Vostok 1

Vostok 1 was the first human spaceflight in history, launched by the Soviet Union on April 12, 1961. The mission carried cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who became the first human to orbit the Earth. The flight consisted of a single orbit around the planet, lasting 108 minutes from launch to landing. This historic achievement demonstrated the feasibility of human spaceflight and marked a major victory for the Soviet Union in the Space Race. The spacecraft consisted of a spherical descent module and a conical instrument module. After re-entry, Gagarin ejected from the capsule at an altitude of approximately 7 kilometers and landed separately by parachute, a detail that was kept secret for many years to ensure the flight met official international requirements for a completed spaceflight.