“Occupies a special place in the history of mankind”: cosmonauts - about the significance of Yuri Gagarin’s flight

— What does the name Yuri Gagarin mean to you?

How did you perceive his flight as a child?

Did he influence your choice of profession?

Deputy Director of the State Research Center of the Russian Federation Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of the Russian Federation Oleg Kotov:

— We all associate the name Gagarin primarily with the first manned flight into space.

But at the same time, we must not forget about the other side of his life - how responsibly he then carried his flag as the world’s first cosmonaut, how professionally, decently, honestly and modestly he behaved when the whole world learned about his feat.

It passed the “copper pipe test” so well that it is an example for me personally.

Having completed his legendary flight, he continued to responsibly serve people, the country’s space program, and helped the new generation of astronauts.

He did not become arrogant, did not rest on his laurels, but worked for the good of the country, for the good of the people.

He showed himself to be a normal person.

And this is his second feat.

For boys of my generation, Yuri Gagarin turned into an image equivalent to the very words “flight into space.”

It has become a canonical symbol of astronautics.

And of course, this influenced the choice of my life path.

Pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of the Russian Federation Yuri Malenchenko:

— For me, Yuri Gagarin is a symbol of the era when humanity took its first steps into space.

As American astronaut Neil Armstrong aptly put it, “he called us all into space.”

Gagarin invited me into space too.

When we heard about his flight as children, it aroused admiration, curiosity, and joy.

Back in my school years, I became interested in space research.

As soon as new books appeared on this topic, they ended up in our house.

Thanks to Gagarin, the profession of astronaut actually arose, for the development of which he did a lot.

Pilot-cosmonaut, Deputy Head of the 1st Directorate of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Hero of the Russian Federation Anton Shkaplerov:

— Gagarin is the first person on the planet who overcame gravity and ended up in space.

For me he has always been an example.

Like him, I once went to a flying club, to a flight school, joined the cosmonaut corps, we even graduated from the same academy.

When he flew into space, I was not yet alive.

But it certainly influenced my choice of profession.

In my childhood, all the boys, like me, dreamed of becoming astronauts.

• Last parting words of Chief Designer Sergei Pavlovich Korolev to Yuri Gagarin before launch, Baikonur Cosmodrome, April 12, 1961

• RIA News

• © Alexey Sverdlov

Pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR, advisor to the general designer of PJSC RSC Energia named after.

S.P.

Koroleva, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Alexandrov:

— The name of Yuri Gagarin for me, as for millions of people around the globe, means a great achievement of earthlings in their lives and activities.

The people who created such technology, and the person who dared to take the first step into the unknown, are great heroes!

The pioneer of space flights, Yuri Gagarin, showed the highest courage and professionalism while carrying out the mission from launch to landing.

This is the meaning of this first, and therefore most difficult, flight into the unknown.

On April 12, I was studying in a city remote from Moscow.

For everyone who was next to me at the time of the announcement on the radio about Yuri Gagarin’s flight, this news was unexpected.

It certainly excited us.

That day we talked a lot about this completely unearthly topic.

In the history of manned astronautics there have been many important and dangerous flights of people into space.

And yet the first one is the most difficult!

• The first cosmonaut of the Earth Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin in the cabin of the Vostok-1 spacecraft before launch, Baikonur Cosmodrome, April 12, 1961

• RIA News

Pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of the Russian Federation Elena Serova:

— For me personally, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin is the Hero of the Earth, who was ready to give his life for the sake of opening new roads for humanity into the unknown and full of dangers into space.

As a child, he was a legend for me, a role model.

Thousands of girls and boys of my generation devoted their lives to science and space, trying to be at least a little like the first cosmonaut in human history.

The feat that Gagarin accomplished will forever remain in the hearts of people all over the world.

And now new generations of children, heirs of the great Yuri Gagarin, are striving to connect their destinies with space, preparing to make new discoveries in our vast and mysterious Universe.

Deputy Head of the Scientific and Technical Center of RSC Energia, pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of the Russian Federation Yuri Gidzenko:

— I was born a year after Gagarin’s flight.

And my parents named me after him.

At that time, many boys were called that.

And later, when they asked me what I wanted to be, I, like many other boys, answered, of course, an astronaut.

When I grew up, I dreamed of becoming a pilot.

And so it happened.

However, fate decreed that I ended up joining the astronaut corps.

• The descent module of the Vostok spacecraft with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin landed at 10:55 am near the village of Smelovka, Saratov region

• RIA News

— How do you assess Gagarin’s feat today?

What is his place in human history?

Yuri Malenchenko:

— The first human flight into space will become an increasingly significant event over time.

As humanity develops, it will explore the near-Earth space even more actively.

More and more people will perform some tasks in space or even travel.

This will create new opportunities for progress.

And everyone will remember who exactly took the first step into space.

Anton Shkaplerov:

— Gagarin’s feat occupies a special place in the history of mankind, since it is the first human flight into space.

• The world's first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin after landing the descent module of the Vostok-1 spacecraft

• © Alexander Sergeev

Alexander Alexandrov:

— The name of Yuri Gagarin has already been inscribed in world history as the first earthling to go on a space flight into orbit, and will remain in the memory of people for centuries.

Yuri Gidzenko:

— Yuri Gagarin is a unique personality on a global scale.

He was the first to step where no one had gone before.

Therefore, all of us who fly for six months or a year, who carry out some experiments in orbit, are following in the footsteps of Gagarin.