April 12 is the International Day of Human Space Flight, marking the day in 1961 when 27-year-old Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the world's first man in space. <\/p>\n
His historic single orbit around Earth, while crouched in the Vostok 1 spacecraft at a speed of 27,400 kilometers per hour, lasted only 108 minutes, but ushered in a new chapter of history - space travel. <\/p>\n
Before Gagarin's flight, space travel had been the purview of science fiction writers. <\/p>\n
Gagarin had no control over his spacecraft while it was orbiting. It was instead controlled by a computer program sending radio commands to the Vostok. However, a key had been placed in the spacecraft in case Gagarin needed to take command. <\/p>\n
Premier Nikita Krushchev named Gagarin a hero of the Soviet Union, and Gagarin, who became an international hero, was dubbed \"the Christopher Columbus of the Cosmos.\" <\/p>\n
His flight during Cold War tensions sent the American space program into a frenzy. The Soviet Union had said the space flight was an affirmation of \"the genius of the Soviet people.\" <\/p>\n
Less than a month later, U.S. astronaut Alan Shepherd became the first American in space. In February of the next year, U.S. astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. <\/p>\n
Gagarin died in a plane he was piloting in 1968. At the time of his death, he was training for a second space mission. <\/p>\n
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Remembering First Man in Space 54 Years Ago<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" April 12 is the International Day of Human Space Flight, marking the day in 1961 when 27-year-old Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the world's first man in space. Continue reading