
Yuri Gagarin (foreground) and his backup, German Titov, on their way to the Baikonur Space Center. 4/12/1961
Fifty-five years ago today (April 12), astronaut Yuri Gagarin made history, when he got into Soviet Vostok 1 spaceship capsule and launched into space. Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. We collected rare photos that illustrate his life.
At the same time, people were spontaneously organizing rallies.
Interesting fact: Reports praised Gagarin for his perfect flight, but in fact he didn’t pilot the Vostok capsule. Psychologists working with the Soviet Space Program were worried that exposure to weightlessness would impact the pilot’s decision-making faculties. And so, the pilot was effectively locked out of controlling his capsule.

Yuri Gagarin, Valentina Tereshkova and actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov. Central Television Studio 06/01/1963