RocketSTEM Issue #2 - April 2013 | Page 50

First man in space Gagarin’s orbital flight secured place in history On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. His mission lasted 108 minutes and he made one orbit around the globe. Upon his return to Earth, he was lauded as a hero and the Soviet Union enjoyed its continued position as the leading power in space. But in the years and decades that followed, details of the flight revealed a very different picture of this historic Soviet accomplishment. Despite its disadvantaged technological position to the United States, the launch of Sputnik in October, 1957 gave the U.S.S.R. the early lead in the space race. Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union had begun taking steps towards manned spaceflight in 1959 – American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts were selected and entered into training. Flight tests of launch vehicles and unmanned capsules progressed at steady rates in both countries. The Soviets won the race to put a man in orbit first with Gagarin’s Vostok 1 flight. It would be almost a year before NASA would put John Glenn into orbit around the Earth. Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom’s 1961 suborbital flights paled in comparison. According to reports published by the Soviet Union, a calm Gagarin met launch day with resolve. He and his backup pilot Gherman Titov suited up together before piling into the van that would take the men to the launch pad. Upon arrival, Gagarin faced the men gathered around the launch vehicle and Russia’s Yuri Gagarin, first man in space. addressed them as a group with a stirring farewell speech. Vostok 1 launched on time at 9:22 a.m. Moscow time. The mission was like clockwork with Gagarin performing perfectly. The launch vehicle performed perfectly, enabling the capsule to achieve an optimal orbit. Orientation of the capsule and the all-important retrofire manoeuvres were on time. The capsule’s sections separated cleanly – the instrument section and the descent vehicle were meant to come down separately to ensure the two pieces didn’t collide upon landing. Gagarin landed safely inside his capsule at 10:55 a.m. Immediately after the flight, the Authored by Amy Shira Teitel, an expanded version of this article appears on her Vintage Space blog. Photos are courtesy of Retro Space Images. 48 48 pilot’s first comment was a formal mention to the Communist Party and specifically Nikita Khrushchev that the mission was successfully accomplished and that he landed safely at his preselected point without injury. The elation of the Soviet people was evident in their press releases and public announcements. Great attention was drawn to the symbolism of the flight. Vostok translates as “east” or “dawn” and the flight was in the morning. It was said to be the true morning of a new era. Central to praise was Gagarin, the model Soviet and communist who would lead the world into the future. These reports and press conferences, however, carried a strange tone. Speeches were filled with imagery highlighting the new era and praising Gagarin as its ambassador, but little was said about the actual flight. Reports were vague with repeating emphasis on Vostok’s perfect landing. In his post-mission address, Gagarin said very little of substance and his responses to questions were almost evasive. When asked at what point he’d been told he would be the first cosmonaut, he responded that he had been told “in good time.” Slowly, over the ensuing years, the perfect flight of Vostok 1 was unravelled to reveal an imperfect mission. The morning of launch, Gagarin was indeed calm and in good spirits. His heart rate and breathing were both normal. His only complaint was boredom while waiting for launch. He requested some music to keep him company inside the capsule. The ground crew obliged and transmitted Russian love songs to him. Throughout the mission, his spirits remained high. Every time a www.RocketSTEM.org