Yuri Gagarin: biography and personal life

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

Yuri Gagarin became the man who was able to carry out the first flight into outer space. With his feat, he glorified his country. A short biography of Yuri Gagarin (in English, Russian, Ukrainian) is in many encyclopedic reference books, history textbooks. He managed to open a completely new page in the conquest of space. He was a model and an ideal for a whole generation. During his lifetime, he has already become a real legend and a man-symbol. An interesting biography of Yuri Gagarin for children and adults, as this is our story.

Military childhood

We will start posting a brief biography of Yuri Gagarin, perhaps, from the very beginning, from the moment of his birth. The future cosmonaut was born in the early spring of 1934 in the village of Klushino, in the Smolensk region. Gagarin was the 3rd of 4 children. The parents of the future cosmonaut were peasants. Fatherworked as a carpenter, and my mother worked at one of the dairy farms. By the way, Gagarin's grandfather was once a worker at the famous Putilov factory. Accordingly, he lived in the northern capital.

Yuri's childhood passed quite calmly. Parents tried to pay great attention to their son. So, the head of the family made wooden crafts and, accordingly, tried to introduce his children to this skill.

Biography of Yuri Gagarin for children (brief content in the article) contains information that when the war began, he was preparing to become a first grader. Despite wartime, on the first of September, Yuri went to school for the first time. But in the middle of autumn, his village was occupied by the Nazi troops. Of course, the study was interrupted overnight.

For a year and a half, the Germans ruled in Klushino. Little Gagarin clearly remembered them, but years later he tried not to remember these events. After all, the entire Gagarin family was driven out into the street, and the Germans decided to set up their own workshop in the parental home. The Gagarins were forced to dig a small dugout and lay out a stove. And so they lived. Before the retreat, the Nazis decided to take the Klushino youth with them. Among them were the astronaut's sister and brother.

In early April 1943, the Red Army liberated the village. And school has resumed again.

In the capital

When the war ended, the Gagarin family decided to move to Gzhatsk, where Yuri continued his studies.

In the spring of 1949, he graduated from the 6th grade. Tothis time he felt constrained in this small town. And so he went to the capital. The astronaut's parents did their best to dissuade him from an ambitious decision. But they could not do this. Thus, young Gagarin ended up in Moscow.

In the capital, he was sheltered by relatives. He began to study at one of the vocational schools in Lyubertsy. In parallel, he attended a school for working youth, mastering the program for the 7th grade. During this period, the future cosmonaut became seriously interested in basketball. He even led the team, becoming its captain.

In May 1951, Gagarin already graduated from the eighth grade, and in June of the same year he brilliantly passed the final exams at the school, becoming a professional moulder - foundry worker.

First flights

Gagarin continued his studies in Saratov. He entered the industrial college. As a student, he first enrolled in the city flying club. This was in 1954. This club periodically gave lectures on the work of the founding fathers of astronautics, including Tsiolkovsky, of course. After such reports, Gagarin literally "fell ill" with the idea of flights beyond the Earth. True, then he probably still could not imagine how this hobby would turn out.

In 1955, the future cosmonaut graduated from a technical school. By this time, he continued to study at the flying club and even made several flights on a training aircraft himself. In general, Gagarin performed almost 200 flights there and flew about 40 minutes.

Army service

In the same year, Gagarin was drafted into the armed forces. He served in the military aviation school,that in Chkalov (now Orenburg). It was then that he had a rather serious conflict, which almost cost him his career and life. The fact is that the future cosmonaut was appointed assistant platoon commander. And since the young man was very strict in terms of discipline, his fellow students suffered. One day they decided to beat their platoon commander. As a result, the young man ended up in the hospital and stayed there for one month. Note that when Gagarin left the medical unit, he did not change his attitude towards his charges.

In general, the future astronaut learned everything pretty quickly. The only thing is that he could not land the plane correctly. Because of this, he was almost expelled from the school. Fortunately, the head of the institution was reputed to be a fair and considerate person. It was he who noticed that the growth of the cadet was rather small, and this was precisely the reason for his failures with the landing. An experiment was carried out and the pilot's seat was slightly raised. This assumption turned out to be absolutely correct.

As a result, in the middle of autumn 1957, Gagarin brilliantly graduated from college and went to further service in one of the fighter aviation divisions in the Murmansk region. Its part was deployed in the village of Luostari.

A Fateful Decision

Gagarin was in this division for two years. By this time, he had risen to the rank of senior lieutenant and military pilot first class. At the same time, he learned that the Soviet authorities were officially beginning to search for and select candidates for space flight. Yuri immediately wrote a report to his superiors and asked to enroll him as a candidate.

After a while, Gagarin was summoned to the capital. He had to undergo a comprehensive medical examination. As it turned out, in the selection of his merits and skills practically did not matter. Korolev personally handled the checks of applicants. First of all, he was interested in the physical data of the candidates. The fact is that the first spacecraft were limited in terms of size and carrying capacity. In other words, Gagarin's growth, which almost cost him his career, has now turned out to be a real lucky ticket. After all, if Gagarin were somewhat larger, he would not fit into the spacecraft.

Be that as it may, after a rigorous selection of the future cosmonaut approved as a candidate. Note that in this detachment there were twenty potential future space pioneers. In the early spring of 1960, Gagarin had already started training directly.

The day before

Over time, the leadership selected only six applicants out of 20, then three. Well, in the final race for this championship, two candidates were determined. They were German Titov and Yuri Gagarin.

By and large, Academician Korolev was in a hurry. He had information that on April 20, 1961, the American authorities intended to carry out the first flight of a US citizen into space. That is why the launch of the Soviet rocket was planned for April 11 - 17 of the same year. But the one who still goes into outer space was determined at the very last moment. A closed meeting of the State Commission was specially convened. They say that Titov was considered the most prepared for a manned flight into space. But, in the end, the leadership still chose Gagarin's candidacy. Allegedly, there was also a political factor in the choice. For the first conqueror of space in the future should become a real symbol of the Land of the Soviets. And since Gagarin had a clean biography and Slavic appearance, the authorities decided that he would be the most suitable for the role of the first person to conquer space. Titov was appointed as an understudy for Yuri.

In addition, the leadership has prepared in advance three official messages related to human spaceflight. The first is if the flight is successful. The second is if the astronaut lands on the territory of another state. And finally, the third - if a disaster occurs and the Soviet cosmonaut does not return alive …

First in space

The first manned flight was fraught with enormous risks for the life of Yuri Gagarin (a brief biography of the cosmonaut does not hide this fact). So, because of the haste, a number of important systems were not duplicated at all. The Vostok apparatus did not have a soft landing system. In addition, there was a real chance that when launched, the ship would not take off and die along with the pilot. For at that time there was no emergency rescue system.

Nevertheless, on April 12, 1961, a spacecraft with a man on board took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. During the initial phase of the flight, the astronaut climbed a hundred kilometers higher than it was originally intended. Also foundbrake related problems. In the worst case, Gagarin would return to his native planet for more than a month. But on board, the food and water supply was only enough for ten days.

Be that as it may, the first cosmonaut was able to complete one revolution around the Earth. Gagarin's journey lasted 108 minutes. After that, the Vostok completed its scheduled flight. Note, one second earlier than intended.

Besides, due to malfunctions in the braking system, the astronaut landed in the wrong place. He ended up in the Saratov region. Of course, absolutely no one expected such a distinguished guest. But Gagarin was found and taken to the nearest village. And it was from there that he already called the management with a report. He reported that he landed successfully, he is he althy and there are no injuries at all.

Nationwide glory

In fact, the legendary flight on the Vostok spacecraft was secret and was not covered by the media at all. Journalists learned about the event only the next day. In addition, initially a grandiose meeting of the first cosmonaut in the Soviet capital was not planned at all. Only at the last moment did the head of the USSR insist on a decent reception for Gagarin.

As a result, on April 14, a multi-thousand festival in honor of the conqueror of space took place on Red Square. People saw the hero with their own eyes. The event grew into a spontaneous three-hour demonstration.

After that, the celebration continued in the Kremlin. A number of constructors were called. True, their names at that time were not specifically called yet. The future Secretary General L. Brezhnev presented the cosmonaut with awards - the Order of Lenin and the Golden Star of the Hero. By the way, immediately after the space flight he was promoted. He became a major.

In a word, the young man from Klushino overnight turned into a world star. By the way, on that day, in honor of the astronaut, many parents called newborn boys Yuri.

A month later, the so-called. "Mission of Peace". Gagarin had to visit about 20 states. On this tour, the cosmonaut was able to establish himself as a charming and tactful man, and his personal charisma was able to further strengthen the positive image of the Soviet Union.

What else can a brief biography of Gagarin Yuri Alekseevich tell? He also met with the British Queen Elizabeth II. Contrary to etiquette, she took a picture with the astronaut. She explained that the conqueror of space is not an ordinary, earthly person, but a heavenly one. Therefore, there was no violation of royal etiquette…

Life on earth

As the short biography tells, Gagarin Yury Alekseevich the next years, basically, was engaged only in public activity. And, accordingly, for some time he did not have the necessary flight practice. He was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, a member of the Central Committee of the Komsomol and a delegate to two congresses of this organization. He also headed the Soviet-Cuban friendship society and was elected an honorary member of the USSR-Finland society, etc.

In the early autumn of 1961, he decided to enter the famous Zhukovsky Flight Academy. Three years laterhe became deputy head of the Cosmonaut Training Center. He also led a detachment of cosmonauts of the Soviet Union.

In 1966, he began training under the Soyuz program. It was then that he became the understudy of cosmonaut Komarov, who carried out the first takeoff into space on a new type of apparatus. However, this flight was aborted ahead of schedule and, as a result, ended in the tragic death of Komarov. Perhaps, if Academician Korolyov had been alive, Gagarin could have been in this ship as the main pilot. The fact is that at one time the academician promised him that he would go on a completely new ship.

Besides, Gagarin worked very closely on the implementation of space flights to the Moon. He was a member of one of these crews. But the lunar program was subsequently curtailed.

Gagarin was not allowed to fly a fighter on his own. However, he was able to officially regain his qualifications as a fighter pilot.

The first flight after a long break, he made at the very end of 1967. He landed only on the second run. As a result, this fact became a serious reason for the fears of the Soviet leadership to lose Cosmonaut No. 1 in the event of a possible accident.

In the middle of the winter of 1968, Gagarin defended his graduation project at the Zhukovsky Academy. Members of the state examination commission decided to give him the qualification of "pilot-engineer-cosmonaut". He was also recommended for postgraduate studies at this academy…

Death

According to the biography, the astronautYuri Gagarin, having defended his diploma, began the direct preparation of new flights. At the end of March, he was supposed to take to the skies on a MIG training jet. Pilot Vladimir Seregin became an instructor.

27 March both pilots were on a training flight. After 12 minutes, Gagarin reported that the training task had already been completed. The controllers were going to give permission for the landing, but the pilots stopped responding. After some time, when the MIG should run out of fuel, an active search for the missing began. Three hours later, the wreckage of the fighter and the bodies of the pilots were found.

As it turned out later, the SU-15 turned out to be next to the MiG of Seregin and Gagarin. This fighter with its flow drove Gagarin's plane into a tailspin. The pilots did not manage to get their aircraft out of the fall.

The country plunged into mourning. The bodies of the victims were cremated. And the urns with the ashes were buried in the Kremlin wall…

In the family

In the second half of the 50s, Gagarin met Valentina Goryacheva. She worked in the Medical Directorate at the MCC. According to him, it was love at first sight. In 1957, the lovers got married. After that, the newlyweds went to the Arctic, where the future astronaut began to serve. It was there, in 1959, that the couple had their first child, daughter Lena. Subsequently, she will head the Moscow Kremlin Museum-Reserve.

Just a month before the legendary space flight, the second daughter was born. They named her Galina. Later, she became the head of one of the departments of the G. Plekhanov Academy of Economics.

According to the memories, chapterfamilies have always managed to find time for their daughters. And they, in turn, adored their father.

The daughters of Yuri Gagarin (the astronaut's biography is presented to your attention in the article) were very fond of animals. That is why not only chickens, ducks, squirrels, but also doe lived in the house. The wife resisted this passion for the home zoo for a long time. However, later she was forced to accept.

After the death of her husband, Yuri Gagarin's wife (the biography confirms this fact) never got married.

Grandchildren appeared in the Gagarin family - daughter Katya and son Yura. Ekaterina became an art critic, and her grandson decided to take up public administration.

Interesting facts

1. Historical phrase "Let's go!" was a quote from one of the works of the English writer Charles Dickens.
2. In flight, the callsign of the first cosmonaut was "Kedr".
3. Despite Gagarin's active social life, the cosmonaut was always able to find time for hobbies and hobbies. So, he was engaged in collecting cacti and water skiing.
4. Back on Earth, Gagarin decided to write a documentary children's story. It's called "I See the Earth…".
5. In honor of the legendary flight, breeders were able to develop a completely new variety of gladioli. It's called Gagarin's Smile.
6. An avant-garde record label from Germany bears Gagarin's name.
7. Two feature films were shot about the astronaut. These are “So the legend began” (1976) and “Gagarin. First in space” (2013).
8. For oneFor decades, a comic strip was published on the pages of the famous Vice edition, the main character of which was Yuri Gagarin. Thanks to him, the biography of Yuri Gagarin in English became known.