On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made his first space flight aboard the Vostok-1 spacecraft, starting from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day. On this day in 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a citizen of the Soviet Union, went into orbit for the first time. The astronaut, who went into orbit with the Vostok spacecraft, circled the Earth for 1 hour and 48 minutes and successfully landed in the Saratov region of Russia. By the decision of the Supreme Soviet of the former USSR dated April 9, 1962, April 12 was declared the World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day. Today it is celebrated by many countries.

Yuri Gagarin is an honorary citizen of many countries around the world. Immediately after the landing of Vostok, Gagarin became the most famous man in the USSR.

Since that flight, more than 250 space conquest programs have been carried out, with several hundred astronauts and astronauts from 32 countries in orbit. Russian cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev is the best in space. He was in the open air for 747 days and 17 hours. The leader in the duration of one flight is Valery Polyakov, a doctor by profession. He flew 17 hours a day at Mir station for more than a year - 437 days.