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People of all continents are sending their letters to the Voice
of Russia Space Quiz.Nationals of over 50 countries are competing for awards.
The first listener who sent his answer to the Space Quiz was Michael Boshat
from the Canadian city of Galifax.It arrived by electronic mail at 20 hours
50 minutes on the 11th of February.In their letters people give support
and applaud the Voice of Russia initiaive.They say man's first flight into
outer space is of great importance to mankind.They see the event as historic,the
beginning of the era of space exploration.
I appreciate the effort the Voice of Russia put into organising the
space quiz to mark 40 years since Yury Gagarin's flight into outer space.
His flight was a historic event, the glory of the Russian space programme.
All British feel esteem for the planent's first cosmonaut, the national
of your country.
Geoffrey Arnold
Great Britain
I often listen to the Voice of Russia.You began broadcasting programmes
about the 40th anniversary of Yury Gagarin's flight quite long ago. This
is correct.Fourty years ago mankind entered the era of space exploration.Yury
Gagarin's flight is the highest achievement of socialism.I remember that
day just too well.I described the event in my novel "Blue Summer" which
was published in 1998.
Leonid Levanovich,writer,
Minsk,Belorussia
There is one more question which I want to ask you. What do you think
should be man's further moves in space exploration? I believe the answer
is Russian-American expedition to Mars.I read that once president Reigan
intended to suggest such joint mission yet he rejected the idea after the
Korean airliner was shot down in the early 1980s.I do not know if this
is true. Yet I am convinced that such a mission could bring huge dividends
to both countries and mankind as a whole. I hope the US new administration
will come up with such proposal.If it fails,I hope Russia will do so.
Fred Walker
USA
Dear organisers of Space Quiz! I want to thank you for the quiz,
for your great effort.I congratulate you on the 40th anniversary of the
first manned flight into outer space and wish you more gains in space exploration.
N.Yarmoshevich
Brest, Belorussia
Please, inform me of all programmes which you are preparing for the
40th anniversary of Yury Gagarin's space flight so that I could write a
poem and in such a way contribute to the celebrations.
Adeola Ikuomola
Nigeria
After many years of listening to the Voice of Russia I wrote a novel
in three books which features a Russian character. My interest to Russia
was encouraged by the launching of the first sputnik.
Fernando Molina
Sweden
The year 2001 is the year of Russian cosmonaut Yury Gagarin.The whole
of the world admires his heroic deed and cherishes his memory.
Puia Dionisu
Tirnoveni, Romania
This is my first letter to the Voice of Russia.I am 52.Since my school
years I was keen on astronomy and space exploration. This is also my hobby
and occupation today. Recently the new director of the Kishenev National
Palace of Youth where I work as a teacher of astronomy and cosmonautics
said something that terrified all lovers of astronomy. He said that Moldova
did not intend to get involved in space flights and therefore it did not
need astronomy.Four years of schooling,he added, was enough to work on
a farm.
Recently I learnt about your space quiz to mark 40 years since Yury
Gagarin's flight into outer space.I want to take part in your quiz.I hope
my answer will satisfy you.And I shall be happy to recall those unforgettable
heroic chapters in the history of your country.
Mikhail Mikhaladakis
Kishinyov, Moldova
An original answer to the space quiz was sent by our permanent listener
from Great Britain Lorne Sokoloff.As a permanent listener to the Voice
of Russia,he says he wants to make a present to the radio station on behalf
of the SPACE.com company producing software for which he works.This gift
is Starry Night Backyard programme on CD which is in great demand. He believes
the radio station can award it as a prize to one of the winners of the
quiz.
The launching of the first Sputnik in 1957 came as a shock to US
educators and encouraged the development of US space programme. The response
of US educators was prompt. They decided on introducing more subjects to
the curriculum of the secondary school. In 1958 when I was a 7th year student
they introduced lessons in foreign languages and the next year we began
studying algebra. The impact on the event was felt through all my subsequent
years at school.It affected positively the way my generation was educated
and its life.At present I am 55.I owe my education not only to the launching
of the Sputnik but certainly to my wise teachers who realised that we were
lagging behind on time.
Richard Phoenix
New Jersey, the USA
As a radio amateur, in 1957, can remember tuning my short wave radio to
the signals from Sputnik 1. It also carried the song, “The East is red”.
I was also a regular listener to radio Moscow, and I can remember getting
the first space stamp, on letters posted to me from radio Moscow. I have
them now in my stamp collection, as well as the first radio QSL verification
cards sent to me.I also remember asking Boris Belitzky questions about
spacecraft in his Scienceand Engeneering program. He is still answering
my questions to this day. The first space stamps of the (then) URSS are
the pride of my stamp collection,
Best Wishes from Australia
Don Rhodes
Excuse me, I have not sent you letters for ages. I was moved by your
message. As I understand you did not forget me. I found answers to the
space quiz in INTERNET and learnt much that was interesting to me. Notably,I
realised that the former Soviet Union and Russia have always been leading
in space exploration.And even such super-power as the United States had
to make effort to keep up with your country. As for my decision to take
part in your space quiz,it was prompted by my deep respect for your country
and your people who have been traceblazers in space exploration contributing
in such a way to progress of mankind.
Yu Baoguo
Liaoning province, China
Members of the Voice of Russia Listeners' clubs in Nepal and Bangladesh
also showed vivid interest in the quiz. This is our first letter to the
Voice of Russia.All of us like to listen to your programmes in Bengali.
We were happy to learn that the Voice of Russia had staged a quiz to mark
40 years since the first manned space flight. All members of our association
will take part in this contest.
A.K.M. Nuruzzaman, the head of the Friends World DX Association,
Radzhshakhi, Bangladesh
Whole families have also been contributing to the space quiz. Take
for example,the Kharitonovs,from Ukraine.Even 8-year-old Bogdan Kharitonov
was involved. Answers to the quiz are supplemented with drawings, photoes
and verses of the competitors.
I have already begun working over my answers to the space quiz staged
to mark 40 years since Yury Gagarin's flight to outer space. This gives
me pleasure. And I hope I can win a prize.
Diego Mancanares Roig
Spain
Response to the Voice of Russia Space Quiz
(sent by e-mail)
I know that the word "Soyuz" in the name of the Russian spaceship
means " a union". Russian spaceship Soyuz-19 performed a docking with the
US Apollo spaceship in 1975 and this event was the turning point from the
cold war to a comprehensive cooperation./the answer to the 4th question
of the quiz.
Jonathan Hunt,
London, Great Britain
I should say I know little about present-day international space
programmes. I admit that space projects contribute to technological progress.
I also think that too much money goes into those projects which could be
used to satisfy other needs. You say you will broadcast a series of programmes
about space exploration,I shall listen to them and probably find answers
to many questions. I can also visit INTERNET sites and shortly, you will
hear about the results of my studies.
Dean Lipe,
USA
I was happy to learn that the Voice of Russia is staging a quiz to
mark one of the greatest events in the hisotry of mankind-the first manned
space flight. Its a great honour to take part in such quiz. I must say
I feel deep emotion when writing answers to your quiz. My parents
named me Yury after the first Soviet cosmonaut Yury Gagarin. On board the
Vostok spaceship he orbited the Earth on the 12th of April, 1961. On that
day his name became known to all people in the world. They learnt about
his heroic deed. The event opened up the way to new knowledge and progress.
Gagarin's name has entered the annals of Russian and world history.
Yury Kozyanin
Ragonya, Italy
A Russian was the first man in outer space. This delighted me. The
first woman in outer space was also Russian-Valentina.Even the first animal
in outer space was a Russian dog.
The whole of the world, including the United States, knows that the
International space station could not have been built without Russia's
experience acquired at the SALYUT and the MIR space stations.
Alec Azar,
Canada
Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space. April 12, 1961. Almost all cities
have a Gagrin ulitza. When I visited Obninsk last summer, I was priviledged
to visit the Obninsk Meteorological Tower (one of the highest towers in
the world). While riding in the tiny slow elevator to the top of the tower,
I was informed that Yuri Gagrin also visited the tower and I was standing
in the same spot at that moment! I asked the elevator operator what Gagarin
was like, as a person, and it seems he was a very nice and modest person,
and very interested in all things.
George Rothbart,
USA, San Rafael
Results of space studies can be applied in many fields on the Earth.Artificial
sputniks are used in weather forecasting, cartography,news media and communications.
Space projects encouraged the development of new technologies such as packaged
food, digital clock and special materials.
Michael Knapton
Sheffield, Great Britain
The flight of the world's first cosmonaut Yury Gagarin became possible
owing to the effort of Soviet outstanding scientists-founders of space
exploration, Soviet designers of first spaceships and Soviet engineers
who built them.
Vladimir Kravets
Ukraine
I first caught word of Gagarin's flight as a seven-year-old listening to
a brand new radio just bought by my parents. I know very little about that
guy despite much talk of him in Romania at the time. I heard he was an
experienced test pilot and died at the controls of an aircraft in a tragic
crash. In Greece many years later, it dawned on me that he never died.
He is immortal. His unforgettable smile conquered the world.
Fragkos Nikos,
Athens, Greece
As a second-year student in Moscow, I got news of a Soviet and an East
German cosmonaut, Valeri Bykovski and Sigmund Jaehn, blasting off for a
rendezvous with the orbital station SALYUT-6. Later I met both men at an
event in the school of the East German Embassy in Moscow. Attending a Soviet-German
friendship festival in 1980, I closely encountered Sigmund Jaehn in a lift
cabin at the KONGRESS HOTEL in former Karl Marx Stadt. He and two other
senior officers were discussing human endurance in space flight. Sigmund
Jaehn was telling them a spaceman must be focused on his mission 24 hours
a day. I'm an admirer of him. I believe he was a true follower of Yuri
Gagarin, although they never met.
Karin Bartnik,
Berlin, Germany
It's 40 years since the Russian pilot Yuri Gagarin opened the era
of manned spaceflight by orbiting planet Earth. He radioed from orbit:
"I wish everyone was here with me and could appreciate the beauty of our
home planet. Let's try to preserve and improve it as best we can."
The high point of the Russian-Indian cooperation in space was the 1984
orbital flight of the Indian spaceman Rakesh Sharma on board a Soviet spaceship
together with his Soviet colleagues Yuri Malyshev and Gennadi Strekalov.
It was a true feast of friendship between Russia and India.
Krishna Murari Singh
Barma, Bihar, India
By performing his spaceflight - the shortest ever - the space pioneer Yuri
Gagarin paved the way for others to go to orbit. His historic mission sent
a shockwave of astonishment and admiration around the world. It was a great
scientific breakthrough as well as a brilliant world first in space. At
the outset, Russia was in the lead. Imagine jubilation here in Cuba when
my country's one and only spaceman Arnoldo Tamayo went to orbit on board
a Soviet spaceship. Cuba will never forget that move of support and friendship
by Russia. It was in great need of support at the time.
Irving Manuel Roman Lopez
Sancti Spiritus, Cuba
It's much easier to name fields that have not been impacted by space research.
Many remember consumers in the West in the 1970s going crazy about Teflon
coating, originally developed as heat insulation for spaceships, and nylon
Vector fasteners, inexpensive space-age replacement for zips.
In the more serious vein, space spin-offs have hugely transformed metals
and materials technologies - with important ramifications for engineering,
construction and medicine. What we call 'pure science' has gained a vast
new insight into the origin of the Earth (with life on it), the Solar System,
the Galaxy and the entire Universe.
Critical need have always been the mother of invention and innovation in
all fields. In the 20th century, stimuli of this sort mostly boiled down
to survival in wartime and the pursuit of superior arms. In the 21st century,
they will be centred on the conquest of space.
David Woodhouse
Dagenham, UK
The feat of the young Russian air force officer Yuri Gagarin was an invitation
for the human race to turn its attention to space. He was the first man
up there. It took his VOSTOK-1 space capsule 108 minutes to orbit the Earth
at some 28 thousand kilometres per hour. We remember him smiling behind
the visor of his bulky spacesuit. This vision is forever with us.
Initial results of space research demonstrated the natural beauty of Mother
Earth and bolstered popular respect for our fragile planet. The human race
was given a good chance to overcome divisions and unite, for the sake of
acquiring a new global perspective and a new global behaviour.
Millions of people on all continents track world events in real time using
satellite television. There are satellites to monitor weather and climate,
ensure transportation safety, carry out precise global positioning and
maintain telecommunications, allowing global mobile phone links.
Christophe Frison
Brussels, Belgium
An awful lot of milestone events was packed in the 40 years since the Soviet
Union carried out the first manned spaceflight. The page turned by the
Russian space science opened with the flight of Yuri Gararin and closed
with the fiery demise of the space station MIR. That station had been in
orbit since 1986, the year when the US suffered the tragic loss of one
of its space shuttles. Hats off to that glorious station on the 40th anniversary
of Gagarin's flight!
Sato Hironobu
Saitama Prefecture, Japan
I have been tracking space research for the best part of my life. Now that
there is broad international cooperation in space, I'm all ears and eyes
for milestone breakthroughs in the field.
Space research has dramatically stimulated progress in medicine, aviation,
materials, security and safety, telecommunications, weather forecasting,
forestry and agriculture - to say nothing of electronics which has leaped
lightyears forward. Even social fabric itself has considerably changed
under the influence of spin-offs from space.
Jim Coyle, USA
Gagarin's success proved that the Soviet Union had taken the lead
in space research and technologies. For the 2nd time in 4 years the Soviets
succeeded in orbiting a spacecraft.
Andrew Agnew
USA
I had an opportunity to see Yury Gagarin at a short distance. We
were meeting him in Sofia airport. Our plane took him to a planned site
he was due to visit according to his program. He conquered the hearts of
Bulgarians not just because he was the first cosmonaut who ushered in a
new era in scientific and technological progress, but also with his charming
and childish smile. He looked not as a victorious giant but as a bold-spirited
man launched in an unknown direction so that he could raise human life
to a new, higher level.
When I asked the crew of the IL-14 how things had been in Varna,
they said: "Awful!" Tens of thousands of people came to see the space conqueror.
Words fail to describe how people loved him. There was harldy room inside
the plane for all the presents he had got. When at last the crowd let him
go, he boarded the plane and exclaimed: "Ah! Landing a spacecraft is much
easier than tearing myself from the embrace of Bulgarians. It was a hard
test for a young and inexperienced "politician" since he was more than
just a cosmonaut, he was a representative of Great Russia.
Todor Dechev
Sofia, Bulgaria
Gagarin's historic flight was followed by his triumphant tour across
the world. He visited many countries, including India. Wherever he went,
he encounted admiration and delight. People were crazy about him. All Indian
movie stars yearned for getting photographed with Gagarin. Any other man
would have his head spinning, but not him because he was a great man.
Vikas Agnihotri
Chandigarkh, India
Scientific experiments performed in space find practical application
in many spheres of human activity, for instance in steel-making, the production
of semiconductors, medicine, pharmacology and biology. Cosmonauts make
astronomical and meteorological observations, prospect for mineral resources
from space. We owe modern communication means to space technologies. Today
many devices originally designed for spacecrafts are used in everyday life,
for example, computers and microwave ovens. There would have been no modern
civilization without space technologies.
Along with my answers to your quiz I send you my fiction story and
my draft of a monument to space explorers.
I was happy to take part in such an interesting quiz.
Robert Janik
Lublin, Poland
The list of Soviet Union's amazing and shocking achievements in space
exploration is, indeed, enormous. But one shouldn't forget that they involved
strenious effort related to designing artificial satellites, solar
batteries, spacesuits, food provision, oxygen-generating equipment and,
above all, planning cosmonauts' leisure-time during long-term flights.
Camelia Ubeidi
Iraq
The International Space Station is a global effort involving 16 countries.A
huge orbiting laborotary, it will conduct long term research in biology,physics,
chemistry, medicine, and ecology utilizing the weightlessness of space/
Guidance, telemetry, computers, materials, solar cells, antimatter studies
and even paying visitors are peripheral on going projects.
Arthur Gebhart, USA
Yuri Gagarin was pioneered a new profession - the profession of
a cosmonaut. He was very fond of people and hated wars. He stressed that
a cosmonaut's profession should be a peaceful one and that eace space flight
serve the interests of humanity.
The Russians ushered in a new era in space exploration. Cosmonauts
from other countries, including developing states, were trained and made
their first space flights on Russian spacecrafts. I am sincerely grateful
to the Russian for training the first Indian cosmonaut Rakesh Sharme.
T.P. Radjesh
Kerala, India
Yuri Gagarin is the first cosmonaut in human history. On April 12,
1961, his "Off we go!" reveberated across the world. His name made
headlines in world media. In the summer of 1961 he visited Poland where
he was given a rousing welcome. That was before my birth. It seemded that
Gagarin would live a long and successful life. But 1968 brought shocking
news about his tragic death during a test flight. He was just 34. It's
a pity that today many Pols don't remember this great man, a real man as
writer Boris Polevoy would have, no doubt, called him.
Iolanta Yezowska
Namyslow, Poland
40 years ago Yuri Gagarin made his historic space flight. Thanks
to his training and excellent physical shape, his sense of responsibility
and duty he managed to collect scientific data of vital importance for
future manned flights. Gagarin's flight and earlier the launch of an artificial
satellite put Russia in the lead in space science and technologies, paving
the way for long-term manned expeditions and unmanned voyages to the Moon,
Venus and Mars. The list of space discoveries could be continued.
Filippo Giannetti
Mongignoso, Italy
...Speaking about the achievements of Soviet cosmonautics, we should
pay homage to those who sacrificed their lives to translate the dream of
many generations of Earth's inhabitants into reality and accelerate scientific
and technical progress. These include Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov
who died in 1967 while returning to Earth aboard the Soyuz-1 spaceship.
Earlier he and two of his fellow cosmonauts made a successful flight aboard
the Voskhod-1 ship.
Camelia Ubeidi
Iraq
In my opinion, in the 21st century the results of space research
will be appied in all spheres of human activity on an ever widening scale.
I sincerely hope that people will never forget Yuri Alexeievich Gagarin,
a kind-hearted and merry guy from Smolensk region, who made the first orbital
flight. I am proud of being his compatriot.
Sergei Rogov
Telshai, Lithuania
The fact that Mir, apart from being the first long-term space laboratory,
was also the first amateur space radiostation adds to the list of
Russia's space achievements. Mir's cosmonauts maintained contact with radio-amateurs
across the world. Besides, Mir had a"package" radiostation that made it
possible to send and receive digital signals. For instance, an operator
in America could send a message to someone in Russia. When Mir was passing
over a specific area, a Russian operator picked the message off. It was
yet another sphere where Russia held the lead.
James Cason
Tallahassee, Florida, USA
On April 12, 1961, at 9.07 a.m. Moscow time the Soviet spaceship
Vostok carrying the world's first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth.
Gagarin landed in a parachute-steered capsule that detached from the main
vehicle. He was awarded the Golden Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
People in the Soviet Union and throughout the world gave him a rousing
welcome. Gagarin never made his second flight. On March 27, 1968, he met
a tragic death during a training flight. He was buried as a hero near the
Kremlin wall. Often in different situations he would say: "I am desperately
happy that my beloved homeland took the lead in space exploration".
Emilio Moreno
Managua, Nicaragua
On a remarkable day of April 12, 1961, the spaceship Vostok-1 steered
by Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth in 108 minutes and safely came back.
The ship was put in orbit by a 6-engine rocket with a total power capacity
of 20 million HP. Yuri Gagarin became the world's first cosmonaut.
The Franco regime and the Spanish Catholic church unleashed a propaganda
campaign against Gagarin. They dubbed him a red atheist and a freemason,
citing the words that allegedly belonged to him: "I am up in the sky but
hasn't met God yet".
Pio Fernandes Iglesias
Germany
Soviet citizen Yuri Gagarin symbolizes a new era - the era of turbulent
scientific and technical progress. He laid the first stone into the foundation
of a bridge to distant worlds.
Nguen Van Thang
Vietnam
On April 2, 1984, India became the 14th country to send its cosmonaut
into space. On that day the Soyuz-T-11 spaceship carrying Indian citizen
Rakesh Sharma and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Malyshev and Gennady Strekalov
blasted off into space from Baikonur launching pad. The Indian cosmonaut
spent 7 days aboard the Russian space station Salyut-7.
The data obtained through various space programs contain new information
about the Earth's crust, sea bottom and soil, which is used in harvest
forecasts, water regulation, the search for pure water sources and prospecting
for mineral resources. Pictures taken from space show the worst-polluted
urban areas, forest and fields. New semiconducting materials were tested
in space. Experiments were performed aboard the Mir station to grow semiconducting
crystals and create super-pure anti-virus preparations and bacteria fractions
that have a large number of uses in medicine and economy.
W. MacLeod
Wellington, New Zealand
Russia and Arab countries are linked by long-standing bonds of versatile
cooperation, including in space exploration. It is thanks to these relations
that a Syrian cosmonaut received an opportunity to fly into space. Fruitful
cooperation between Russia, the first country to carry out a manned flight,
and Arab nations continues to develop nowadays.
Ahmad Ali al-Hadardji
Egypt
I am 13. I was born years after cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made the first
manned flight round the Earth. I learnt about him from my granny. She told
me many interesting things about this man. Often when my granny explains
how one should behave towards other people or how one should work, she
refers to Yuri Gagarin, to his kindness, conscience, endeavour, bold spirit
and faithfulness to his goal. It's these qualities that helped him become
a cosmonaut.
Now I will try to find out more about Yuri Alexeievich Gagarin and
I will do my best to be like him.
Inessa Mikhailova
Orkhei, Moldova
In what branches of space exploration did Russia come first? - The
first artificial satellite, the first animal in orbit, the first manned
flight, the first woman-cosmonaut, the first spacewalk, the first apparatuses
on the Moon and Mars. I think Russia was also the first to conduct medical
experiments, for instance the study of the impact of wightlessness on bone
structure, as well as biological experiments such as wheat growing in space.
You were the first in many space technologies, for example, the use of
kerosene both as a fuel and engine cooler. You were the first to
take foreign citizens to space. And you were the first to use a nuclear
reactor in space - a wise application of the sophisticated technology that
unfortunately became a persona non-grata in both countries. You were the
first to commercialize space by solding satellite-made photographs printed
on paper with the trade-mark of a Japanese camera producer. I am not sure
you are proud of that. The paradox is you did it earlier than US capitalists.
Fred Walker
USA
may 10 2001
may 03 2001
april 24 2001
april 19 2001
april 10 2001
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