Gagarin, Yuri Alexeyevich

Gagarin, Yuri Alexeyevich (1934-68), astronaut, pilot, Russian.

Major Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Air Force became the first man in space on 12 April, 1961.

In the space capsule Vostok he made one orbit of the Earth at 18020 mph (29000 km/h) at a distance ranging from 174 miles (280 km) to 203 miles (327 km) above the Earth.

One remarkable feat of Yuri Gagarin's flight, which is often overlooked, is that the Russians had no contingency for landing their spacecraft -  so the very brave Yuri had to open the hatch and leap out, parachuting to the ground, at the appropriate height.

Yuri was first welcomed back to Earth by local farmers and villagers near to where he landed, before being whisked off to Moscow and treated like a hero.

He died seven years later piloting a plane that crashed.

See Heather Feldman Yuri Gagarin