Yuri Gagarin Dies
Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, died in a jet crash during a training flight
March 27, 1968
The First Human in Space
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was born in a small village near Gzhatsk, Russia, in 1934. A Soviet Air Force pilot, he was selected for the cosmonaut program in 1960 from thousands of candidates. On April 12, 1961, he became the first human being to travel into outer space, orbiting Earth once aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft in a flight lasting 108 minutes. His words from orbit — "The Earth is blue. How wonderful. It is amazing." — became some of the most celebrated phrases of the twentieth century. He was 27 years old and instantly became a global hero.
Life After the Stars
After his historic flight, Gagarin was celebrated worldwide. He toured dozens of countries and was received by heads of state everywhere he went. The Soviet Union treated him as a national treasure — almost too precious to risk again in space. He was initially barred from further space flights for fear of losing such a symbol. He worked as a cosmonaut trainer and lobbied intensively to be allowed to fly again. He eventually resumed training and was preparing for a potential second space mission when tragedy struck.
A Sudden Loss
On March 27, 1968, Gagarin and a flight instructor died when their MiG-15 training jet crashed near the town of Kirzhach during a routine flight. Gagarin was 34 years old. The cause of the crash was never definitively determined, though various theories range from pilot error to avoiding a weather balloon. His death shocked the Soviet Union and the world. Gagarin's hometown was renamed Gagarin in his honor, and he remains a revered figure in Russia and in the history of space exploration. The space race he helped ignite continued for years after his death.