Gagarin was born onto the family of a collective farmer in the Smolensk region, west of Moscow on March 9, 1934. He finished a vocational school and worked as a moulder at a plant for some time. But he was strongly attracted to airplanes, and at 21 entered a military flying school to later qualify as a member of a space team. He did all the training required, and was thoroughly prepared for the first manned flight. His self-control was astonishing. Even before the historic start he had a good night’s sleep, which surprised many people, who would not sleep a wink even before a routine school exam. Describing his emotions before the start, he said: “Was it joy? Not only. Was it pride? No, not only pride. It was happiness. One can hardly dream of a greater accomplishment than taking the challenge to be the first to fly into space. But I was also aware of the great responsibility this flight involved, the responsibility of being the first to do what many generations could only dream of…”

Gagarin’s flight lasted only 109 minutes. These minutes launched him from obscurity to resounding worldwide fame. This was another, perhaps, even more serious challenge to face. At times he thought it was too heavy a burden to be always the focus of attention and sincerely believed his accomplishment to be a matter of sheer luck. Many of his comrades, he was sure, could have done this equally well. In triumph he returned home from the space flight. Later he recollected: “A special airplane took me to Moscow. While approaching the capital, I looked down and gasped - the streets were flooded with people. At the airport, too, there were masses of people waiting for me to arrive. In full military uniform with new Major’s shoulder-straps I went down the ladder. In the distance I saw an overcrowded rostrum with huge heaps of flowers scattered around. A red-carpeted path led to it. I had to walk this way alone… Never, even on board the spaceship, was I so excited as at that moment. On the way I managed to regain my self-control. I knew all eyes were on me. Suddenly I felt that one of my shoes had come unlaced. Any moment I could step on the loose end and crash down, full length, on the red carpet. What an embarrassment! Doing fine in space and falling down on a level surface! But I approached the rostrum and saluted as I reported: “The first space flight in the history of mankind aboard the Soviet spaceship “Vostok” is completed. All the equipment functioned without fault. I feel excellent and I am ready to carry out any new mission. Major Gagarin.”

Gagarin intended to continue contributing to space exploration. “I would like to travel to Venus… and see for myself if there are canals on Mars. And I believe it’s not long before we see the Moon, our next-door neighbour.”

And he did continue flying until the tragic day in 1968 when he died in a plane crash during a training flight. Yuri Gagarin was only 34 years old…