Yuri Gagarin
It was on the 12th of April, 1961, when the first flight by man into cosmic space took place. Yuri Gagarin, the first cosmonaut in the world, was a 27-year old Air Force pilot at that time.
The spaceship flew at the speed of 300 miles a minute. That's six times faster than man ever travelled before. His flight lasted 108 minutes, but a circuit round the Earth took 89 minutes.
It was a brilliant achievement on the part of our scientists and technologists, and on the part of Yuri Gagarin who risked his life to achieve a victory for his country and mankind.
Our country is proud of this Man!