April 12, 1961: Yuri Gagarin becomes first human in space

On April 12, 1961 Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin flew aboard Vostok 1 and completed a single 108-minute orbit of Earth. The Vostok 1 mission launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, and Gagarin ejected from the capsule and landed by parachute after a planned separation. Gagarin was 27 years old at the time, and the flight rode a Vostok-K rocket derived from the R-7 ICBM. The mission delivered a major prestige victory for the Soviet Union and accelerated U.S. efforts, leading to Alan Shepard’s suborbital flight on May 5, 1961.