Anniversary of First Human in Space

Remember Yuri Gagarin?

He was the first human to orbit the earth.  The U.S.S.R. successfully sent Mr. Gagarin into space for 108 minutes fifty years ago.The United States was somewhat shocked when it heard this news.  We thought that a country that could not manufacture television sets for its populace, would never be capable of putting someone in space. This Russian achievement really catapulted the space program in America.  John F. Kennedy was president at the time and started a program to put a man on the moon.  Thus began the space race, in the confines of the Cold War, between the U.S.S.R. and the United States.

Sadly Gagarin died in a flight test crash  in 1968 at the age of thirty four. However his memory is kept very much alive in Russia. Russians are very proud of him.  He is a sort of hero.  A statue of him is in a very visible spot in Moscow.  To mark the anniversary of his space flight, there were special programs in Russian schools, and television programs dedicated to space flight and in particular Mr. Gagarin's.  Now there is a movie made entirely in space from the International Space Station of Mr. Gagarin's odyssey and what he saw.  This cosmonaut must have been made of steel because there was no provision for the re-entry of hisVostok I.
He had to eject himself out at four miles from earth and open a parachute to return home.  Busy!