Vostok 1

Vostok 1
Launch of the Vostok 1
OperatorSoviet space program
Harvard designation1961 Mu 1
COSPAR ID1961-012A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.103
Mission duration1 hour, 48 minutes[1]
1 hour, 46 minutes[2][3]
Orbits completed1
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftVostok-3KA No.3
ManufacturerExperimental Design Bureau OKB-1
Launch mass4,725 kg (10,417 lb)[1]
Landing mass2,400 kg (5,290 lb)
Dimensions2.30 m (7 ft 6.5 in) diameter
Crew
Crew size1
MembersYuri Gagarin
CallsignКедр (KedrSiberian pine),[4]: 275 
or: Ласточка (Lastochka - Swallow)[a]
Start of mission
Launch dateApril 12, 1961, 06:07 (1961-04-12UTC06:07Z) UTC[8]
RocketVostok-K 8K72K
Launch siteBaikonur 1/5
45°55′13″N 63°20′32″E / 45.920278°N 63.342222°E / 45.920278; 63.342222[9]
End of mission
Landing dateApril 12, 1961, 07:55 (1961-04-12UTC07:56Z) UTC
Landing site51°16′14″N 45°59′50″E / 51.270682°N 45.99727°E / 51.270682; 45.99727[10][11]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude181 km (98 nmi)[12]
Apogee altitude327 km (177 nmi)[1]
Inclination64.95 degrees[8]
Period89.1 minutes
EpochApril 12, 1961

Yuri Gagarin in Sweden

Vostok 1 (Russian: Восток, East or Orient) was the first spaceflight of the Vostok programme and the first human orbital spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA space capsule was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 12 April 1961, with Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin aboard, making him the first human to reach orbital velocity around the Earth and to complete a full orbit around the Earth.

The orbital spaceflight consisted of a single orbit around Earth which skimmed the upper atmosphere at 169 kilometers (91 nautical miles) at its lowest point. The flight took 108 minutes from launch to landing. Gagarin parachuted to the ground separately from his capsule after ejecting at 7 km (23,000 ft) altitude.

  1. ^ a b c "Aviation and Space World Records". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Archived from the original on July 26, 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
  2. ^ "Spaceflight mission report: Vostok 1". Spacefacts. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  3. ^ "The Vostok (3A No. 3) mission". Retrieved 12 March 2020. Gagarin's mission lasted 106 minutes, not 108 minutes, the duration that was reported for 50 years and even made book titles.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference siddiqi2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Yenne, Bill (1988). The Pictorial History of World Spaceflight. Exeter. p. 18. ISBN 0-7917-0188-3.
  6. ^ Swenson, Loyd S. Jr.; Grimwood, James M.; Alexander, Charles C. "This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury, Chapter 10, Section: "Vostok Wins the First Lap"". NASA.
  7. ^ "Why was Apollo called Apollo? The history of spacecraft call signs". Royal Museums Greenwich.
  8. ^ a b "Vostok 1 – NSSDC ID: 1961-012A". NASA.
  9. ^ "Google Maps – Vostok 1 Launch Pad – Gagarin's Start photo". Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  10. ^ "Google Maps – Vostok 1 Landing Site – Monument". Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  11. ^ "Google Maps – Vostok 1 Landing Site – Monument Photo". Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  12. ^ Records file on the first space flight by the USSR citizen Youri Alexeyvich Gagarin (PDF). The USSR Central Aero Club. 1961.


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