April 12, 1961 marked history as день [the day] when весь мир [the whole world] learned that human exploration of outer space was possible. On that date, a 27 year old Soviet пило́т [pilot] and космона́вт [astronaut] Ю́рий Гага́рин [Yuri Gagarin] circled the Earth for 1 hour and 48 minutes aboard his Восто́к 1 [Vostok 1] spacecraft.
April 12, 1961, marked history as день [the day] when весь мир [the whole world] learned that human exploration of outer space was possible. On that date, a 27-year-old Soviet пило́т [pilot] and космона́вт [astronaut] Ю́рий Гага́рин [Yuri Gagarin] circled the Earth for 1 hour and 48 minutes aboard his Восто́к 1 [Vostok 1] spacecraft, famously exclaiming “Поехали!” [“Let’s go!”] as he launched в кóсмос [into space].
In Gagarin’s own words, this is what spaceflight felt like:
“The feeling of weightlessness was somewhat unfamiliar compared with Earth conditions. Here, you feel as if you were hanging in a horizontal position in straps. You feel as if you are suspended” (Siddiqi, p. 278).
But before Ю́рий Гага́рин [Yuri Gagarin], the first путеше́ственники [travelers] to explore ко́смос [space] had four legs! In 1957, the courageous соба́ка-космона́вт [cosmonaut dog] Ла́йка [Laika] became the first living being to orbit Земля́[Earth] aboard Спу́тник-2 [Sputnik 2], paving the way for human spaceflight. Though she never returned, her journey was a milestone in space exploration.
In 1960, the fearless четвероно́гие иссле́дователи [four-legged explorers] Бе́лка [Belka, literally “squirrel” or “Whitey”] and Стре́лка [Strelka, meaning “Arrow”] soared into orbit aboard Кора́бль-Спу́тник-2 [Korabl-Sputnik-2]. Unlike Laika, they safely returned на Зе́млю [to Earth], proving that living beings could survive косми́ческий полёт [spaceflight].
Since Gagarin’s historic flight, мно́го космона́втов [many astronauts] have traveled to ко́смос [space], expanding our knowledge вселéнной [of the universe]. Some never returned на Зе́млю [to Earth], yet their courage продолжáет вдохновлять [continues to inspire].
Let’s honor them all on this пра́здник [holiday].
С Днём Космона́втики! – Happy Cosmonautics Day to those who посвящáют [dedicate] their lives звёздам [to the stars]!
