Gagarin's flight into space: unknown facts about the most important event of the 20th century

The legendary flight of Gagarin into space still raises many questions, the answers to which remain unsolved.

The first launch of a man into space was to happen before

Just a few years ago, researchers were able to find out that Yuri Alekseevich should have gone into space for the first time not a glorious April day, and a few months before that - in December. This was stated in the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of October 11, 1960. The start of the "East" in winter was prevented by a tragic accident: on October 24, a military missile with fuel was blown up on Baikonur, before launching. As a result, 268 people died, including Marshal Nedelin. Most people literally burned alive. Due to the fact that the State Commission has abandoned all efforts to investigate this incident, Gagarin's flight into space was postponed.

The equipment was reliable only by 50%

Naturally, in the Soviet times this information was carefully hidden. However, the statistics speak for itself: out of the six test launches that preceded the launch of a man into space, three had a tragic outcome. On May 15, 1960, less than a year before Gagarin's flight into space, a ship launched due to a malfunction of the orientation system did not descend to the ground, and continues to fly to our days. September 23 of the same year, right at the start, a rocket exploded, on which were the dogs Krasavka and Damka. On December 1, the launch was more successful: the dogs Bee and Mushka safely moved the start, but due to the fact that the trajectory of the descent at the end of the flight was too steep, the ship was burnt along with the animals that were in it.

And this is not to mention the fact that the tragedies occurred not only in space but also on Earth: during one of the training sessions, V. Bondarenko, the youngest cosmonaut candidate, was killed right in the sound chamber.

The place of the first cosmonaut could take Titov

America could not stay away and with all its might tried to make the first man launch into outer space. Tests were in full swing, though, in the West instead of dogs, missile passengers were monkeys. The United States was eagerly awaited on May 2, 1961 - it was on this day that the most important first start was announced. However, Sergey Korolev could not allow the American to be the first person to go into space. Despite the 50/50 ratio, which did not give any guarantees that Yuri would return alive, the launch of the Soviet spacecraft was appointed a few weeks earlier. In those days, the idea of replacing Gagarin, who had two small daughters, with the childless Herman Titov , was seriously considered . However, Korolev insisted on the candidacy of Yuri Alekseevich and, in his own words, for the rest of his life was proud that he was not mistaken in his choice.

In the first 20 seconds of the flight, the cosmonaut was in greatest danger

Finally, it was April 12, 1961 - the date of Gagarin's flight into space and one of the most significant events of the twentieth century. The most risk was concealment in itself exactly the launch of the rocket. The scheme of the flight assumed various options for rescuing the astronaut at various stages. Except the first 20 seconds. In the event of an explosion of the launch vehicle, Yuri Alekseevich's chair would have been catapulted to a height insufficient to open the parachute. It was for this purpose that the "emergency rescue system" was invented, consisting of four large guys who were sitting near the start in a special shelter and had a large nylon net ready. If the accident occurred, they had to jump out of the hiding place and catch the cosmonaut the way firemen catch people jumping from the upper floors of burning buildings.

The authorities prepared three appeals to the people at once

Nobody had any confidence that Gagarin's flight into space would be successful. Therefore, for TASS, three appeals were prepared: in case the experiment is successful, the second - if the spacecraft can not go into orbit, and the third one - about the tragic death of the cosmonaut.

If there had already been an emergency in outer space, as a result of which the brake motors would have refused, the ship would have remained in the Earth's orbit. The "East" was designed in such a way that in such a situation the ship could, "clinging" to the upper layer of the atmosphere, slow down the movement and calmly land or splash somewhere. However, this would not happen in 1 hour, but on the 7-10th day. To this end, a reserve of water, food and air was created, which should have been sufficient for ten days.

The danger also lurked in the fact that, despite many checks and preparation days, there remained the risk of a neuro-psychic breakdown in the astronaut. To prevent this, Gagarin was ordered to constantly negotiate with the Earth. And he did it all 108 minutes of his flight.

Rocket was a miracle?

Despite all the assurances of the Soviet authorities, the launch and the flight itself did not go according to plan. Repeatedly there were supernumerary situations. For example, at the very beginning the rocket leakage sensor did not work. Because of this, a couple of minutes before the start the designers had to unscrew, and then screw back the 32 bolts on the hatch cover. Then there was a failure on the communication line. Instead of the signal "5" suddenly went the figure "3", which meant that the ship had an accident. The aggregate compartment was not separated for a long time, which could lead to a fire of the rocket, the armor of the spacesuit stuck and Gagarin did not suffocate by a miracle, when he descended the ship began tumbling randomly ...

However, the flight ended successfully and became one of the most significant events in the history of the Cold War between the USSR and the United States, and in the history of all mankind as a whole.

Mistakes with the landing of the "East" hid for many decades in a row

The Soviet authorities claimed that Gagarin had landed in the designated area. In fact, scientists have recalculated several times and none of the results have been correct. In fact, Yuri Alekseevich landed, having catapulted himself from the ship in the Saratov region. The first people who saw the cosmonaut were Anna Takhtarova, the wife of the forester, and her granddaughter Rita. Seeing the man in a strange suit, the old woman was frightened at first, but the cosmonaut reassured her, shouting: "My own, my own, Soviet!"

Thus Gagarin's flight into space ended. The year and day of this event - April 12, 1961 - undoubtedly, marked the beginning of a new era in the history of the development of mankind.