On April 12, 1961, the world's first manned space flight took place. The name of the first cosmonaut of the planet, Yuri Gagarin, immediately became a legend. Despite the tragic death of Gagarin on March 27, 1968, his life and fate are still of great interest.
Instructions
Step 1
The dream of a flight (not yet space) arose in 17-year-old Yuri Gagarin after he entered the Saratov Industrial College. In Saratov, the future cosmonaut became a member of the flying club and, in 1955, made his first flight on a Yak-18 aircraft. During his stay in the flying club, the novice pilot took to the skies 196 times. As a result, a promising young man was sent to study in Orenburg, in an aviation school. In love with his work, Gagarin graduated with honors. After graduation, Yuri Gagarin served in the 169th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Northern Fleet in Murmansk.
Step 2
In March 1960, the first cosmonaut corps was recruited. Candidates were selected from among fighter pilots, as their bodies were more resistant to overload, stressful situations and sudden changes in pressure. The main selection criteria were one hundred percent health and the total number of flights on jet fighters. Particular importance was attached to the physical data of the candidates. The weight of the future cosmonaut was not supposed to exceed 72 kg, and the height - 170 cm, which was explained by the size of the spacecraft. The age limits were to be between 25 and 30 years old. In addition, the future cosmonaut had to have a lightning-fast reaction, a balanced psyche and a fair amount of physical endurance. Much attention was paid to the applicant's personal data. Interestingly, Yuri Gagarin was almost weeded out, suspecting of being related to the famous princely family of the Gagarins. However, in the process of a more thorough verification, the assumption was not confirmed.
Step 3
Initially, 20 people were selected into the cosmonaut corps, who soon began training on special simulators. In the process of training, they were subjected to incredible physical exertion, because it was not possible to predict what awaits the future astronaut during the flight. For the training of the cosmonaut corps, a mock-up of a spaceship was created, but one mock-up for 20 people was clearly not enough. As a result, it was decided to reduce the group to 5 people. The contenders for the first flight were Yuri Gagarin, German Titov, Andriyan Nikolaev, Pavel Popovich and Valery Bykovsky. By that time, there were several emergency launches of ships without a pilot. Everyone understood that the first flight of an astronaut could end in tragedy. Despite this, none of the members of the squad was willing to give up their goal.
Step 4
There is a version that the state commission gave preference to German Titov. However, the final word remained with the general designer of the spacecraft, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. It was he who insisted on the candidacy of Yuri Gagarin, choosing him for his exceptional honesty. Sincere Gagarin was the only one who frankly confessed to the Korolyov how hard it was for him to train in a centrifuge. Wise Korolyov realized that only Gagarin would be able to honestly and frankly talk about what he would feel during a space flight.
