirmed spacecraft and onboard system reliability. The prerequisites for manned space flight had been attained in practice.
Preparing the First Cosmonauts for Flight
To prepare humans for the first and subsequent space flights, a team of 20 candidates for flight was selected. Fighter pilots, submariners, rocket builders, automobile racers, and many other young and healthy people dreamed of becoming cosmonaut candidates. The flight surgeons who had been assigned the task of selecting the first spaceflight candidates were well aware that, of members of all of the professions, fighter pilots were most suited to endure the effects of extreme environmental factors. During their training and actual flights, they experienced the effects of hypoxia, increased pressure, G-forces in different directions, ejection, and other factors. During the first phase of selection, it was considered expedient to select the young cosmonaut candidates from among fighter pilots. This idea was fully supported by Chief Spacecraft Designer, S.P. Korolev, who said, ”For this enterprise, it would be best to use trained pilots, especially, jet fighter pilots. A fighter pilot is just the generalist that is needed. He flies in the stratosphere in a one-man high-speed aircraft. He is a pilot and navigator and radioman and flight engineer rolled into one….”
Candidate selection began in Air Force units in October 1959. During the initial selection process, documents for 3461 fighter pilots, aged up to 35 years, were examined. A total of 347 men was selected for the initial interview. Based on the results of the interviews and outpatient medical examinations, 206 pilots were selected to undergo further medical selection. These candidates underwent inpatient examination in the Military Clinical Aviation Hospital between October 1959 and March 1960. Of the 206 men, 72 dropped out of their own volition in the course of the examination process. An additional 105 failed to meet medical requirements. Of the 29 pilots who passed all phases of medical examination and met all medical requirements, 20 were finally selected as cosmonaut candidates.
In late 1959, a government decision was made to create within the Air Force a special Center to train candidates for manned space flight. This was done concurrently with selection of cosmonaut candidates. In March 1960, the Cosmonaut Training Center was established. At first, the Center was located in Moscow in the Central Aerodrome. Then, a site outside Moscow was selected. In the summer of 1960, the Cosmonaut Training Center began to operate in Zvezdnyy Gorodok, which had been specially constructed for this purpose.
In early March 1960, the first group of spaceflight candidates, which was still not up to full strength, came to the Center, and on 14 March, the first class in general space training was held for this group. This group was brought up to full strength of 20 by mid-July 1960. Later this first cosmonaut team was named the Gagarin team. The names of the members of the Gagarin team were I.N. An-ikeyev, P.I. Belyayev, V.V. Bondarenko, V.F. Bykovskiy, V.I. Filatyev, Yu.A Gagarin, V.V. Gorbatko, A.Ya. Kartashov, Ye.V. Khrunov, V.M. Komarov, A.A. Leonov,G.G. Nelyubov, A.G. Nikolayev, P.R. Popovich, M.Z. Rafikov, G.S. Shonin, G.S. Titov, V.S. Varlamov, B.V. Volynov, and D.A. Zaikin.
In August 1960, the ”Regulation on USSR Cosmonauts” was adopted. This document defined the following Center staff positions: ”cosmonaut cadet,” ”cosmonaut,” ”cosmonaut instructor,” and ”senior cosmonaut instructor.” The phases of cosmonaut training for spaceflight were defined, as was the list of organizations tasked with conducting this training. Issues concerning the material and social welfare of cosmonauts and their families were also resolved.
A total of only 1 year was allocated to train the first cosmonaut candidates (at that time called cosmonaut cadets) for flight. However, the flight training program was extremely extensive. Training of the first cosmonaut candidates consisted of theoretical classes, training on various simulators, and fieldwork in the design bureau where spacecraft were being built. At the direction of Korolev, classes on rocket technology and celestial mechanics were taught by the most experienced staff members of the design bureau. From their very first days in the program, the cosmonaut candidates were given to understand that classes in these disciplines must form the basis for their future profession.
It was also understood that throughout the entire training period, the future cosmonauts had to be subject to strict and constant medical monitoring, without which it would have been impossible to readjust the demands that were being put on them during training in a timely fashion. The demands on the cosmonauts’ health had to be commensurate with the goals and tasks of the future flight.
The instructional and training program for future cosmonauts involved simulating spaceflight factors and conditions. The most complex phases of the flight program used special ground-based facilities, simulators, training devices, mock-ups, and flights on mass-produced or specially modified aircraft. Korolev, who had been a glider pilot, was a vehement advocate of flight and parachute training. He believed that this type of training would polish and refine the cosmonauts’ professional skills and would also give them a large infusion of willpower.
In addition to these other factors, the great significance attached to flight and parachute training stemmed from the fact that, on flights on the earliest spacecraft, a cosmonaut had to eject from the spacecraft cabin along with his seat and then, after he had separated from it, descend by parachute.
As a result of this, people from a wide variety of professions went to work to set up and conduct a unified training process for the ”special contingent,” as the future cosmonauts were then called. The word ”cosmonaut” itself was kept secret until the first flight, and it was recommended that it not be used in conversation.
The training program for the first cosmonauts was developed on the basis of their primary mission—to define the limits of human potential to live and work in weightlessness. Gaps in knowledge at that time included the following: Could the cosmonaut ”float” in the spacecraft cabin, or did he have to remain strapped to his seat throughout? Wouldn’t there be severe psychological disruptions in space that prevented the cosmonaut from acting responsibly and consciously? There were many other similar questions. For this reason, biomedical training of the student cosmonauts was one of the main types of flight preparation. It was conducted, using specially designed simulators, by leading experts in medicine and psychology, who had a great deal of experience in practical work with pilots on flight qualification and therapeutic and prophylactic problems.
S.P. Korolev considered that the major problem involved in preparing humans for the first spaceflight was ensuring their safety. Safety was considered everyone’s responsibility—those who developed space technology, as well as cosmonaut training specialists. They were all focused on solving the following problems:
* ensuring that the cosmonauts were provided with the fullest possible preliminary familiarity (under laboratory conditions and during aircraft flights) with predicted spaceflight conditions, which were reproduced on the training simulators one by one or in combination;
* phased refinement of the flight mission, particularly with regard to using the spacecraft systems;
* development of the cosmonauts’ confidence in their own strengths and knowledge and in their readiness to undergo the most severe ordeals.
Here, it would be worthwhile to describe the following very significant phase that occurred during training of the first cosmonauts. When spaceflights with dogs took place as part of the single-orbit flight program, the cosmonauts flew to the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmondrome. After launch, they traveled by aircraft to the reentry module landing site to familiarize them with results of the flight and landing. This was done to teach them about and provide them with direct observation of launch operations, as well as to dispel the excess stress that might be experienced before their upcoming flights.
An important aspect of the training program involved testing the cosmonauts under exposure to prolonged solitude in a ”limited space” under various daily work-rest schedules. Initially, the duration of these tests was limited to 15 days. Such tests made it possible to study the individual’s psychological reserves.
The professional training provided to the pilots of the earliest spacecraft used a single training simulator. During training on it, the cosmonauts developed the components of the skills and knowledge required to control the onboard systems of the spacecraft. The trainer used a primitive visual simulation system that reproduced the spaceflight environment and incompletely simulated the dynamic operations of spacecraft control. More complex training simulators were only designed and used in preparation for subsequent flights.
To compensate for the inadequacy of the training simulators and other equipment, the facilities of the industrial plants where space technology was developed and tested were used for practical cosmonaut training. The future cosmonauts were frequent visitors to the plants, to the assembly and test building, and to the development stands and facilities. They made themselves at home in a spacecraft cabin mounted on an assembly stand. Lessons at the facilities using actual technology were conducted by the most experienced developers,designers, and testers of spacecraft and their onboard systems. Frequently, Korolev himself conducted the lessons. He taught the cosmonauts about the design features and possibilities of the first spacecraft and also about the advanced and improved spacecraft of the future.
This combination of all feasible types of cosmonaut training and the means and methods used to provide it ensured that the cosmonauts were trained to a rather high level in the very short period of time allotted (approximately 1 year). This in itself was a unique undertaking, considering that there was no backlog of experience with such matters.
The most important goal in training cosmonauts is to ensure that each one forms an image of the upcoming flight, called by psychologists a conceptual model. During the flight itself, including occurrences of unforeseen or contingency situations, this image functions as a standard of performance and behavior. And, as the cosmonauts reported later, after they had actually flown, the real flight conformed fully to the expectations that they had developed in the course of flight training.
The Manned Spacecraft Vostok
When the concept of the first human spaceflight was being considered, it was proposed that the program should start, not with orbital flight, but with flying a cosmonaut to a great height and returning him ballistically to Earth. This type of flight would have been technically easier, but it would have represented only a timid, momentary type of space exploration. After all, the weightless state lasts only a few minutes during ballistic flight, whereas a single pass in near Earth orbit involves an hour and a half of weightlessness.
Thus, the objective that was set entailed developing a manned satellite capable of functioning in near Earth orbit for several days and then of returning to Earth. All necessary conditions to support normal human vital activity would have to be provided on board this satellite.
This task was daring and difficult. A booster rocket, the satellite itself, and the life support and reentry systems, all possessing extremely high reliability characteristics, were required for the manned flight. Many of these challenges were being confronted for the first time in history. The problem of returning the cosmonaut from orbit to Earth was particularly difficult. The robotic spacecraft of that time were not capable of returning to Earth; yet this was the main prerequisite for a manned craft. Furthermore, not only did a safe landing need to be ensured, but the landing had to occur in a predetermined area. Special safety measures also had to be provided in cases of booster rocket malfunction at launch or during insertion into orbit.
A spacecraft flying at a velocity of 8km/s (29 thousand km/h) has to be decelerated and landed safely on Earth—at the time, this objective seemed almost fantastic. At that time, aviation was still in the process of mastering supersonic velocities. And here people were talking about 25 times the speed of sound!
When a spacecraft enters the dense layers of the atmosphere at such speeds, a powerful impact wave develops in front of it, and the air in this wave is transformed into red-hot plasma at a temperature of 6,000-10,000°C. This is higher than the temperature on the Sun’s surface. What needed to be done to allow the spacecraft to remain intact throughout this process and to protect the cosmonauts from the heat?
It was proposed to solve this problem by using a design analogous to a walnut. The metal body would be concealed in a ”husk,” which would burn and evaporate in the course of the descent and prevent the spacecraft itself from getting too hot. A special material was developed for this ”husk,” but it proved to be relatively heavy. This gave rise to a new problem—how to minimize the total weight of the heat shield. How this problem was solved depended on what method was going to be used to return the spacecraft to Earth. After considering several possible versions, the one selected involved ballistic deceleration followed by parachute-aided descent during the last phase of landing. Calculations showed that this method was simple and technologically feasible.
However, if the entire spacecraft was to descend using this system, the mass of the heat shield it required and the dimensions of the parachute system would exceed reasonable limits. Thus the idea arose of subdividing the spacecraft into the reentry module, which would house the cosmonauts, and the instrument and equipment module, which would contain the retrorocket and propellant tanks, the control system and other technical auxiliary systems needed for orbital functioning. In this spacecraft design, only the reentry module would need heat shielding.
Of all the reentry module shapes considered, the sphere proved the most preferred. It has the minimal surface area for a given volume and thus required the minimum heat shielding mass. It was easy to provide a sphere with stability during reentry by weighting its frontal section. Landing precision was acceptable—plus or minus 300 km. However, the descent of this type of module could only be ballistic.
But could a cosmonaut endure the high deceleration that would inevitably occur during ballistic descent? Calculations showed that at a small atmospheric entry angle of 2-3°, deceleration would not exceed 9-10 G and would continue for only about a minute. According to data from aviation medicine, healthy individuals would be fully capable of enduring such a G-force.
In less than a year and a half, the Soviets succeeded in building and testing a spacecraft system based on a new principle, the most complex that had ever been created at that time. Before the launch of the spacecraft in manned mode, only five test-flights were conducted. But, in essence, all that Soviet cosmonautics had achieved before that time was part of the preparation for this flight. Each test-flight was meticulously analyzed, so that no ambiguities remained. Cosmonaut safety measures were thought out in great detail.
The spacecraft for the first manned spaceflight had been created. From the outside, it looked rather simple: a spherical craft—the cosmonaut cabin—and an instrument and equipment module that was docked with it. The two modules were held together with four metal straps, attached on the ”crown” of the reentry module by a pyrotechnic bolt. Before entry into the atmosphere, the bolt exploded, the metal bands were ripped away, and the reentry module continued its movement toward Earth separately from the instrument and equipment module (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. The “Vostok” space vehicle.
The total mass of the spacecraft was 4.73 metric tons; the instrument-equipment module accounted for 2.33 tons of the total. The diameter of the reentry module was 2.3 m, and its mass was 2.4 metric tons. The walls of the reentry module contained heat-resistant windows and fast-opening airtight hatches. In the center of the cabin was an ejection seat for the cosmonaut, who would be wearing a spacesuit. The seat contained the spacesuit ventilation device, the cosmonaut parachute system, and an emergency kit containing everything necessary in case of a landing in an unscheduled region. Thanks to its thermal shielding, the reentry module, though surrounded by a red-hot cloud of plasma created by air resistance, could fly safely through the dense layers of the atmosphere, decreasing its speed from orbital velocity to 180-200 m/sec. At an altitude of 7-8 km, the cosmonaut could eject through the exploded hatch and land by parachute separate from the spacecraft and seat. This system also served as a cosmonaut escape system in case of a malfunction at the start of flight. Special rocket engines installed in the seat could carry it, along with the cosmonaut, from the danger zone and raise him to a height sufficient for safe parachute landing. The spacecraft was fully automated, but the pilot could take control manually.
The attitude control system, consisting of gyroscopic and optical sensors, logic devices, and microengines running on compressed gas, made it possible to pilot the spacecraft manually. The cosmonaut could control the attitude of the spacecraft in order to turn on the retrorocket. There was a special instrument, called Vzor, that could be used for visual orientation. If the craft was correctly oriented, the cosmonaut could see ”Earth passing below” through the central portion of this instrument, that is, the cosmonaut could control the heading. Through the annular mirror, the cosmonaut could see the horizon, which allowed controlling the spacecraft’s pitch and roll. The spacecraft was given the name Vostok, which became world famous after its launch with a human on board. The final work on the spacecraft was completed in March 1961, at the same time the first team of cosmonaut candidates completed their training course.
Yuriy Gagarin—Planet Earth’s First Cosmonaut
During the training of the first group of 20 men selected as candidates for spaceflight, a smaller six-man subgroup was identified for intensive training for the first flight. The remainder were trained on programs for future flights. The selected subgroup consisted of the following student cosmonauts: V.F. Bykovskiy, Y.A. Gagarin, G.G. Nelyubov, A.G. Nikolayev, P.R. Popovich, and G.S. Titov (Fig. 2).
All six of the candidates selected for the flight were qualified and capable of performing it. But it was necessary to select the best of the best with regard to professional training, health status, psychological traits, and many other qualities. For this reason, each person who had even a slight say in who would be the first cosmonaut carefully observed each of them during the training process as well as in the cosmonaut’s free time. Chief Designer Korolev also observed these men carefully.
In the course of training and during various official and unofficial events and meetings, the preference of the majority converged on the same one of the six cosmonauts—Gagarin. He was a born leader. The following lists only a few of the traits he possessed: unshakable faith in the success of the flight, outstanding health, unquenchable optimism, a flexible mind, curiosity, boldness and decisiveness, precision, love of work, restraint, simplicity, modesty, and sociability. Everyone who spoke to him was charmed by his personality.
As had been decided earlier, the decision was made by a State Commission at the Cosmodrome, but it was already clear to many that the first to fly should be Yuriy Gagarin. Events later confirmed that this choice was the right one. Gagarin handled the world’s first space flight to perfection, withstood the stresses of fame, and represented his nation with dignity on all the continents of this planet. But in those days of April 1961, to all participants in the project, he was simply the man who would be the first to test a complex technology based on a completely new principle. People had faith in him; people worried about him.
Who was this man, Yuriy Gagarin? He was born to a family of peasants on 9 March 1934 in the town of Gzhatsk in the Smolensk District. He spent his early years in the village of Klushino not far from Gzhatsk. The Gagarins had four children; Yuriy was the third. In 1941 he started his education at the village school. But the war had already come to the Smolensk area. The village of Klushino, the town of Gzhatsk, and the whole Smolensk area were occupied by the German troops attacking Moscow. Young Gagarin had to live through difficult times. Despite this, he was a good student who displayed a love of learning. In 1949, when he was 15, he decided to leave high school to be able to start helping his parents sooner. His goal was clear—he would work at a plant. For this, he needed to master a trade. He entered a trade school in the town of Lyuberts not far from Moscow. In 1951, he graduated from this school with honors with training as a mold maker and caster; at the same time, he completed an academic school for young workers.
Figure 2. S.P. Korolev and Yu.A. Gagarin with a group of cosmonauts from the first team.
In this same year, he received authorization for further instruction in an industrial technical college in the city of Saratov. In 1955, Yuriy graduated with honors from this technical college and from the aeronautics club where he had also studied while he was a student at the former school. His attraction to flight prevailed, and he entered the First Chkalovskiy Military Aircraft Pilot Academy, from which he graduated in 1957 with a first class qualification. Then, Yuriy Gagarin was sent as a military fighter pilot to serve in the North in one of the naval aviation units of the Northern Fleet. After 2 years, certain young fighter pilots were detailed to master a new technology. And in 1960, Yuriy Gagarin found himself in the first team of cosmonauts and then the first candidate for the first spaceflight in history (Fig. 3).
Figure 3. Yu.A. Gagarin and Mrs. V.U. Gagarin with their children.
”Let’s Go…”
On 30 March 1960, the nation’s highest leadership received an official memo signed by officials from the Government, Academy of Sciences, War Department, and Industry. The memo stated, “We hereby report that we have performed a large number of scientific research studies and tests on the ground as well as under flight conditions… The upshot of this work to construct a manned orbital spacecraft and a system for returning to Earth, and to provide cosmonaut training is that now we are in a position to implement the first manned spaceflight. Six cosmonauts have been trained to make this flight.” (The memo did not contain the names of these cosmonauts.)
On 3 April 1961, a government resolution was adopted ”On the launch of a manned orbital satellite.” This resolution stated: ”I approve the proposal for launch of the Vostok manned orbital satellite with a cosmonaut on board…On 6 April 1961, the results of the graduation examinations for the first cosmonaut team were ratified, and special certificates were issued to them. A set of instructions was developed, and the cosmonaut’s flight mission was signed. This mission was defined as follows: a single-orbit flight around Earth at an altitude of 180-230 km; flight duration—1 hour 30 minutes; flight objective—to verify that it is possible for a human being to survive in space in a specially equipped spacecraft, to flight test the spacecraft and radio communications equipment, and to validate the reliability of the spacecraft and cosmonaut landing devices.
On 10 April 1961, the State Commission approved S.P. Korolev’s proposal to implement the first manned space flight in the world on 12 April 1961 on the Vostok spacecraft. The Commission approved Yu.A. Gagarin as the first cosmonaut pilot, and G.S. Titov served as backup pilot.
On 12 April 12, 1961 at 09:07 Moscow time, the first manned spacecraft in the world, Vostok-1, was launched. Its pilot was Major Yuriy Alekseyevich Gagarin, a citizen of the Soviet Union. The flight continued for 108 minutes, during which the spacecraft carrying the cosmonaut made a complete orbit around the Earth. For his successful completion of the world’s first space flight Major Yu.A. Gagarin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and also the honorary title of ”USSR Cosmonaut-Pilot.” The era of human space exploration on piloted spacecraft had dawned.
A government statement regarding the first manned space flight read: “We consider triumphs in space exploration not merely the achievement of our own nation, but of all humanity. We are pleased to place them at the service of all nationalities in the name of the progress, happiness and well-being of all the people on Earth.” The world was stunned by the announcement of this event. People on all continents ecstatically greeted the man who had been the first to view our planet from space.
And this is how Gagarin’s launch and flight took place. In the last minutes before the launch, everyone who was present felt extraordinary emotion, especially those in the command bunker. The launch commands were listened to with strained attention.
”Fire!”
”Lift-off!”
And then Gagarin’s famous words:
”Let’s go!”
The first seconds were especially tense for all those in the bunker. The rocket was still relatively low and there remained some risk if the cosmonaut had to eject due to a malfunction, because the rocket could fall relatively close to the ejecting cosmonaut. All listened tensely to the voice of the operator on the loudspeaker “Five… five… five..” This meant that all systems were working normally. The launch went off superbly.
During the flight Gagarin, according to his reports to Earth, monitored the functioning of the instruments, equipment, and spacecraft systems and maintained the requisite constant radio and telegraph contact, observed Earth and the stars, and took water and food, which was also part of his flight program. During the entire flight, the cosmonaut evaluated the effects of weightlessness on his feeling of well-being and his performance capacity.
Everyone impatiently awaited the message from the tracking station at the very south of the country, to which Vostok was to come close. Everyone knew that during reentry from orbit, when the spacecraft passed through the plasma cloud, the transmitter signal would be lost. This disruption of communication was to take place at a predetermined moment. And everyone waited; would it or wouldn’t it happen?
”OK, the signal is lost!
And 20 minutes later, a message was received from the Saratov region:
”The cosmonaut is back on Earth. Everything is fine!”
There, on the banks of the Volga, the most thrilling around the world journey of the twentieth century had just been completed (Fig. 4).
Here is how Yuriy Gagarin himself described it: “… I entered the cabin, which smelled like the wind from the fields, they settled me into the seat, and the hatch door closed soundlessly… Now, I could maintain my contact with the outside world, the flight controllers, and my fellow cosmonauts, only by radio… My eyes fell on the clock. The hands showed 9:07 Moscow time. I heard a whistle and a roar that grew louder and louder, and felt the giant craft begin to shake all over and slowly, very slowly break away from the launch pad. The struggle between the rocket and the Earth’s gravity began. The G-force began to increase. I felt as if an irresistible force was pushing me harder and harder into my seat. And although it was placed so as to minimize the effect of the enormous G-force on my body, I had trouble moving so much as a hand or foot. But I knew that this would only last a short time as the spacecraft, gathering speed, went into orbit. The G-force kept on increasing. When we got beyond the dense layers of the atmosphere, the nose cone dropped off automatically and flew off somewhere. Through the windows I could see the far off surface of the Earth. At that moment Vostok was flying over a wide Siberian river. I could distinctly see its islands and shores in the sunlight. The spacecraft went into orbit—on the broad highway of space. Weightlessness started… At first this sensation was strange, but I soon got used to it, adapted and continued to perform the assigned flight program. Vostok was traveling at a speed close to 28,000 km/h. Such a speed is difficult to imagine on the Earthy Then the final phase of the flight approached. This phase—return to Earth—is perhaps even more critical than insertion into orbit and orbiting. I began to prepare myselffor it. What awaited me was a shift from weightlessness to a new, perhaps even stronger G-force, and the colossal heating of the exterior spacecraft shell as it entered the dense layers of the atmosphere. Until now everything on the space flight had occurred approximately the way we had worked it out during our training on Earth. But what would happen during the final, culminating phase of the flight? Were all the systems operating normally? Was there perhaps some unforeseen danger awaiting me? Automatic mechanisms are all very well, but I checked the spacecraft’s location and got ready to take control into my own hands… At 10:25 the retrorocket fired automatically. It worked beautifully, exactly on time. The flight altitude began to drop. Convinced now that the spacecraft would reach Earth safely, I got ready for the landing. Ten thousand meters… Nine thousand.. Eighty Seven… Below, the ribbon of the Volga shimmered. I immediately recognized the great Russian river and its banks…” (Fig. 5).
Figure 4. Reentry module of the ”Vostok” space vehicle after landing.
The excitement produced by Gagarin’s flight was triumphal. People throughout the world were thrilled by his exploit. The newspapers of all nations featured articles about this epochal event as their main story under headlines such as: “108 Minutes that Shook the World,” “A Fairy Tale Comes True,” ”Columbus of the Universe,” “A New Era,” etc. April 12 became the Day of Cosmonautics, a day dedicated to aviators and the conquerors of space, which is celebrated worldwide.
During those days, specialists in public opinion concluded that there was no more famous man in all the world than Gagarin. He was greeted by all the people of Earth, in all languages, as the hero of the twentieth century. He was honored by kings and presidents. He received the highest awards, and babies were named after him. Towns and villages, avenues and squares, seagoing vessels and educational institutions now bear the name Gagarin. There is a ”Yuriy Gagarin” crater on the Moon. There are monuments to Gagarin in many cities ofthe world (Fig. 6).
Gagarin endured the ordeal of fame with dignity. He did not imagine that he was a superman. He remained the man he had been before: simple and human, with the same open-hearted character and the same warm smile. When he was asked whether his fame interfered with his life, he answered, ”There is ”fame” and then there is ”Fame.” The Fame that you feel should be written with a capital letter never was and never will be something that belongs only to you. It belongs primarily to the nation that brought you up and educated you. And such Fame doesn’t turn your head. Such Fame makes you demand more of yourself, it is difficult, but reliable.”
Surrounded by attention, Gagarin continued to seek new knowledge and new accomplishments. He continued training for new spaceflights and was the backup for cosmonaut V.M. Komarev, who, in April 1967, tested the first Soyuz spacecraft, which was based on a new principle (the cosmonaut died on landing as a result of failure of the spacecraft’s parachute system). Never discontinuing his professional training, Gagarin studied in the Professor N.Ye. Zhukovskiy Academy of Military Aircraft Engineering and on 17 February 1968 successfully defended his thesis. He was awarded a diploma for graduating from this renowned educational institution.
Figure 5. Yuriy Gagarin reports to the national leadership on the successful completion of his spaceflight.
Only 1 month and 10 days after this, on 27 March 1968, Yuriy Gagarin was killed, along with his instructor, while performing a training flight on a training aircraft. This tragedy was mourned by the entire nation. However, Gagarin’s name and his exploit will remain in humanity’s memory for centuries. The enterprise that Gagarin began continues. After the first Vostok, new spacecraft went into space. American astronauts performed two suborbital (ballistic) flights, and then the United States went on to orbital flights.
Figure 6. The first cosmonaut of planet Earth, Yuriy Gagarin.
There were six flights of Vostok series spacecraft in the Soviet Union. This vessel was replaced by the multiman Voskhod spacecraft, on which two crews, of three and two men, completed flights. Then Soyuz went into orbit in space. After a series of eight group and one-man flights on spacecraft of this type, they became the main transport vehicles for flights to the manned orbital stations, which began to be launched into space in 1971. Parallel Soyuz spacecraft performed autonomous targeted flights. The first Apollo-Soyuz international experimental program of 1975 used this spacecraft. The total number of flights of Soyuz (and subsequent Soyuz-T and Soyuz TM) series spacecraft, counting supply flights to orbital stations, performed by the Soviet Union and then Russia are Soyuz: 40; Soyuz T: 15; and Soyuz TM: 32.
Extensive programs of scientific studies and experiments were conducted on the Salyut-1, Salyut-3, and Salyut-4 orbital stations as part of a national research program for the study of space. The research performed on Salyut-6 and Salyut-7 formed part of international collaboration (the Interkosmos program) as well as national programs. Visiting crews, including citizens of various countries, worked on these stations jointly with the prime crews. The most famous orbital station was the multimodular Mir, which functioned in orbit for 15 years (from 1986 to 2001). An extensive program of international collaboration (the Mir-Shuttle, Mir-NASA, and Euromir subprograms and others) took place on this station.
Experience with long duration flights on Mir and the construction and technological design solutions validated on it were used extensively in creating of the International Space Station. Experience gleaned in the United States during implementation of the national manned Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle programs was also incorporated here. Several international space crews have already gone into orbit on the International Space Station using Russian transport vehicles ofthe Soyuz TM series and the U.S. recoverable Space Shuttles (Altantis, Endeavor, Discoverer). Information about the general nature of flights on orbital stations of the Salyut and Mir series and also the International Space Station is presented in the article by Yu.P. Semyonov and L. Gorshkov on Russian Space Stations elsewhere in this topic.
Space has become an arena for international collaboration for the benefit of people throughout the world. The road to this achievement was laid by Yuriy Gagarin, the first cosmonaut of planet Earth.
