If you go to Russia, you’ll know that most believe Neil Armstrong was a fraud and the moon landing a conspiracy.
The Russian space industry is gone. Their engines and rockets are obsolete, and the market is not interested.
Bye!
In the meantime, they’re making 400 foot tall rockets that will re land.
Ef Russia.
Ask 9 out of 10 Americans who Yuri Gagarin was and you’ll get blank stares.
So why should out State Dept. care if the Rooskies are upset?
I don’t know anything about an international observance of spaceflight. But, I DO know, that Yuri Gagarin was one brace dude. It took the USA quite a while to make an orbital mission. I’ve always respected Gagarin as a hero in the same vein as the Wright’s or Lindbergh.
That’s just my opinion.
Because the first human to survive a launch into space is not really meaningful in the grand sense. It’s not like there’s a huge national celebration of John Glenn either. Landing live humans on the moon? Yeah that’s a big freaking deal.
Somebody should ask Russia when they will start mentioning the USA’s contribution to the victory of WWII in their history books and schools.
First maybe Russia should let us know about the ones that went up....and didn’t come back.
Based on the reputation of Soviet workmanship Gagarin was indeed a very brave man to strap himself into that flying bomb.
Yuri Gagarin, first man in space. You can’t take them from them. Gagarin died in a plane crash just 7 years later.
Also, it was commonly reported that Yuri said that he didn’t see God in space. However, it turns out that was atheistic propaganda promulgated by Krushchev himself. In reality, Gagarin was a Christian believer. Check out this interesting article:
https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars/2011/04/yuri-gagarin-first-human-in-space-was-a-devout-christian-says-his-close-friend.html
Did Russia mention that Yuri Gagarin’s flight was sabotaged because he was a political threat to power?
Yuri Gagarin and all of the early Space pioneers had guts to climb on top of any of those rockets.
I was more of a fan of the first two classes of Astronauts in the US. I looked at the Russians as “decent players, but for the wrong team.”
After 50 years, it’s time to start recognizing all of them.
I would love to see the US taking the lead in bringing humans to LEO, to the moon, and beyond.
Gagarin is a legend worthy of our respect.
I guess I would've named him, but it took thousands of people to make that happen.
I recall the Sputnik days, and yes Yuri was the first in space. For that simple fact that parallels so many of history’s other firsts, his name should be worth mentioning regardless of what Russia was back then or what their space program is today.
This flight is just as memorable as someone taking their shoe and pounding it on a table at the United Nations just six months prior.
Orbits naturally pass over all kinds of airspace. Eisenhower wanted the Soviets to establish the safe passage precedent first so that America could use space as a spy platform. He sacrificed the glory and the bragging rights for national defense.
He should have been remembered. There’s no reason to be ill-mannered even if Russians are. He was one brave dude to ride a Russian rocket. First man into space since Gilgamesh.