“Poyekhali!” (Let& #39;s go!)

#OTD in 1961, USSR cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space after being launched aboard his Vostok 1 spacecraft! His flight began a new era of human spaceflight and escalated the space race.

#FunFact: The Vostok spacecraft was designed to eject the cosmonaut at approximately 7 km (23,000 ft) and allow him to return to earth by parachute. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🪂" title="Fallschirm" aria-label="Emoji: Fallschirm">

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1961-012A

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/space... href="https://twtext.com//hashtag/60thAnniversary"> #60thAnniversary #HumansInSpace

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/space... href="https://twtext.com//hashtag/60thAnniversary"> #60thAnniversary #HumansInSpace" title=" #FunFact: The Vostok spacecraft was designed to eject the cosmonaut at approximately 7 km (23,000 ft) and allow him to return to earth by parachute. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🪂" title="Fallschirm" aria-label="Emoji: Fallschirm"> https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/space... href="https://twtext.com//hashtag/60thAnniversary"> #60thAnniversary #HumansInSpace">

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/space... href="https://twtext.com//hashtag/60thAnniversary"> #60thAnniversary #HumansInSpace" title=" #FunFact: The Vostok spacecraft was designed to eject the cosmonaut at approximately 7 km (23,000 ft) and allow him to return to earth by parachute. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🪂" title="Fallschirm" aria-label="Emoji: Fallschirm"> https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/space... href="https://twtext.com//hashtag/60thAnniversary"> #60thAnniversary #HumansInSpace">

What was the first food eaten in space?

Beef and liver paste, yum! Yuri Gagarin ate pureed meat out of an aluminum tube, followed by a tube of chocolate sauce for dessert!

#60thAnniversary #HumansInSpace

[Image: Tube of beef/vegetables from Project Mercury. @airandspace]

There is both a crater on the Moon and an asteroid named for Yuri Gagarin! The crater is around 265 km (~165 miles) in diameter, and the asteroid, 1772 Gagarin, lies in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

#60thAnniversary #HumansInSpace

Gagarin wrote a letter to his wife before he left, saying that he probably wouldn& #39;t make it back home, but that he loved her and their two girls. Luckily, it was left unopened, and his wife found it upon his return.

#60thAnniversary #HumansInSpace
Image: @airandspace