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81-581: Soyuz TM-3 was the third crewed spaceflight to visit the Soviet space station Mir , following Soyuz T-15 and Soyuz TM-2 . It was launched in July 1987, during the long duration expedition Mir EO-2 , and acted as a lifeboat for the second segment of that expedition. There were three people aboard the spacecraft at launch, including the two man crew of the week-long mission Mir EP-1 , consisting of Soviet cosmonaut Aleksandr Viktorenko and Syrian Muhammed Faris . Faris

162-576: A concept for a rotating wheel space station in Collier's Weekly , referencing Potočnik's idea. However, development of a rotating station was never begun in the 20th century. The first human flew to space and concluded the first orbit on April 12, 1961, with Vostok 1 . The Apollo program had in its early planning instead of a lunar landing a crewed lunar orbital flight and an orbital laboratory station in orbit of Earth, at times called Project Olympus , as two different possible program goals, until

243-702: A longer lifetime at the cost of requiring regular support launches. The ISS is divided into two main sections, the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the US Orbital Segment (USOS). The first module of the ISS, Zarya , was launched in 1998. The Russian Orbital Segment's "second-generation" modules were able to launch on Proton , fly to the correct orbit, and dock themselves without human intervention. Connections are automatically made for power, data, gases, and propellants. The Russian autonomous approach allows

324-500: A lunar orbiting module which was used for station-like purposes. But before that the Gemini program paved the way and achieved the first space rendezvous (undocked) with Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 in 1965. Subsequently in 1966 Neil Armstrong performed on Gemini 8 the first ever space docking, while in 1967 Kosmos 186 and Kosmos 188 were the first spacecrafts that docked automatically. In January 1969, Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 performed

405-767: A more serious note urged international agreements covering the use of space (which did not occur until the Outer Space Treaty of 1967). Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India praised the Soviet Union for "a great victory of man over the forces of nature" and urged that it be "considered as a victory for peace." The Economist voiced worries that orbital platforms might be used for surprise nuclear attacks . The Svenska Dagbladet in Sweden chided "free countries" for "splitting up and frittering away" their resources, while West Germany 's Die Welt argued that America had

486-571: A pilot must land with the spacecraft to be considered an official spaceflight for the FAI record books. Although some contemporary Soviet sources stated that Gagarin had parachuted separately to the ground, the Soviet Union officially insisted that he had landed with the Vostok; the government forced the cosmonaut to lie in press conferences, and the FAI certified the flight. The Soviet Union did not admit until 1971 that Gagarin had ejected and landed separately from

567-458: A second crew to visit, bringing a new spacecraft with them; the Soyuz ferry could spend 90 days in space, at which point it needed to be replaced by a fresh Soyuz spacecraft. This allowed for a crew to man the station continually. The American Skylab (1973–1979) was also equipped with two docking ports, like second-generation stations, but the extra port was never used. The presence of a second port on

648-650: A spacesuit, with one arm raised in greeting and the other holding a space helmet. The Vostok 1 re-entry capsule belongs to the S. P. Korolev RSC Energia Museum in Korolev City. In 2018 it was temporarily loaned to the Space Pavilion at the VDNKh in Moscow. In 2011, documentary film maker Christopher Riley partnered with European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli to record a new film of what Gagarin would have seen of

729-579: A variety of challenges to human habitability, including short-term problems such as the limited supplies of air, water, and food and the need to manage waste heat , and long-term ones such as weightlessness and relatively high levels of ionizing radiation . These conditions can create long-term health problems for space-station inhabitants, including muscle atrophy , bone deterioration , balance disorders , eyesight disorders , and elevated risk of cancer . Future space habitats may attempt to address these issues, and could be designed for occupation beyond

810-477: A year, all aboard Mir . Many spacecraft are used to dock with the space stations. Soyuz flight T-15 in March to July 1986 was the first and as of 2016, only spacecraft to visit two different space stations, Mir and Salyut 7 . The International Space Station has been supported by many different spacecraft. The Tiangong space station is supported by the following spacecraft: The Tiangong program relied on

891-562: Is a complex vehicle that must incorporate many interrelated subsystems, including structure, electrical power, thermal control, attitude determination and control , orbital navigation and propulsion, automation and robotics, computing and communications, environmental and life support, crew facilities, and crew and cargo transportation. Stations must serve a useful role, which drives the capabilities required. Space stations are made from durable materials that have to weather space radiation , internal pressure, micrometeoroids , thermal effects of

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972-584: Is because I am a Communist , because I draw strength from unexampled exploits performed by my compatriots, Soviet men and women. I know that I shall muster all my will power the better to do the job. Realising its importance, I will do all I can to carry out the assignment of the Communist Party and the Soviet people. Am I happy to be starting on a space flight? Of course I am. In all times and all eras man's greatest joy has been to take part in new discoveries. I would like to dedicate this first space flight to

1053-472: Is hard to express my feelings now that the test for which we have been training ardently and long is at hand. I don't have to tell you what I felt when it was suggested that I should make this flight, the first in history. Was it joy? No, it was something more than that. Pride? No, it was not just pride. I felt very happy - to be the first in space, to engage in an unprecedented duel with Nature - could one dream of anything greater than that? But then I thought of

1134-535: Is not designed for disassembly and must be deorbited as one mass. The Axiom Orbital Segment is a planned commercial segment to be added to the ISS starting in the mid-2020s. Axiom Space gained NASA approval for the venture in January 2020. Up to three Axiom modules will attach to the International Space Station. The first module, Hab One, is expected to be launched at the end of 2026 and will be docked to

1215-586: The Kennedy administration sped ahead and made the Apollo program focus on what was originally planned to come after it, the lunar landing. The Project Olympus space station, or orbiting laboratory of the Apollo program, was proposed as an in-space unfolded structure with the Apollo command and service module docking. While never realized, the Apollo command and service module would perform docking maneuvers and eventually become

1296-582: The Laotian Civil War . Charles de Gaulle claimed that "the success of Soviet scientists and astronauts does honor to Europe and humanity". Sukarno , the President of the Republic of Indonesia , said that "that delightful event opens up new prospects for human thought and activity, which will be put at the service of the progress and well-being of people, international peace as a whole." Zhou Enlai , head of

1377-614: The Salyut successor Mir . Uninterrupted occupation has been sustained since the operational transition from the Mir to the International Space Station (ISS), with its first occupation in 2000. Currently there are two fully operational space stations – the ISS and China 's Tiangong Space Station (TSS), which have been occupied since October 2000 with Expedition 1 and since June 2022 with Shenzhou 14 . The highest number of people at

1458-574: The Salyut successor Mir . Uninterrupted occupation of stations has been achieved since the operational transition from the Mir to the ISS , with its first occupation in 2000. The ISS has hosted the highest number of people in orbit at the same time, reaching 13 for the first time during the eleven day docking of STS-127 in 2009. The duration record for a single spaceflight is 437.75 days, set by Valeri Polyakov aboard Mir from 1994 to 1995. As of 2021 , four cosmonauts have completed single missions of over

1539-515: The Vostok rocket family and space capsule . These missions had varied degrees of success, but the final two— Korabl-Sputnik 4 and Korabl-Sputnik 5 —were complete successes, allowing the first crewed flight. The Vostok 1 capsule was designed to carry a single cosmonaut. Yuri Gagarin was chosen as the prime pilot of Vostok 1, with Gherman Titov and Grigori Nelyubov as backups. These assignments were formally made on April 8, four days before

1620-438: The life support system function) in the event of retrorocket malfunction. However, the actual orbit differed from the planned and would not have allowed descent until 20 days. Ten seconds after retrofire, commands were sent to separate the Vostok service module from the reentry module (code name "little ball" ( Russian : шарик , romanized :  sharik )), but the equipment module unexpectedly remained attached to

1701-491: The EO-2 crew, as well as potential Buran pilot Anatoli Levchenko , who had been launched to Mir a week earlier aboard Soyuz TM-4 . Space station Space stations have been hosting the only continuous presence of humans in space . The first space station was Salyut 1 (1971), hosting the first crew, of the ill-fated Soyuz 11 . Consecutively space stations have been operated since Skylab (1973) and occupied since 1987 with

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1782-577: The ISS on the SpaceX CRS-8 resupply mission. This module, based on NASA research in the 1990s, weighs 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb) and was transported while compressed before being attached to the ISS by the space station arm and inflated to provide a 16 cubic metres (21 cu yd) volume. Whilst it was initially designed for a 2   year lifetime it was still attached and being used for storage in August 2022. The space station environment presents

1863-861: The South Pacific Ocean. The Tiangong Space Station ( Chinese : 天宫 ; pinyin : Tiāngōng ; lit. 'Heavenly Palace'), the first module of which was launched on 29 April 2021, is in low Earth orbit, 340 to 450 kilometres above the Earth at an orbital inclination of 42° to 43°. Its planned construction via 11 total launches across 2021–2022 was intended to extend the core module with two laboratory modules, capable of hosting up to six crew. These space stations have been announced by their host entity and are currently in planning, development or production. The launch date listed here may change as more information becomes available. (~23,548 cu ft) (~15892 cu ft) While originally Lockheed Martin

1944-586: The Soviet Union and the United States, the two Cold War superpowers, began just before the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite , Sputnik 1 , in 1957. Both countries wanted to develop spaceflight technology quickly, particularly by launching the first successful human spaceflight. The Soviet Union secretly pursued the Vostok programme in competition with the United States' Project Mercury . Vostok launched several precursor uncrewed missions between May 1960 and March 1961, to test and develop

2025-527: The Soviet Union for their "outstanding technical achievement." Opinion pages of many US newspapers urged renewed efforts to overtake the Soviet scientific accomplishments. Adlai Stevenson , then the US ambassador to the United Nations, was quoted as saying, "Now that the Soviet scientists have put a man into space and brought him back alive, I hope they will also help to bring the United Nations back alive," and on

2106-464: The Soviet space launch rate was 50% (12 out of 24 launches had failed). Two Vostoks had failed to reach orbit due to launch vehicle malfunctions and another two malfunctioned in orbit. Korolev was given a pill to calm him down. Gagarin, on the other hand, was described as calm; about half an hour before launch his pulse was recorded at 64 beats per minute. The automatic orientation system brought Vostok 1 into alignment for retrofire about 1 hour into

2187-692: The State Council of the People's Republic of China , and Kim Il Sung , Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the DPRK , described the successes of Soviet science as "a brilliant symbol of the triumph of socialism and communism." The chairman of the Council of Ministers of Cuba , Fidel Castro , sent a telegram to Khrushchev as follows: "Let this victory of his become the victory of all mankind, which men and women in all corners of

2268-533: The USSR held mass demonstrations, the scale of which was comparable to World War II Victory Parades . Gagarin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union , the nation's highest honour. He also became an international celebrity, receiving numerous awards and honours . April 12 was declared Cosmonautics Day in the USSR, and is celebrated today in Russia as one of the official "Commemorative Dates of Russia." In 2011, it

2349-461: The Vostok descent module. Gagarin's spaceflight records were nonetheless certified and reaffirmed by the FAI, which revised its rules, and acknowledged that the crucial steps of the safe launch, orbit, and return of the pilot had been accomplished. Gagarin is internationally recognised as the first human in space and first to orbit the Earth. Four decades after the flight, historian Asif S. Siddiqi wrote that Vostok 1 will undoubtedly remain one of

2430-477: The areas of biology and biotech, technology development, educational activities, human research, physical science, and Earth and space science. Vostok 1 Vostok 1 (Russian: Восток , East or Orient ) was the first spaceflight of the Vostok programme and the first human orbital spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA space capsule was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 12 April 1961, with Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin aboard, making him

2511-575: The assembly of space stations prior to the launch of crew. The Russian "second-generation" modules are able to be reconfigured to suit changing needs. As of 2009, RKK Energia was considering the removal and reuse of some modules of the ROS on the Orbital Piloted Assembly and Experiment Complex after the end of mission is reached for the ISS. However, in September 2017, the head of Roscosmos said that

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2592-411: The cosmonauts, to monitor their condition throughout the night, and they believed that both had slept well. Gagarin's biographers Doran and Bizony say that neither Gagarin nor Titov slept that night. Chief Designer Sergei Korolev did not sleep that night, due to anxiety caused by the imminent spaceflight. Before the mission, Gagarin made a statement to the press, addressed to the Soviet Union and to

2673-550: The crewed Shenzhou 10 in 2013. According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office , Tiangong-1 reentered over the South Pacific Ocean , northwest of Tahiti , on 2 April 2018 at 00:15 UTC. A second space laboratory Tiangong-2 was launched in September 2016, while a plan for Tiangong-3 was merged with Tiangong-2. The station made a controlled reentry on 19 July 2019 and burned up over

2754-496: The differential viability of the microbial cells, as a function of phylogenetic lineage, remain elusive. Like uncrewed spacecraft close to the Sun, space stations in the inner Solar System generally rely on solar panels to obtain power. Space station air and water is brought up in spacecraft from Earth before being recycled. Supplemental oxygen can be supplied by a solid fuel oxygen generator . The last military-use space station

2835-487: The early 20th century. In 1929, Herman Potočnik 's The Problem of Space Travel was published, the first to envision a "rotating wheel" space station to create artificial gravity . Conceptualized during the Second World War , the " sun gun " was a theoretical orbital weapon orbiting Earth at a height of 8,200 kilometres (5,100 mi). No further research was ever conducted. In 1951, Wernher von Braun published

2916-857: The earth perceived as the greatest hope for the destinies of freedom, prosperity and peace." The President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guo Moruo , wrote a poem 《歌颂东方号》 ("Hymn to the Vostok Spacecraft"), which was published in Pravda . Charlie Chaplin and Gianni Rodari were among those who sent congratulatory telegrams to Komsomolskaya Pravda FAI officially recognized three space records claimed by Gagarin: duration in orbital flight—108 minutes, greatest altitude in earth orbital flight—327 kilometres (203 mi), greatest mass lifted in earth orbital flight—4,725 kilograms (10,417 lb). The FAI rules in 1961 required that

2997-420: The event. This included an acceptance speech by Gagarin. As an indication of the level of secrecy involved, one of the other cosmonaut candidates, Alexei Leonov , later recalled that he did not know who was chosen for the mission until after the spaceflight had begun. Unlike later Vostok missions, there were no dedicated tracking ships available to receive signals from the spacecraft. Instead they relied on

3078-458: The first docked, but not internal, crew transfer, and in March, Apollo 9 performed the first ever internal transfer of astronauts between two docked spaceships. In 1971, the Soviet Union developed and launched the world's first space station, Salyut 1 . The Almaz and Salyut series were eventually joined by Skylab , Mir , and Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 . The hardware developed during

3159-469: The first human to reach orbital velocity around the Earth and to complete a full orbit around the Earth. The orbital spaceflight consisted of a single orbit around Earth which skimmed the upper atmosphere at 169 kilometers (91 nautical miles) at its lowest point. The flight took 108 minutes from launch to landing. Gagarin parachuted to the ground separately from his capsule after ejecting at 7 km (23,000 ft) altitude. The Space Race between

3240-462: The flight, Kamanin and others told Gagarin the code (1-2-5) anyway. At Baikonur Cosmodrome on the morning of 12 April 1961, the Vostok-K rocket, together with the attached Vostok 3KA space capsule, were transported several kilometers to the launch pad, in a horizontal position. Once they arrived at the launch pad, a quick examination of the booster was conducted by technicians to make sure everything

3321-466: The flight. At 07:25 UTC, the spacecraft's automatic systems brought it into the required attitude (orientation) for the retrorocket firing, and shortly afterwards, the liquid-fueled engine fired for about 42 seconds over the west coast of Africa, near Angola , about 8,000 kilometers (4,300 nautical miles) uprange of the landing point. The orbit's perigee and apogee had been selected to cause reentry due to orbital decay within 13 days (the limit of

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3402-450: The following spacecraft. The Mir space station was in orbit from 1986 to 2001 and was supported and visited by the following spacecraft: Research conducted on the Mir included the first long term space based ESA research project EUROMIR   95 which lasted 179   days and included 35 scientific experiments. During the first 20 years of operation of the International Space Station, there were around 3,000 scientific experiments in

3483-775: The forward port of Harmony , requiring relocation of the PMA-2 . Axiom Space plans to attach up to two additional modules to its first core module, and send private astronauts to inhabit the modules. The modules would later detach into the Axiom Station in a manner similar to Russia's proposed OPSEK. China's first space laboratory, Tiangong-1 was launched in September 2011. The uncrewed Shenzhou 8 then successfully performed an automatic rendezvous and docking in November 2011. The crewed Shenzhou 9 then docked with Tiangong-1 in June 2012, followed by

3564-416: The gyrations did not endanger the mission (and were apparently caused by the spherical shape of the reentry module). As Gagarin continued his descent, he remained conscious as he experienced about 8 g during reentry. (Gagarin's own report states "over 10 g".) At 07:55 UTC, when Vostok 1 was still 7 km (4.3 mi) from the ground, the hatch of the spacecraft was released, and two seconds later Gagarin

3645-410: The initial Soviet efforts remains in use, with evolved variants comprising a considerable part of the ISS, orbiting today. Each crew member stays aboard the station for weeks or months but rarely more than a year. Early stations were monolithic designs that were constructed and launched in one piece, generally containing all their supplies and experimental equipment. A crew would then be launched to join

3726-624: The joining or movement of modules and the docking of other spacecrafts for the exchange of people, supplies and tools. While space stations generally do not leave their orbit, they do feature thrusters for station keeping . The first mention of anything resembling a space station occurred in Edward Everett Hale 's 1868 " The Brick Moon ". The first to give serious, scientifically grounded consideration to space stations were Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and Hermann Oberth about two decades apart in

3807-611: The major milestones in not only the history of space exploration, but also the history of the human race itself. The fact that this accomplishment was successfully carried out by the Soviet Union, a country completely devastated by war just sixteen years prior, makes the achievement even more impressive. Unlike the United States, the USSR had to begin from a position of tremendous disadvantage. Its industrial infrastructure had been ruined, and its technological capabilities were outdated at best. A good portion of its land had been devastated by war, and it had lost about 25 million citizens ... but it

3888-409: The mission, but Gagarin had been a favourite among the cosmonaut candidates for at least several months. The final decision of who would fly the mission relied heavily on the opinion of the head of cosmonaut training, Nikolai Kamanin . In an April 5 diary entry, Kamanin wrote that he was still undecided between Gagarin and Titov. "The only thing that keeps me from picking [Titov] is the need to have

3969-493: The morning of 12 April 1961, both Gagarin and his backup Titov were woken. They were given breakfast, assisted into their spacesuits, and then were transported to the launch pad. Gagarin entered the Vostok 1 spacecraft, and at 07:10 local time (04:10 UTC), the radio communication system was turned on. Once Gagarin was in the spacecraft, his picture appeared on television screens in the launch control room from an onboard camera. Launch would not occur for another two hours, and during

4050-424: The network of ground stations, also called Command Points, to communicate with the spacecraft; all of these Command Points were located within the Soviet Union . Because of weight constraints, there was no backup retrorocket engine. The spacecraft carried 13 days of provisions to allow for survival and natural orbital decay in the event the retrorockets failed. The provisions included food for Gagarin. As focus

4131-403: The new stations allowed Progress supply vehicles to be docked to the station, meaning that fresh supplies could be brought to aid long-duration missions. This concept was expanded on Salyut 7, which "hard docked" with a TKS tug shortly before it was abandoned; this served as a proof of concept for the use of modular space stations. The later Salyuts may reasonably be seen as a transition between

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4212-478: The people of communism, a society which our Soviet people are already entering, and which, I am confident, all men on earth will enter. It is a matter of minutes now before the start. I say to you good-bye, dear friends, just as people say to each other when setting out on a long journey. I would like very much to embrace you all - people known and unknown to me, close friends and strangers alike. See you soon! In his autobiography, Gagarin recalled that, looking at

4293-450: The reentry module by a bundle of wires. At around 07:35 UTC, the two parts of the spacecraft began reentry and went through strong gyrations as Vostok 1 neared Egypt. At this point the wires broke, the two modules separated, and the descent module settled into the proper reentry attitude. Gagarin telegraphed "Everything is OK" despite continuing gyrations; he later reported that he did not want to "make noise" as he had (correctly) reasoned that

4374-416: The resources to have sent a man into space first but was beaten by Soviet purposefulness. Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun urged "that both the United States and the Soviet Union should use their new knowledge and techniques for the good of mankind," and Egypt 's Akhbar El Yom likewise expressed hopes that the cold war would "turn into a peaceful race in infinite space" and turn away from armed conflicts such as

4455-466: The same time on one space station has been 13, first achieved with the eleven day docking to the ISS of the 127th Space Shuttle mission in 2009. The record for most people on all space stations at the same time has been 17, first on May 30, 2023, with 11 people on the ISS and 6 on the TSS. Space stations are most often modular , featuring docking ports , through which they are built and maintained, allowing

4536-426: The satellite-spacecraft enters orbit, for the following reasons: (a) if a rescue becomes necessary, it will facilitate rapid organization of a rescue; (b) it precludes any foreign government declaring that the cosmonaut is a military scout." The flight was celebrated as a great triumph of Soviet science and technology, demonstrating the superiority of the socialist system over capitalism. Moscow and other cities in

4617-454: The screws and sealing the hatch again. According to a 2014 obituary, Vostok's chief designer, Oleg Ivanovsky , personally helped rebolt the hatch. There is some disagreement over whether the hatch was in fact not sealed correctly, as a more recent account stated the indication was false. During this time Gagarin requested some music to be played over the radio. Korolev was reportedly suffering from chest pains and anxiety, as up to this point

4698-471: The solar illumination would be ideal for the orientation system's sensors. At 18:00, once various physiological readings had been taken, the doctors instructed the cosmonauts not to discuss the upcoming missions. That evening Gagarin and Titov relaxed by listening to music, playing pool, and chatting about their childhoods. At 21:50, both men were offered sleeping pills, to ensure a good night's sleep, but they both declined. Physicians had attached sensors to

4779-409: The spacecraft before start, he was "seized with an unprecedented rise of all mental strength <...> some extraordinary words were born that I had never used before in everyday speech." This was not true; according to historian Asif Siddiqi , Gagarin "was essentially forced to utter a stream of banalities prepared by anonymous speechwriters" taped much earlier in Moscow. At 05:30 Moscow time, on

4860-528: The station and perform research. After the supplies had been consumed, the station was abandoned. The first space station was Salyut 1 , which was launched by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. The early Soviet stations were all designated "Salyut", but among these, there were two distinct types: civilian and military. The military stations, Salyut 2 , Salyut 3 , and Salyut 5 , were also known as Almaz stations. The civilian stations Salyut 6 and Salyut 7 were built with two docking ports, which allowed

4941-413: The strange scene of a figure in a bright orange suit with a large white helmet landing near them by parachute. Gagarin later recalled, "When they saw me in my space suit and the parachute dragging alongside as I walked, they started to back away in fear. I told them, don't be afraid, I am a Soviet citizen like you, who has descended from space and I must find a telephone to call Moscow!" Gagarin's flight

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5022-425: The streets" if it were not for "doubts and suspicions" about Soviet intentions. Other US writers were concerned that the spaceflight had gained a propaganda victory on behalf of communism. President John F. Kennedy was quoted as saying that it would be "some time" before the US could match the Soviet launch vehicle technology, and that "the news will be worse before it's better." Kennedy also sent congratulations to

5103-414: The stronger person for the one day flight." Kamanin was referring to the second mission, Vostok 2 , compared to the relatively short single-orbit mission of Vostok 1. When Gagarin and Titov were informed of the decision during a meeting on April 9, Gagarin was very happy, and Titov was disappointed. On 10 April, this meeting was reenacted in front of television cameras, so there would be official footage of

5184-533: The sun and cold temperatures for long periods of time. They are typically made from stainless steel , titanium and high-quality aluminum alloys , with layers of insulation such as Kevlar as a ballistics shield protection. The International Space Station (ISS) has a single inflatable module, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module , which was installed in April   2016 after being delivered to

5265-531: The technical feasibility of separating the station to form OPSEK had been studied, and there were now no plans to separate the Russian segment from the ISS. In contrast, the main US modules launched on the Space Shuttle and were attached to the ISS by crews during EVAs . Connections for electrical power, data, propulsion, and cooling fluids are also made at this time, resulting in an integrated block of modules that

5346-468: The time Gagarin chatted with the mission's main CapCom , as well as Chief Designer Sergei Korolev , Nikolai Kamanin , and a few others, periodically joking and singing songs. Following a series of tests and checks, about forty minutes after Gagarin entered the spacecraft, its hatch was closed. Gagarin, however, reported that the hatch was not sealed properly, and technicians spent about 15 minutes removing all

5427-451: The tremendous responsibility of being the first to accomplish what generations of people had dreamed of, the first to show man the way into space... Can you think of a task more difficult than the one assigned to me. It is not responsibility to a single person, or dozens of people, or even a collective. It is responsibility to all Soviet people, to all mankind, to its present and its future. And if I am nevertheless venturing on this flight, it

5508-466: The two groups. Unlike previous stations, the Soviet space station Mir had a modular design ; a core unit was launched, and additional modules, generally with a specific role, were later added. This method allows for greater flexibility in operation, as well as removing the need for a single immensely powerful launch vehicle . Modular stations are also designed from the outset to have their supplies provided by logistical support craft, which allows for

5589-606: The weeks or months that current missions typically last. Possible solutions include the creation of artificial gravity by a rotating structure , the inclusion of radiation shielding , and the development of on-site agricultural ecosystems. Some designs might even accommodate large numbers of people, becoming essentially "cities in space" where people would reside semi-permanently. Molds that develop aboard space stations can produce acids that degrade metal, glass, and rubber. Despite an expanding array of molecular approaches for detecting microorganisms, rapid and robust means of assessing

5670-496: The whole world: Dear friends, both known and unknown to me, fellow countrymen, men and women of all lands and continents! In a few minutes a mighty spaceship will take me into the far-away expanses of the Universe. What can I say to you in these last minutes before the start? I see my whole past life as one wonderful moment. Everything I have experienced and done till now has been in preparation for this moment. You must realise that it

5751-479: Was a small chance the cosmonaut might be mistaken for a spy on landing. The entire mission would be controlled by either automatic systems or by ground control . This was because medical staff and spacecraft engineers were unsure how a human might react to weightlessness, and therefore it was decided to lock the pilot's manual controls. In an unusual move, a code to unlock the controls was placed in an onboard envelope, for Gagarin's use in case of emergency. Prior to

5832-489: Was announced while Gagarin was still in orbit, by Yuri Levitan , the leading Soviet radio personality since the 1930s. Although news of Soviet rocket launches would normally be aired only after the fact, Sergei Korolev wrote a note to the Party Central Committee to convince them that the announcement should be made as early as possible: "We consider it advisable to publish the first TASS report immediately after

5913-620: Was declared the International Day of Human Space Flight by the United Nations . Gagarin's informal reply Poyekhali! ("Let's go!") became a historical phrase used to refer to the arrival of the Space Age in human history. Later it was included in the refrain of a Soviet song Do You Know What Kind of Guy He Was  [ ru ] written by Alexandra Pakhmutova and Nikolai Dobronravov ( He said "Let's go!" He waved his hand ) which

5994-591: Was dedicated to the memory of Gagarin. Officially, the U.S. congratulated the Soviet Union on its accomplishments. Writing for The New York Times shortly after the flight, however, journalist Arthur Krock described mixed feelings in the United States due to fears of the spaceflight's potential military implications for the Cold War , and the Detroit Free Press wrote that "the people of Washington, London, Paris and all points between might have been dancing in

6075-589: Was ejected. At 2.5 km (8,200 ft) altitude, the main parachute was deployed from the Vostok spacecraft. Gagarin's parachute opened almost immediately, and about ten minutes later, at 08:05 UTC, Gagarin landed. Both he and the spacecraft landed via parachute 26 km (16 mi) south west of Engels , in the Saratov region at 51°16′14″N 45°59′50″E  /  51.270682°N 45.99727°E  / 51.270682; 45.99727 . A kolkhoz woman Annihayat Nurskanova and her granddaughter, Rita, observed

6156-408: Was in order. When no visible problems were found, the booster was erected on LC-1. At 10:00 ( Moscow Time ), Gagarin and Titov were given a final review of the flight plan. They were informed that launch was scheduled to occur the following day, at 09:07 Moscow Time. This time was chosen so that when the capsule started to fly over Africa, which was when the retrorockets would need to fire for reentry,

6237-624: Was included in the project, as of 2024, it appears their primary role has been filled by Airbus , to provide the main habitat for the station. As of 2024, they are no longer listed as a partner on Starlab's website. (14,126 cu ft) (29,000 cu ft) Two types of space stations have been flown: monolithic and modular. Monolithic stations consist of a single vehicle and are launched by one rocket. Modular stations consist of two or more separate vehicles that are launched independently and docked on orbit. Modular stations are currently preferred due to lower costs and greater flexibility. A space station

6318-424: Was made on food that would not form crumbs, Gagarin was provided with liver meat puree and chocolate sauce, packed in metal toothpaste-style tubes. The letters "СССР" were hand-painted onto Gagarin's helmet by engineer Gherman Lebedev during transfer to the launch site. As it had been less than a year since U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down , Lebedev reasoned that without some country identification, there

6399-695: Was the Soviet Salyut 5 , which was launched under the Almaz program and orbited between 1976 and 1977. Space stations have harboured so far the only long-duration direct human presence in space. After the first station, Salyut 1 (1971), and its tragic Soyuz 11 crew, space stations have been operated consecutively since Skylab (1973–1974), having allowed a progression of long-duration direct human presence in space. Long-duration resident crews have been joined by visiting crews since 1977 ( Salyut 6 ), and stations have been occupied by consecutive crews since 1987 with

6480-541: Was the first Syrian to travel to space, and as of June 2021, the only one. The third cosmonaut launched was Aleksandr Aleksandrov , who would replace one of the long duration crew members Aleksandr Laveykin of Mir EO-2 . Laveykin had been diagnosed by ground-based doctors to have minor heart problems, so he returned to Earth with the EP-1 crew in Soyuz TM-2 . Soyuz TM-3 landed near the end of December 1987, landing both members of

6561-417: Was the totalitarian state that overwhelmingly took the lead [in the space race]. The landing site is now a monument park. The central feature in the park is a 25 m (82 ft) tall monument that consists of a silver metallic rocketship rising on a curved metallic column of flame, from a wedge shaped, white stone base. In front of this is a 3-meter (9 foot) tall white stone statue of Yuri Gagarin, wearing

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