Vostok 1

Vostok 1 Within the time allotted of eighty-nine minutes, to orbit the planet at 17,500 miles per hour; The Russian Cosmonaut inside the Vostok capsule espies the distinctive features of earth, from two hundred miles above its surface. And reflects upon the physical violence of energetic movement that formed terra firma; Then watches the sun’s rays penetrate the atmosphere, and thinks of the warmth inside the magnetic shield. He sees the beauty of the blues deposited from frozen comets. Out here, it’s so tranquil thinks Yuri Gagarin, first person in space. “Cedar to Dawn, I see earth. The visibility is excellent, over!” His message relays to the Soviet command station. Then, the Vostok retros fire over Africa for gravity to force re-entry, and readies himself for ejection. Four miles above the Volga River basin drainage system. *** Notes: April 12, 1961: On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, USSR at 6:07 am local time. The total mission lasted 108 minutes. He was the first person in space, and the first person to orbit the earth. In order to escape gravity, the capsule needs to hit 7.9 km/s or 17,500 miles per hour, which is orbital velocity (approximately 20 times the speed of sound). Vostok: means East in Russian Cedar (Kedr-Russian pine): Gagarin’s call sign Dawn (Zarya): Launch facility call sign On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard was the first American astronaut launched into space, and John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the earth on Feb. 20, 1962.