On This Day in Space History

A CHRONICLE OF SPACEFLIGHT

THE SPACE RACE · THE SHUTTLE ERA · ROBOTIC EXPLORATION · 1957–PRESENT

Welcome to On This Day A daily chronicle of humanity in space — the launches, landings, spacewalks, and firsts that mark the space age. Start here. Read the welcome →
April 12
Vostok
Mission
Vostok
Series
Soviet space program
Venue
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakh SSR
Date
April 12, 1961
Agency
Soviet space program
Nickname
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Crew
Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space

Aboard Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin completed a single orbit of Earth, becoming the first human to travel into outer space. The 108-minute flight was a landmark victory for the Soviet Union in the Space Race and made Gagarin an international hero.

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Also on April 12

Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle — Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA

NASA · 1981 · NASA
John Young · Robert Crippen

Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off on mission STS-1, the first flight of the world's first reusable crewed spacecraft. John Young and Robert Crippen orbited Earth 36 times before gliding to a landing, opening the Shuttle era of spaceflight.

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