Yuri Gagarin and Vostok 1

Hey everyone,

Vostok 1 was the first rocket to take a man into space. That man was Yuri Gagarin, a pilot who was selected out of twenty cosmonauts. In 1960, the selection process began, and the men were subjected to physical and psychological endurance tests. Eventually, he was selected due to his performance in training and small stature (he stood 5'2" tall). On April 12, 1961, Gagarin was the first man launched into space. Once in space, he orbited the Earth (another first). He spent a total of 1 hour, 48 minutes in space. After his journey into space, Gagarin would become the deputy training director of the Star City cosmonaut training base. Later, he flew fighter jets again, but, tragically, on March 27, 1968, he would die in a fighter jet crash. Yet, his actions will always be historic, and, again, would prove that the Americans were losing the space race. Soon, they would respond.