April 12th, 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. The Soviet Union, for a time led the world in the race to space and Yuri's flight marked a pivotal moment in the history of mankind. The Russian space program chalked up a number of successes -as well as a number of failures. What is notable is the common sense approach to spaceflight that grew out of the lessons learned in the Soviet space flights. To this day, the Russian spacecraft have soldiered on. They are not pretty. Think of space-going pickup trucks and you've got the right idea. Solid, dependable and relatively safe as spacecraft go.
It wasn't always so. Yuri Gagarin's flight was a huge risk and on the edge of available technology in 1961. He took the risk and came back a hero.
Want to attend a party in Yuri's honor? Visit the Yuri's Night 2007 site.
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