Yuri Gagarin Aleksejevitsj was Russian astronaut born on March 9th 1934. On the April 12th 1961. Yuri Gagarin became the first man who went into space with the spacecraft Vostok 1.
Gagarin was a pilot in the Russian Air Force and was in 1960 along with 19 colleagues selected into the first group that went training and education to become astronaut. Initially Germantown Titov selected for the first manned spaceflight. But the Russian authorities found that his name (Germantown) sounded too German, Gagarin was selected for the launch in the Vostok 1 on the April 12th 1961. Because of this illustrious flight Gagarin became the first man in space. From 1962. he served as representative in the Supreme Soviet.
Gagarin was trained as a backup crew for the Soyuz 1. The flight was on the April 24th 1967. and it ended with the disastrous death of the only crew member, Vladimir Komarov. Gagarin was selected in training for a mission to the moon. Eventually, that mission was canceld.
There are persistent conspiracy theories saying that before Gagarin two other Russians have been in space, including Vladimir Ilyushin. However, evidence for this conspiracy appear to be faked.
Gagarin got killed on the March 27th 1968. in an accident of a MiG-15 fighter jet during a routine training flight near Moscow.
Gagarin was married and had two children. He is buried in the wall of the Kremlin. Every year on April 12, the day of the astronauts, a wreath laid. The Astronaut training center Yuri Gagarin in Star City near Moscow is named after him. Also, the city Gzjatsk, near his hometown, was renamed into Gagarin.
