Vostok 1 ' onMouseout='HidePop("90315")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Orient">Orient
The Orient is a term which means "the East". It is a traditional designation for anything belonging to the Orient or Far East. In English it is a metonym describing Eastern Asia. It was also used to indicate the eastern direction in historical astronomy as the adjective Oriental.- Derivation :The...
1 or
EastEast is a direction in geography. It is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points, opposite of west and at right angles to north and south. East is the direction toward which the Earth rotates about its axis, and therefore the general direction from which the Sun appears to rise...
1) was the first
human spaceflightHuman spaceflight is spaceflight with a human crew and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike robotic space probes or remotely-controlled satellites...
.
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Vostok 1 ' onMouseout='HidePop("90315")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Orient">Orient
The Orient is a term which means "the East". It is a traditional designation for anything belonging to the Orient or Far East. In English it is a metonym describing Eastern Asia. It was also used to indicate the eastern direction in historical astronomy as the adjective Oriental.- Derivation :The...
1 or
EastEast is a direction in geography. It is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points, opposite of west and at right angles to north and south. East is the direction toward which the Earth rotates about its axis, and therefore the general direction from which the Sun appears to rise...
1) was the first
human spaceflightHuman spaceflight is spaceflight with a human crew and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike robotic space probes or remotely-controlled satellites...
. The Vostok 3KA spacecraft was launched on April 12, 1961, taking into space
Yuri GagarinYuri Alekseyevich Gagarin , Hero of the Soviet Union, was a Soviet cosmonaut. On 12 April 1961, he became the first human in outer space and the first to orbit the Earth...
, a
cosmonautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
from the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
. The Vostok 1 mission was the first time anyone had journeyed into
outer spaceOuter space comprises the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. Outer space is used to distinguish it from airspace and terrestrial locations....
and the first time anyone had entered into orbit. The Vostok 1 was launched by the
Soviet space programThe Soviet space program refers to the rocketry and space exploration programs conducted by the Soviet Union from the 1930s until its dissolution in 1991...
and designed by the Soviet rocket scientists
Sergey KorolyovSergey Pavlovich Korolyov , , , was the head Soviet rocket engineer and designer during the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s...
and
Kerim KerimovKerim Aliyevich Kerimov was an Azerbaijani Soviet rocket scientist, one of the founders of the Soviet space industry, and for many years a central figure in the Soviet space program. Despite his prominent role, his identity was kept a secret from the public for most of his career...
.
Crew
Backup crew
Reserve crew
Mission parameters
- Mass
In physics, mass commonly refers to any of three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent: inertial mass, active gravitational mass and passive gravitational mass...
:
- Perigee:
- Apogee:
- Inclination
Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.- Orbits :The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
: 64.95°
- Period
The orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...
: 89.34 minutes
Mission timeline
- Wednesday, April 12, 1961 Minutes before his launch, Yuri Gagarin recorded this statement, "Dear friends, known and unknown to me, my dear compatriots and all people of the world! Within minutes from now, a mighty Soviet rocket will boost my ship into the vastness of outer space. What I want to tell you is this. My whole life is now before me as a single breathtaking moment. I feel I can muster up my strength for successfully carrying out what is expected of me."
- Countdown begins Yuri Gagarin is in the Vostok 1 spacecraft on the launchpad. His television picture appears on television
Television is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
screens in the launch control room from an onboard television camera. Sergey KorolyovSergey Pavlovich Korolyov , , , was the head Soviet rocket engineer and designer during the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s...
speaks into a microphone: " calling (Gagarin's call sign). The countdown is about to start." Gagarin replied, "Roger. Feeling fine, excellent spirits, ready to go."
- 06:07 UTC Launch occurs from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppes of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 metres above sea level...
Site No.1; after Gagarin's flight that launch pad became known as Gagarin's StartGagarin's Start is a launch site at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, used for the Soviet space program and now managed by the Russian Federal Space Agency....
. At ignition and liftoff, Sergey Korolyov radios, "Preliminary stage..... intermediate..... main..... LIFT OFF! We wish you a good flight. Everything is all right." Gagarin replies, " (Off we go!)."
- 06:09 UTC Two minutes into the flight and the four strap-on booster sections of the Vostok rocket have used up the last of their propellant, they shut down and drop away from the core vehicle. (T+ 119 s)
- 06:10 UTC The payload shroud covering Vostok 1 is released, this uncovers the window at Gagarin's feet with the optical orientation device (lit. "eye"). (T+ 156 s)
- 06:12 UTC Five minutes into the flight and the Vostok rocket core stage has used up its propellant, shuts down and falls away from the Vostok spacecraft and final rocket stage. The final rocket stage ignites to continue the journey to orbit. (T+ 300 s)
- 06:13 UTC The rocket is still firing, pushing Vostok 1 toward orbit. Gagarin reports, " .. the flight is continuing well. I can see the Earth. The visibility is good. ... I almost see everything. There's a certain amount of space under cumulus cloud cover. I continue the flight, everything is good."
- 06:14 UTC The rocket continues to fire, starting to pass over central Russia now. Gagarin reports, "Everything is working very well. All systems are working. Let's keep going!"
- 06:15 UTC Three minutes into the burn of the final rocket stage and Gagarin reports, ", I can't hear you very well. I feel fine. I'm in good spirits. I'm continuing the flight..." Vostok 1 is moving further downrange from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. He is reporting back to (the Baikonur ground station) and must be starting to move out of radio range of that station.
- 06:17 UTC The Vostok rocket final stage shuts down, ten seconds later the spacecraft separates and Vostok 1 reaches orbit. (T+ 676 s) Gagarin reports, "The craft is operating normally. I can see Earth in the view port of the . Everything is proceeding as planned". Vostok 1 passes over Russia and moves on over Siberia
Siberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
.
- 06:21 UTC Vostok 1 passes over the Kamchatka peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometer long peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of 472,300 km². It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
and out over the North Pacific Ocean. Gagarin radios, "...the lights are on on the descent mode monitor. I'm feeling fine, and I'm in good spirits. Cockpit parameters: pressure 1; humidity 65; temperature 20; pressure in the compartment 1; first automatic 155; second automatic 155; pressure in the retro-rocket system 320 atmospheres..."
- 06:25 UTC As Vostok 1 begins its diagonal crossing of the Pacific Ocean from Kamchatka peninsula to the southern tip of South America, Gagarin asks, "What can you tell me about the flight? What can you tell me?". He is requesting information about his orbital parameters. The ground station at Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk is the administrative center and the largest city of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some 30 km from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District...
reports back, "There are no instructions from No. 20 (Sergey Korolyov), and the flight is proceeding normally" They are telling Gagarin that they don't have his orbital parameters yet because the spacecraft has been in orbit for only 6 minutes, but the spacecraft systems are performing well.
- 06:31 UTC Gagarin transmits to the Khabarovsk ground station, "I feel splendid, very well, very well, very well. Give me some results on the flight!". Vostok 1 is nearing the VHF radio horizon
In telecommunication, radio horizon is the locus of points at which direct rays from an antenna are tangential to the surface of the Earth. If the Earth were a perfect sphere and there were no atmospheric anomalies, the radio horizon would be a circle...
for Khabarovsk and they respond, "Repeat. I can't hear you very well". Gagarin transmits again, "I feel very good. Give me your data on the flight!" Vostok 1 passes out of VHF range of the Khabarovsk ground station and contact is lost.
- 06:37 UTC Vostok 1 continues on its journey as the Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 99.86% of the Solar System's mass....
sets over the North Pacific. Gagarin crosses into night, northwest of the Hawaiian IslandsThe Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of 19 islands and atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll. Excluding Midway, which is an unincorporated territory of the...
. Out of VHF range with ground stations, communications must now take place via HF radio.
- 06:46 UTC Khabarovsk ground station sends the message "KK" via telegraph (on HF radio to Vostok 1). This message means, "Report the monitoring of commands." They were asking Gagarin to report when the spacecraft automated descent system had received its instructions from the ground control. Gagarin reported back at 06:48 UTC.
- 06:48 UTC Vostok 1 crosses the equator at about 170° West, traveling in a south east direction and begins crossing the South Pacific. Gagarin transmits over HF radio, "I am transmitting the regular report message: 9 hours 48 minutes (Moscow Time), the flight is proceeding successfully. Spusk-1 is operating normally. The mobile index of the descent mode monitor is moving. Pressure in the cockpit is 1; humidity 65; temperature 20; pressure in the compartment 1.2 ... Manual 150; First automatic 155; second automatic 155; retro rocket system tanks 320 atmospheres. I feel fine..."
- 06:49 UTC Gagarin reports he is on the night side of the Earth.
- 06:51 UTC Gagarin reports the sun-seeking attitude control system had been switched on. The sun-seeking attitude control system is used to orient Vostok 1 for retrofire. The automated orientation system consisted of two redundant systems: an automatic/solar orientation system and a manual/visual orientation system. Either system could operate the two redundant cold nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere.Many industrially important...
gas thruster systems, each with of gas.
- 06:53 UTC The Khabarovsk ground station sends Gagarin the following message via HF radio, "By order of No.33 (General Nikolai Kamanin
Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin was a Soviet aviator, awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1934 for the rescue of SS Chelyuskin crew from an improvised airfield on the frozen surface of the Chukchi Sea near Kolyuchin Island.In World War II he successfully commanded air brigade, air division...
) the transmitters have been switched on, and we are transmitting this: the flight is proceeding as planned and the orbit is as calculated." They are telling Gagarin that Vostok 1 is in a stable orbit. He acknowledges the message.
- 06:57 UTC Vostok 1 is over the South Pacific
Oceania is a geographical, often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Dumont d'Urville...
between New Zealand and ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
when Gagarin sends this message, "...I'm continuing the flight, and I'm over America. I transmitted the telegraph signal "ON".
- 07:00 UTC Vostok 1 crosses the Strait of Magellan
The Strait of Magellan comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland Chile and north of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego...
at the tip of South America. News of the Vostok 1 mission is broadcast on Radio Moscow.
- 07:04 UTC Gagarin sends spacecraft status message, similar to the one sent at 06:48. The message is not received by ground stations.
- 07:09 UTC Gagarin sends spacecraft status message, the message is not received by ground stations.
- 07:10 UTC Passing over the South Atlantic, the Sun rises and Vostok 1 is in daylight again. Vostok 1 is 15 minutes from retrofire.
- 07:13 UTC Gagarin sends spacecraft status message, similar to the one sent at 06:48. Moscow picks up this partial message from Gagarin, "I read you well. The flight is going..."
- 07:18 UTC Gagarin sends spacecraft status message, the message is not received by ground stations.
- 07:23 UTC Gagarin sends spacecraft status message, the message is not received by ground stations.
- 07:25 UTC Vostok 1 is in retrofire attitude. The retros are fired for about 42 seconds as the spacecraft nears Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the...
on the west coast of Africa. Retrofire takes place about from the planned landing point in Russia.
- 07:25 to 07:35 UTC Ten seconds after retrofire, commands are sent to separate the Vostok service module
A service module is a spacecraft compartment containing a variety of support systems used for spacecraft operations. Usually located in the uninhabited area of the spacecraft, the service module is jettisoned upon the completion of the mission, and usually burns up during atmospheric reentry...
from the reentry module . One bundle of wires fails to release and the two sections of the spacecraft remain attached for another 10 minutes. Vostok 1 crosses the west coast of Africa and continues over central Africa heading towards EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
.
- 07:35 UTC The two halves of the spacecraft begin reentry and go through wild gyrations as Vostok 1 nears Egypt. Finally, the wire bundle burns through and releases the reentry module. Gagarin telegraphs "Everything is OK" despite continuing gyrations; he later reported that he did not want to "make noise" as he had (correctly) reasoned that the gyrations did not endanger the mission (apparently due to the spherical shape of the reentry module).
- 07:35 to 07:55 UTC Reentry continues over Egypt and out over the Mediterranean, near the west coast of Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon....
and then central TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
. Continuing to drop lower, Vostok 1 crosses back into the Soviet Union on the Black Seaur a loser!The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to...
coast near KrasnodarKrasnodar is a city in Southern Russia on the Kuban River. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai .-Name:It was founded on January 12, 1794 as Yekaterinodar...
. Gagarin experiences 8 g'sThe g-force experienced by an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. The term g-force is considered a misnomer, as g-force is not a force but an acceleration....
(Gagarin's own report states "over 10 g's") during reentryAtmospheric reentry refers to the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a planet from outer space, in the case of Earth from an altitude above the "edge of space." This article primarily addresses the process of controlled reentry of vehicles which are intended...
but remains conscious.
- 07:55 UTC Vostok 1 is still 7 km from the ground. The hatch is released and two seconds later Gagarin ejects from Vostok 1. At altitude, the main parachute is deployed from the Vostok spacecraft. The Vostok 1 lands at 07:55 UTC. Two schoolgirls witness the Vostok landing and described the scene: "It was a huge ball, about two or three metres high. It fell, then it bounced and then it fell again. There was a huge hole where it hit the first time."
- 08:05 UTC Gagarin, because his parachute opened at a much higher altitude than Vostok 1 ( vs. 2.5 km), lands about 10 minutes after his spacecraft. Both he and the spacecraft land via parachute south west of Engels
Engels is a city in Saratov Oblast, Russia. It is a port on the Volga River, located across from Saratov and connected to it with a bridge . Population: 163,000 ; 130,000 ; 91,000 ; 22,000 ....
, in the Saratov regionSaratov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Saratov. Major cities include Balakovo and Engels Saratov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal...
at . A farmer and her daughter observed the strange scene of a figure in a bright orange suit with a large white helmet landing near them by parachute. Gagarin later recalled, "When they saw me in my space suit and the parachute dragging alongside as I walked, they started to back away in fear. I told them, don't be afraid, I am a Soviet like you, who has descended from space and I must find a telephone to call Moscow!".
External links
Annotated transcript of Gagarin's radio conversations with ground stations, starting 2hrs (4:10 UTC) before launch