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Russia’s Foreign Ministry has accused the U.S. State Department of spreading disinformation by not mentioning Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in a Facebook post about the International Day of Human Space Flight. […] “Not noting this is disinformation and a base trick of the post-truth epoch,” the Russian ministry said on its own page. …

Moscow, March 31, Interfax - A site for building St. George Chapel was consecrated near the village of Novosyolovo in the Vladimir Region where first cosmonaut Yury Gagarin crashed. Dean of the Kirzhach District Archpriest Dimitry Yershov conducted the consecration, among those who attended the ceremony were twice heroes of the Soviet Union cosmonauts-pilots Alexey Leonov and Boris Volynov, first woman cosmonaut and hero of the USSR Valentina Tereshkova, the deanery press service reported. The chapel will be built near the memorial to Gagarin and his pilot instructor Vladimir Seryogin opened in 1975. A monument consists of a 16-meter wall...

Less than seven years after his history-making mission, Gagarin died in a plane crash at only 38 years old. The cosmonaut and his flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin were flying a routine training exercise when they were lost, and the mysterious circumstances of the wreck have inspired a half-century of wild speculation. With little more than Soviet-sponsored reports, KGB investigations, and long withheld testimony as explanations, conspiracy theories sprung up to explain why a plane piloted by two experienced Russian airmen suddenly just fell out of the sky. So what really happened to the first man in space?

Our country and the world marked a great moment: 50 years since the flight of the first woman in space: June 16th, 1963, by Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova. At the time of her space flight she was only 26. The first woman cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union Tereshkova graduated from the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy with honors, and received a PhD in technical sciences. She was a professor and the author of over 50 scientific papers. She holds the rank of air force major general and was a deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Valentina Tereshkova has...

Tomorrow the world marks 52 years since Yuri Gagarin's historic flight into space and 32 years since the first launch of the Space Shuttle. Scientists, artists, educators, and fans of space will be celebrating these milestones at over 320 parties and events in 50 countries on all 7 continents. Dubbed 'the World Space Party,' Yuri's Night is in its 13th year. "The level of interest and enthusiasm this year has been just amazing," said Dr. Ryan Kobrick, Executive Director of Yuri's Night. "We've already hit 300 events, and we expect to register many more by Friday. This is officially our...

As one of the proudest and most memorable moments in Russia's history, Yuri Gagarin's space flight, 50 years ago today, has been the subject of much discussion among the Russian media and its political leaders. But what are they saying about it? The Russian president has spoken of Gagarin's achievement in glowing terms. “I believe it was a truly revolutionary event, a highly symbolic one", he said during an interview with Chinese television. "It was a tremendous achievement of Soviet cosmonautics, which divided the world into ‘before’ and ‘after’ the flight, what has been termed the ‘space era’. A lot...

Former Cosmonaut Offers First-Hand Account Of The Death Of Yury Gagarin Russian pilot and cosmonaut Vladimir Aksyonov has offered the most plausible account to date of the crash of the fighter jet that killed Yury Gagarin, the first man in space, and Vladimir Seryogin, a regimental commander at the cosmonaut training center where Gagarin was enrolled. Aksyonov, a two-time Hero of the Soviet Union, was with Gagarin at a pre-flight medical exam on March 27, 1968, the day of the crash. He flew in a different plane on that fateful day. Aksyonov presents his unofficial version of events in his...

MOSCOW, April 12 (RIA Novosti) - President Dmitry Medvedev has congratulated space and missile industry workers on their professional holiday - Cosmonautics Day, the presidential press service said on Sunday. "The conquest of outer space became one of the brightest and most unforgivable pages of the 20th century history. The flight by Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961 opened a new epoch in the civilization's development," Medvedev's message read. "The first step in outer space was made thanks to the talent of our outstanding designers and the courage of cosmonauts. And we are rightfully proud of the fact that this...

GAGARIN (Smolensk region), March 9 (Itar-Tass) -- The celebrations dedicated to the 75th birthday anniversary of Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968) will be held in the native city of the first world cosmonaut – Gagarin (Gzhatsk) in the Smolensk region on Monday. Local residents and guests from various Russian regions will participate in the festivities. “Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin’s relatives, delegations from enterprises of the space industry, pilot-cosmonauts Alexei Leonov, Boris Volynov, Sergei Volkov, Viktor Gorbatko, Viktor Afanasyev, Yuri Baturin and young cosmonauts, who are still training to make their first flight are among the guests,” chief of the Gagarin district authorities Vladimir...

As 40 years have passed since Gagarin’s flight, new sensational details of this event were disclosed: Gagarin was not the first man to fly to space. Three Soviet pilots died in attempts to conquer space before Gagarin's famous space flight, Mikhail Rudenko, senior engineer-experimenter with Experimental Design Office 456 (located in Khimki, in the Moscow region) said on Thursday. According to Rudenko, spacecraft with pilots Ledovskikh, Shaborin and Mitkov at the controls were launched from the Kapustin Yar cosmodrome (in the Astrakhan region) in 1957, 1958 and 1959. "All three pilots died during the flights, and their names were never...

The Kremlin has vetoed a move to launch a fresh investigation into the death of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, despite aviation specialists' belief that they have unravelled one of the 20th century's greatest enigmas. The rebuff comes as Russians celebrate Cosmonauts' Day today, the anniversary of Gagarin's historic flight around the Earth on 12 April 1961. That foray, which lasted just 68 minutes, was a milestone in the space race between the Soviet Union and the US. But Gagarin was destined to a short, controversial life. On 27 March 1968, Gagarin died in a mysterious plane crash...

YURI ALEKSEYAVICH GAGARINMarch 9, 1934 - March 27, 1968The first person to travel beyond the planet Earth1961.04.12

The Space Age began 43 years ago today. Man's First Flight Into Space: Vostok 1, 12 April 1961. Crew: Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin [1934-1968] “Three press releases were prepared, one for success, two for failures. It was only known ten minutes after burnout, 25 minutes after launch, if a stable orbit had been achieved. The payload included life-support equipment and radio and television to relay information on the condition of the pilot. The flight was automated; Gagarin's controls were locked to prevent him from taking control of the ship. A key was available in a sealed envelope in case it became...

On 12 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin blasted off the launch pad in Baikonur at 9:08 AM local time.  He was the first human being to travel in space. Yuri was only 27 years old. His historic 108 minute flight took him once around the Earth in the Vostok 1 spacecraft. On Wednesday 27 March 1968, Yuri Gagarin died after his MiG-15 fighter jet crashed. He was 34 years old. Yuri is survived by his wife Valentina and his two daughters, Lenochka and Galochka. In honor of his great contributions to space exploration, a crater on the moon was named after...