There is one question that arose at that time. What impact "condition without heavy" or weightlessness on humans? "There are fears people will lose their common sense in zero gravity, loss of ability to think rationally," said Oleg Ivanovsky, one of which involved the construction of Vostok.
The flight was automated. However, the question is what if weightlessness causes astronauts to ignore the madness and programs that have been made. The solution, then the engineers involved to make 3-digit security code. Astronauts are required to enter a code to receive commands.
In the end, it all proved not significant. The first flight into space was a success. Yuri Gagarin who flew into idol even up to 43 years after his death due to accidents during training. He also became the model of the Soviet Union's Communist party posters.
The spirit of the first human to fly himself one of them came from Sergei Koroloyov, designer Vostok 1. Her spirits flared after launching the first manmade satellite, Sputnik, on October 4, 1957 as part of International Geophysical Year.
Initially, the mission flight into space only based on the desire to add the benefits of the Soviet Union in the Cold War against the U.S. However, eventually flying during the 1960 trial and the launch pad explosion that killed 126 people, causing safety issues take precedence.
Gagarin's first flight carried only limited to a single orbit. However, that does not mean easy. Boris Chertok, a top rocket designers when it says, "look at modern standard rocket capabilities, we have no optimism for April 1961."
James Oberg, NASA veteran who now works as a Russian space mission said, Korolyov and his staff have sought the maximum so that the flight went smoothly. "I do not see any way that applied to the Vostok dangerous," he said.
Beyond the technical issues and risks, competition to become the first cosmonaut to fly in space held tight. There are 20 candidates and the Gagarin cosmonaut is his favorite. Decision cosmonaut new departures notified 3 days prior to the launch of the cosmodrome Baikonur, Kazahkstan.
There was an emotional moment after Gagarin chosen. Realizing the risk of mission failure, Gagarin writes a letter to his wife, Valentina Gagarina. He asked his wife to raise their children not as a princess, but as an actual human. He also freed her to remarry.
"My letter may seem like a last request. However, I do not think so. I hope you never see this letter. And I'd be very embarrassed to find moments where I looked very weak," wrote Gagarin in his letter.
On the night before the flight, Gagarin and his partner, Germany Titov, bed early. Both woke up at 5.30 am. Gagarin then enters the spaceship until finally sliding in at 9:07 in the morning. "Poyekhali" (we drove right now), that words were spoken before the launch.
Immediately after launch, the engineers immediately got a jolt with the disturbance signal booster. Tensions subsided a little after a report from orbit Gagarin. However, moments later appeared on an antenna problem that is not functioning thus raising concerns.
Retrorocket problem reappeared thereafter. However, Gagarin finally returned safely and landed near the Volga River, 720 kilometers southeast of Moscow. There, he was greeted by his wife and grandson of local people who had thought Gagarin U.S. spy.
After the flight, Gagarin's receive many surprises. He was promote to two levels higher, became major. On April 14, 1961, he was flying to Moscow and meet Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev. It is say; the atmosphere is similar to Valentine's Day.
Hearing the success of Russia, the U.S. was hot. May 5, 1961, U.S. astronaut Alan Shepard became the second person who flew to the space but only for 15 minutes. Thereafter, the current U.S. president John F Kennedy was planning a flight to the Moon and eventually reached July 20, 1969.
There is one fact about this flight that kept the Soviet Union for decades. Gagarin did not land by plane, but with the parasite. This is done for safety considerations. Soft landing system not yet supported.
Apart from that, Gagarin's flight has been a beginning for space flight missions. The U.S. and Russia, such as Mercury, Apollo, Soyuz and Discovery, followed flight with Vostok 1 flight. So far, the U.S., Russia and China are the first three countries that make space mission.
Currently, a variety of space mission designed. U.S. for example, designs a mission to the asteroid and Mars. While Russia has done launch Soyuz to the ISS last April 5 2011. Space mission is now growing rapidly and has even designed tourist into space.
