Space has always been and remains one of the most exciting mysteries for humanity. Its deep distances tirelessly attract explorers of all generations, the starry sky fascinates with its beauty, and the stars have been faithful guides for travelers since ancient times. Therefore, it is not surprising that Cosmonautics Day is a very popular and beloved holiday among the people. 
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When is Cosmonautics Day celebrated?
2:78On April 12, 1961, citizen of the Soviet Union, senior lieutenant Yu.A. Gagarin, on the Vostok spacecraft, made the world's first orbital flight around the Earth, opening the era of manned space flights.
The flight, which lasted only 108 minutes, was a powerful breakthrough in space exploration. The name of Yuri Gagarin became widely known in the world, and the first cosmonaut himself received the rank of major and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union ahead of schedule and forever inscribed both his name and this flight in world history.
In honor of first manned orbital flight around the Earth in April 1962, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Cosmonautics Day was officially established in our country. By the way, the idea of the holiday was proposed by the second USSR pilot-cosmonaut German Titov.
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Subsequently, the date April 12 became not only Cosmonautics Day. In 1969, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale set April 12 World Aviation and Space Day. And already in 2011 this day also became International Day of Human Space Flight on the initiative of the UN General Assembly. More than sixty states signed the resolution officially confirming this fact.
3:729 3:734Little-known facts about Gagarin's flight
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1. The first flight into space was prepared in a hurry, because intelligence received a message that the Americans were planning to launch the spacecraft at the end of April. The leadership of the USSR could not allow this and gave the command to get ahead of the Americans by any means necessary.
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2. It is interesting that three reports about Gagarin’s flight into space were previously prepared. The first is “Successful”, the second with a request for help in the search if he falls in the territory of another country or in the world’s oceans, and the third is “Tragic” if Gagarin dies.
4:487 4:4923. Before the flight, they did not know how the human psyche would behave in space, so special protection was provided against controlling the East in a fit of violence. To enable manual control, Gagarin had to open a sealed envelope, inside of which lay a piece of paper with a code that, by typing on the control panel, could unlock it.
4:1142 4:11474. Having completed one revolution around the Earth, at 10:55:34, 108 minutes, the ship completed its flight. Due to a failure in the braking system, the descent module with Gagarin landed not in the planned area 110 km from Volgograd, but in the Saratov region, near the village of Smelovka.
4:1616 4:45. During the final stage of the flight, Yuri Gagarin uttered a phrase about which for a long time they preferred not to write anything: “I’m burning, goodbye, comrades!”
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The first living creatures in space
5:925As you know, before man boarded the spacecraft, man’s four-legged friends were sent on flight. In August 1960, the Soviet spaceship Vostok, with the dogs Belka and Strelka on board, made a 24-hour flight and returned to Earth.
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The development of manned flights in the Soviet Union took place in stages. From the first manned spacecraft and orbital stations to multi-purpose space manned orbital complexes.
The first daily flight of a man around the Earth by German Titov
The flight lasted 1 day 1 hour 18 minutes, after which the spacecraft's descent module made a successful landing.
6:309 6:314June 16, 1963 - first flight of a female astronaut
6:413Valentina Tereshkova made her space flight on the Vostok-6 spacecraft; it lasted almost three days. The launch took place at Baikonur not from the “Gagarin” site, but from a duplicate one. At the same time, the Vostok-5 spacecraft, piloted by cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky, was in orbit.
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The first spacewalk of cosmonaut A.A. Leonov.
7:1587The astronaut spent 12 minutes 9 seconds in outer space and moved away from the ship at a distance of up to 5 m - the entire length of the halyard - the “umbilical cord” that connected him to the ship. In outer space, Leonov experienced severe emotional stress: his heart rate more than doubled - to 143 beats per minute, his breathing rate almost doubled, his body temperature exceeded 38 degrees, sweat filled his spacesuit up to his knees, and during the day of the flight he lost 6 kg. . The return of the astronauts to Earth took place in a mode close to emergency, but, thank God, it ended safely.
7:1020 7:1025The first international flight in the history of astronautics
7:1130It took place on July 15, 1975 - the pioneers were the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz-19 and the American spacecraft Apollo.
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Having entered the 21st century, we see amazing successes in space technology - tens of thousands of satellites orbit the Earth, spacecraft have landed on the Moon, bringing back soil samples from there.
Subsequently, automatic probes were lowered to Mars and Venus, several spacecraft have left the Solar System and are carrying messages to Extraterrestrial Civilizations.
8:717 8:722Automatic interplanetary stations
The Vostok spacecraft orbited the Earth only once, but a modern space station has been in space for many years; it is a real space home in which cosmonauts live and work for many months.One crew of astronauts is replaced by another.
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April 30, 2011 - first tourist in space
9:86The first space tourist, Dennis Tito. An American businessman paid about $20 million for the flight.
9:278 9:283Behind successful flights are thousands of people, dozens of work teams who do everything in their power in the name of progress in the space industry.
Cosmonautics Day is a common holiday that connects the past, present and future of the people of the Earth.
Our Yuri Gagarin
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After Gagarin's flight, almost all Soviet boys dreamed of becoming cosmonauts; it was one of the most romantic and revered professions. All inquisitive minds and ardent hearts dreamed of traveling to distant stars, conquering planets and heroic deeds.
Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin became a national hero, people admired him and tried to imitate him. But at the same time, Gagarin was simple, open, kind and very hardworking.
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He grew up in a working-class family , experienced all the horrors of the Patriotic War, already in childhood he saw examples of the courage of ordinary soldiers and grew up to be a strong, purposeful person.
Yuri Gagarin was a very active person and lived a busy life. He graduated from the Saratov Industrial College and enthusiastically studied at the Saratov Aero Club. In 1957, Yuri Alekseevich got married and then became the father of two wonderful daughters.
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Then life brought him together with another great man - the famous designer S.P. Korolev.
In March 1968, the world's first cosmonaut died during a training flight in difficult weather conditions. Until now, this tragic accident is surrounded by myths and secrets.
12:518According to the official version, the plane of Gagarin and Colonel Seregin went into a tailspin, and the pilots did not have enough altitude to get out of it: Mig-15 crashed in the forest Vladimirov region. But many experts have a lot of questions, and, unfortunately, they will most likely remain unanswered.
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In memory of the cosmonaut, the city of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin . Also, a memorial complex was installed near the landing site of Gagarin after his first flight into space.
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Yuri Gagarin's smile is immortal. She became a symbol. Gagarin smiled to the whole world. He smiled at our planet, rejoiced at the sun, forests and fields.
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And he said: “Having flown around the Earth in a satellite ship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, and not destroy it!...”
14:1067 14:1072Yes, she's beautiful. And our beautiful and small planet, the only one where there are flowers, streams, birches, where there is laughter and smiles and love, must be protected!
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World Cosmonautics Day is dedicated not only to Gagarin himself, but also to all those people who were involved in this significant event, all workers in the space industry, astronomers, researchers and scientists. All these people every day bring us one more small step closer to solving the amazing mystery of the vast space.
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April 12 - WORLD AVIATION AND SPACE DAY
History of the Aviation and Cosmonautics Day holiday for children
On April 12, the whole world celebrates Aviation and Cosmonautics Day. This is a special holiday - a day of triumph for science and all those associated with the space industry.
April 12, 1961 USSR citizen Major Yu.A. Gagarin (the call sign of the first cosmonaut of the Earth is “Kedr”) on the Vostok spacecraft made the world’s first orbital flight around the Earth, opening the era of manned space flights.
For a long time in the USSR, all information about rockets, satellites and people involved in this technology was secret. But now it is known that the first artificial Earth satellite was developed in the village of Bolshevo near Moscow (now the city of Korolev), and the space era itself in the history of mankind was opened by the launch of the world’s first Earth satellite on October 4, 1957. But the road to space was paved for Yuri Gagarin ... dogs. On November 3, 1957, the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union officially announced that the second artificial Earth satellite had been launched. The message casually said that, among other things, the satellite was carrying “a sealed container with an experimental animal (dog)...”. An error was made in the design of the ship, and the dog Laika died. But scientists understood that they could not do without experiments and dogs would continue to play an important role in them. To pay tribute to Laika, a granite column was erected in front of the Paris Society for the Protection of Dogs in honor of all the animals who gave their lives in the name of science. Its top was crowned by a skyward satellite, from which Laika looked out.
The year 1961, not only for Russia, but also for the entire planet, became a historical date - the Soviet Union launched the Vostok spacecraft into orbit. The ship made one revolution around the Earth and landed in the Saratov region. At an altitude of several kilometers from the ground
Gagarin ejected and landed with a parachute near the descent module. The cosmonaut received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and April 12 was declared a national holiday - Cosmonautics Day.
Already at the end of April 1961, Yuri Gagarin went on his first trip abroad. The “peace mission,” as the first cosmonaut’s trip across countries and continents is sometimes called, lasted two years. Kings and presidents, politicians and scientists, artists and musicians considered it an honor to meet him.
The flight, which lasted only 108 minutes, was a powerful breakthrough in space exploration. And today we see amazing successes of space technology - tens of thousands of satellites orbit the Earth, spacecraft landed on the Moon and Venus and brought back soil samples from there. Today, even ordinary people (who have previously undergone special training) fly into space; even the term “space tourism” has appeared.
Traditions of celebrating Cosmonautics Day
April 10, 1981, on the 20th anniversary of the space flight of Yu.A. Gagarin, the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics was opened in Moscow. The museum's collections carefully preserve samples of space technology, personal belongings of figures in the rocket and space industry, archival documents, film and photographic materials, works of fine and decorative art. This museum is the center of the “Space Corner of Moscow”, which also includes the monument to the Conquerors of Space, the Alley of Cosmonauts, monuments to the founders of Russian cosmonautics and the discoverers of star routes, the Memorial House-Museum of Academician S.P. Korolev, as well as the center of festive celebrations.
On Cosmonautics Day, many ceremonial events are traditionally held, where veterans, rocket and space industry workers, and cosmonauts are always invited. At the meetings, they discuss pressing issues related to the current state of affairs in the domestic astronautics and remember the past. Traditionally, on this day, demonstration launches into the sky of small models of rockets made by the hands of young designers.
On April 12, 1961, one of those events that are commonly called those that turned the world upside down took place. On this spring day, for the first time in history, a human-controlled spacecraft left the planet. The first legendary cosmonaut was a citizen of the USSR, Yuri Gagarin. The premiere journey into space lasted less than two hours. During this time, the previously unknown pilot managed to fly around the Earth’s orbit, earn the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and forever remain in the memory of citizens around the world.
How the holiday appeared
On the eve of the anniversary of this significant event, pilot-cosmonaut and Gagarin's backup German Titov proposed to immortalize man's flight into space and establish a corresponding holiday in the country. This proposal was accepted, and on April 9, 1962, the Decree on the celebration of Cosmonautics Day was officially signed by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Since then, April 12 has become one of the favorite and joyful holidays for the citizens of a huge country.
In 1968, the holiday in honor of the conquest of space received international status. World Cosmonautics Day was approved by the Council of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale at its November conference.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, it became necessary to reaffirm beloved and important holidays. In 1995, Cosmonautics Day was confirmed by the Law “On Days of Military Glory and Memorable Dates of Russia.”
In April 2011, the UN General Assembly changed the name of the usual Cosmonautics Day and proclaimed the world holiday the International Day of Human Space Flight. The reason for such changes was the half-century anniversary of the greatest world event in history and science.
St. George's night
In 2001, on the fortieth anniversary of the first flight into outer space, St. George's Night was held for the first time, organized by the Space Generation Advisory Council. The initiator of the new format for celebrating Cosmonautics Day was a group of American activists. The event quickly gained popularity and gained worldwide proportions. The number of participating countries and cities wishing to join the new format of the holiday is growing every year, but the most global events take place in the USA.
St. George's Night is a night version of Cosmonautics Day for those who want to celebrate the event to the fullest. As part of St. George's Night, events of various types and sizes are held all over the world: thematic exhibitions, scientific lectures, quizzes, discussions. Grandiose art installations allow viewers to become participants in the world event of 1961 and see with their own eyes what opened a window to a new era.
Especially for young people who love parties, nightclub owners organize grandiose space parties. Almost every entertainment establishment tries to fill its program with a holiday theme. On this night, many cinemas show films dedicated to the first flight into vast space.
On the special website of St. George's Night you can see the entertainment schedule and get ideas for interesting events. Everyone can become the organizer of a holiday in their city - there are no restrictions for this.
The day of April 12, 1961 was marked by the famous phrase of Yuri Gagarin “Let's go!” Later, people would call this day the morning of the space age, which all of humanity entered on April 12. The feat of the first Soviet cosmonaut personifies everything that has been created by the human mind from ancient times to the present day. This flight and the name of the first cosmonaut will forever be inscribed in golden letters.
The flight of Yuri Gagarin was preceded by intense and extensive work aimed at preparing and launching into space the first satellite, the first living creature and, finally, the first spacecraft in automatic mode with a human dummy on board (at Baikonur the dummy was jokingly nicknamed Ivan Ivanovich) followed by returning the descent vehicle back to Earth. For those years, everything was new and new. At that time, no one could say with certainty in advance how the human body would behave in space conditions. Yuri Gagarin had to give answers to the simplest questions, for example, is it possible to use food in conditions of weightlessness. There was no certainty whether the astronaut’s psyche could cope with the flight. The first flight into space was a real feat.
On April 12, 1961, the world's first spacecraft, Vostok, with an astronaut on board, was successfully launched into earth orbit. The launch of the first manned spacecraft in the history of mankind was led by Sergei Korolev, Leonid Voskresensky and Anatoly Kirillov. The first pilot-cosmonaut was a citizen of the Soviet Union, pilot-cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The launch of the multi-stage rocket was successful and, after gaining the required speed and separating from the last stage of the launch vehicle, the spacecraft with a person on board began a free flight in Earth's orbit.
After flying around the Earth, 108 minutes from the moment of launch, the braking propulsion system was activated, after which the spacecraft-satellite began descending from orbit to land. At 10:55 Moscow time, the astronaut successfully landed in the specified area. The landing took place on arable land near the Volga banks near the village of Smelovka, Ternovsky district, Saratov region.
The initiative to establish Cosmonautics Day in our country was first made by Yuri Gagarin’s backup during the first manned space flight - cosmonaut German Titov. It was Titov who also proposed, on behalf of the government of the Soviet Union, to approach the UN with the idea of organizing World Cosmonautics Day. In the USSR, the holiday in honor of the world's first human flight into space was approved on the basis of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 9, 1962. That is, only a year passed from the first manned flight into space until the date of this flight was recognized as a holiday.
In November 1968, at the 61st General Conference of the International Aeronautical Federation, it was possible to make a positive decision to celebrate April 12 as World Aviation and Space Day. The celebration of this day was confirmed by the decision of the Council of the International Aeronautical Federation, which was adopted on April 30, 1969 on the proposal of the Aviation Sports Federation of the Soviet Union.
On April 7, 2011, the holiday acquired a truly international dimension. As part of a special plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly, it was possible to adopt a resolution that officially proclaimed April 12 as the International Day of Human Space Flight. More than 60 countries became co-sponsors of this resolution.
The hero of the movie "Forrest Gump", sitting on a bench, philosophically remarks that life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what's inside. Yuri Gagarin got a lucky ticket in this life lottery. He turned into a symbol, forever inscribing his name in history and becoming one of the most famous people of the 20th century. Gagarin not only became the first person to fly into space, he was able to return from there alive. In those years he accomplished a real feat. The first cosmonauts, like all the people who worked on the Soviet space program, were well aware of all the possible risks of this first manned flight to the stars.
The most important thing is that he pulled out a lucky ticket not so much for himself, but for all of us. Gagarin did more for the cause of peace than many politicians before and after him. At the invitation of foreign governments and public organizations, Yuri Gagarin visited about 30 countries. He met with presidents and monarchs, with politicians and businessmen, with ordinary workers and peasants, and received the warmest welcome in any society. Even now, space continues to be a place where political differences between states are forgotten, and joint projects continue to be implemented. For example, Roscosmos and NASA are working on a joint “road map” of programs aimed at the future exploration of Mars.
But most of all, Yuri Gagarin did for our country. And although descendants often turn out to be ungrateful, nevertheless, even half a century after the famous flight, Cosmonautics Day in Russia remains one of the most beloved holidays that unites our entire multinational country. There are only two such holidays in Russia - Victory Day and Cosmonautics Day. And if the first of them is a holiday with tears in our eyes, then the second holiday, which opened new horizons for humanity, will always be only positive, personified with the smile of a simple Russian guy - the first Soviet cosmonaut, the first person to be in space, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin.
Why does this particular April day fall on Aviation and Cosmonautics Day? April 12, 1961 - this day forever entered the history of mankind. On a spring morning, a powerful launch vehicle launched into orbit the first spacecraft in history, VOSTOK, with the first cosmonaut of the Earth - citizen of the Soviet Union Yuri Gagarin on board. In 1 hour 48 minutes, Yuri Gagarin circled the globe and landed safely in the vicinity of the village of Smelovka, Ternovsky district, Saratov region.
By decision of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) April 12 is World Aviation and Space Day. The holiday was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on April 9, 1962.
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin
When else but on April 12, Aviation and Cosmonautics Day, special attention should be paid to the most famous Soviet cosmonaut - Yuri Garanin...
Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934 in the small village of Klushino, Smolensk region, into a family of collective farmers.
In 1941 he began studying at a secondary school in the village of Klushino, but his studies were interrupted by the war. In 1945, the family moved to Gzhatsk, where Yuri Gagarin graduated from six classes of high school.
The low earnings of his parents, who had six children, did not allow him to continue his education, so Gagarin decided to get a working specialty and then continue his studies.
Yuri Gagarin entered the Lyubertsy vocational school for the training of molders and foundry workers, from which he graduated with honors simultaneously with the school for working youth in 1951. In 1951 - 1955, Gagarin studied at the Saratov Industrial College, and in his final years in 1954 - 1955 he studied at the Saratov Aero Club. Drafted into the army, in 1955 - 1957 he became a cadet of the 1st Chkalov Military Aviation School of Pilots, after which he served in the fighter aviation regiment of the Northern Fleet. After the flights of the first spacecraft, Gagagin submitted a report with a request to be included in the group of cosmonaut candidates and in 1960 was sent to Moscow. In 1960
Yuri Gagarin began preparing for a flight into space at the Cosmonaut Training Center. He worked hard, selflessly, with full dedication and endurance. And on April 12, 1961, at the moment of launch, Gagarin’s famous “let’s go!” sounded.
On April 12, 1961, in honor of which the holiday "Day of Aviation and Cosmonautics" was created, Yuri Gagarin launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on the Vostok spacecraft, made the world's first space flight, spending 108 minutes in space and safely returning to Earth in the vicinity village of Smelovki, Ternovsky district, Saratov region, for which he was awarded the Star of the Soviet Hero. After the flight, Yuri Gagarin continuously improved his skills as a pilot-cosmonaut, and also took a direct part in the education and training of cosmonaut crews, in directing the flights of the Vostok, Voskhod, and Soyuz spacecraft.
Having paved the way for others into space, the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin rejoiced at the successes of his comrades, dreamed of new flights, prepared for them, and graduated from the Air Force Engineering Academy named after N. E. Zhukovsky (1961 - 1968). In 1964-68, deputy head of the Cosmonaut Training Center. Yuri Gagarin carried out extensive social and political work, being a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 6th and 7th convocations, a member of the Central Committee of the Komsomol (elected at the 14th and 15th congresses of the Komsomol), president of the Soviet-Cuban Friendship Society. With a mission of peace and friendship, Yuri Gagarin visited many countries. Gagarin was awarded a gold medal. K. E. Tsiolkovsky of the USSR Academy of Sciences, de Lavaux medal (FAI), gold medals and honorary diplomas of the international association (LIUS) “Man in Space” and the Italian Cosmonautics Association, gold medal “For outstanding distinction” and honorary diploma of the Royal Aero Club of Sweden, Bolshaya gold medal and diploma of the FAI, gold medal of the British Society for Interplanetary Communications, Galabert Prize in Astronautics. Since 1966, Yuri Gagarin has been an honorary member of the International Academy of Astronautics. He was awarded the Order of Lenin and medals of the USSR, as well as orders from many countries around the world. Yuri Gagarin was awarded the titles Hero of Socialist Labor of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Hero of the People's Republic of Belarus, Hero of Labor of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Yuri Gagarin tragically died in a plane crash near the village of Novoselovo, Kirzhach district, Vladimir region. while performing a training flight on an airplane (together with pilot Seryogin).
In order to perpetuate the memory of Gagarin, the city of Gzhatsk and the Gzhatsky district of the Smolensk region. renamed respectively to the city of Gagarin and Gagarinsky district. The Air Force Academy in Monino was named after Gagarin. A scholarship was established. Yu. A. Gagarin for cadets of military aviation schools. The International Aeronautical Federation (FAI) established a medal named after. Yu. A. Gagarin. The USSR Cosmonaut Training Center, a research vessel of the USSR Academy of Sciences, is named after Gagarin. establishments, streets and squares of many cities around the world. In Moscow, Gagarin, Star City, Sofia - monuments to the astronaut; memorial house-museum in Gagarin. Gagarin was elected an honorary citizen of the cities of Kaluga, Novocherkassk, Sumgait, Smolensk, Vinnitsa, Sevastopol, Saratov (USSR), Sofia, Pernik (NRB), Athens (Greece), Famagusta, Limassol (Cyprus), Saint-Denis (France), Trenchanske - Teplice (Czechoslovakia). A crater on the Moon is named after Gagarin. Urn with ashes in the Kremlin wall.
History of astronautics
On this important holiday for us, April 12, Aviation and Cosmonautics Day, I would like to say a few words about the history of astronautics in Russia.
The world's first theoretical justification for the possibility of space flight was given at the end of the 19th century by the Russian scientist K.E. Tsiolkovsky. The world's first Society for the Study of Interplanetary Communications was created by his students in 1924.
The first artificial Earth satellite was launched by Soviet scientists under the leadership of S.P. Queen 4 October 1657. The date of its launch is considered the beginning of the space age. A model of the first artificial Earth satellite is in the United Nations.
The dog Laika was the first to fly into space. She spent several days on board the artificial satellite, but they could not return her to Earth. In August 1960, the dogs Belka and Strelka went on a space journey. There were also mice, insects and seeds on the ship. After the flight, the animals returned to their home planet and felt great.
The first human space flight took place on April 12, 1961, when the Vostok spacecraft carrying Yuri Gagarin took off into space.
“Before Gagarin’s flight, five test launches were carried out. They showed that space does not forgive the slightest inaccuracy: the first ship, having completed the program, did not obey the command to descend, moved to a new orbit and subsequently ceased to exist. The second launch was successful. But at the end of 1960, on the third launch of the Vostok-type spacecraft, there was another failure: the device burned down during its return... Yuri took a risk, the price of which could have been his life...” (pilot-cosmonaut V. Shatalov).
The world's first female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, took off into space on the Vostok-6 spacecraft on June 16, 1963.
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