To the Day of Cosmonautics portal 7days.ru remember the most interesting moments of the life of the legendary Soviet cosmonaut.

April 12, 1961, exactly 55 years ago, has come true the most daring ideas
dreamers and visionaries: the man flew to the stars. 108-minute flight around the Earth of Yuri Gagarin on Board the spaceship “Vostok-1” became one of the most impressive victories of the Soviet Union – and opened the way to space throughout the planet. To this significant date 7days.ru collected five crucial facts from the life of the first cosmonaut.

Fact # 1. Could be expelled from flight school

Yuri Gagarin. Still from the film “First flight to the stars”. 1961

Photo: TASS

Passion for aviation Yury Gagarin began shortly before
conscription for military service. In 1954, while studying in Saratov
industrial College, he became fascinated with aviation and joined the local flying club. And made his first solo flight on a training plane “Yak-18”. And in the autumn of the following year he was drafted into the army and sent to study in
Orenburg aviation school.

Taught cadets to fly the instructor Anatoly Kolosov. He saved Gagarin from possible deductions. The fact that Gagarin did not landing. It was considered that the effect of inadequate plaque at the flying club. Despite excellent scores in all disciplines, head of the College was proposed to expel a student. But Kolosov said: “the huge Desire for this young man to become a pilot!” And there was another problem: Gagarin was allowed additional training. Besides, the head of school drew
attention to the low growth Gagarin — 165
cm (according to other sources — 157 cm). Perhaps because of this changing angle? To the next flight cadet on the seat put a thick lining. And Yuri managed the flight and landing! In 1957 Gagarin graduated from the flying school with honors.

Fact # 2. Yuri Gagarin won the secret ballot

Yuri Gagarin and Sergei Korolev in Evpatoria. 1968

Photo: TASS

In the end
1959 Yuri Gagarin learned about the selection of astronauts for preflight,
on Board the spaceship “Vostok-1” and wrote the official report with the request to enlist it in
a group of candidates. Designer Sergey Pavlovich Korolev was firmly
I am sure that the first person in space should be the pilot jet
fighter aircraft. The selection of the astronauts was extremely complex: in addition to excellent health,
candidates had to be professionally prepared, psychologically
steady and disciplined.

In the psychological portrait of Gagarin stated,
he’s confident, healthy, well-developed intellectually and physically, has
phenomenal memory, leadership qualities, the leader and the will to win. Took Gagarin and growth: males above 170 cm in the astronauts, not
took. When it came to the choice of who will fly the first 20 candidates? Queens chose Gagarin as
main astronaut and his backup Gherman Titov. Eyewitnesses recalled that before the flight in the squadron arranged a secret ballot. The majority of candidates named Gagarin as the most worthy. 12 April 1961 Yuri Gagarin uttered the now famous “Go!” and went around the Earth. He flew in with the rank of Lieutenant, and returned the major.

Fact # 3. His future wife met at a dance

Yuri Gagarin with his wife Valentina and daughters Galya and Lena. 1964

Photo: TASS

With my future spouse Gagarin met at one of the dance evenings of the Orenburg flight school. Valentina Ivanovna Gagarina (maiden name — Goryacheva) was born in Orenburg on December 15, 1935. After school, he worked at the Telegraph, and in his spare time running around with her friends to the dance. She liked Yuri at once. He invited her to dance, and after the waltz offered the following weekend to go skiing. After the walk, the young people started Dating, but the wedding was not in a hurry.

The wedding took place only four years after the beginning of the relationship — October 27, 1957. After the wedding, Yuri Gagarin went to serve in Zapolyarny town and then moved in with him and a young wife. On April 17, 1959, a daughter Helen, two years later, on 7 March 1961 and another Galina. A little over a month later, Yuri flew in space. Currently Elena Gagarina General Director of the Museum-reserve “Moscow Kremlin”, Galina Yurievna Gagarina — teaches at the State Academy. Plekhanov. She has a son, whom she named Yuri. Valentina Ivanovna was only 33 years old when, after the death of her husband in 1968, she became a widow. But she never came out.

Fact # 4. She loved theatre and was saved from closing the play with Vladimir
Korenev

Gagarin was very fond of the theatre. When Yuri was in the hall, the audience always applauded twice — the actors and him. Besides, Gagarin
helped artists: someone, someone — with the installation of the phone
or with the holidays. And once he even saved a performance of “Deck”
the next adaptation, which was played by Vladimir Korenev — the legendary “Ihtiandr” from the cult film “the amphibian Man”. According to the memoirs of actor, Yuri Gagarin came to
the General run of the performances and was very impressed.

However, at the last minute, “Deck”, and it was a love story of a married man and a young
girl, decided
was banned on moral and ethical grounds. To save performance helped
happy case. “Having met somewhere of the Minister of culture Furtseva, for her question:
“What’s the last thing you saw in the theater?” — Gagarin on a blue eye answered: “was in
The theater of Stanislavsky at the dress rehearsal of the play “the Deck”. Wonderful!
I loved it!” Say, next to the subject while stood the best
the officer who tried to ban the play. He did not dare to argue. So “Deck” was
saved,” said Korenev.

Fact # 5. The first astronaut was brought into fashion by the name Yuri and hair “love me, Gagarin!”

Yuri Gagarin

Photo: Yakov Khalip/ TASS

Few people remember that the flight of Yuri Gagarin into space is the first huge victory of our country in the so-called “Space race” — 18-year-old rivalry “space superpower” the USSR and the USA in the field of space exploration. During the selection of candidates for space flight, chief designer of “Vostok-1” Sergey Pavlovich Korolev was in a hurry with a choice of main astronaut — he had information that the Americans will launch their man on 20 April 1961. In the end, the first cosmonaut was the Russian guy is a 27 year old Gagarin. After flying it for almost a hundred days spent in travel around the world. Everyone wanted to shake hands with Queen Elizabeth II and Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and the first beauties of the world. “Brigitte Bardot wrote that she slept with George at Paris, — with laughter remembers the cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. — But in Paris he was for two days twice. The second time with Valya. When wife? I think Brigitte is lying”. To get acquainted with Gagarin wanted millions of ordinary people around the world. Seeing and chanted the name, was named in his honor children. And pilot mark Gallai become a witness of how another member fashion hairstyle — pigtails with bows on one side is called “love me, Gagarin!” When he told this to Yuri, he good-naturedly laughed…
Yuri did not succumb to the star disease and coped brilliantly with the heavy burden of the boundless popularity. But the main “brand” Gagarin became still, his smile was radiant, sincere and radiant. To this day she reminds the world about the tremendous leap of science and technology, and gives hope for new space victory.