Place of landing of Gagarin Yu. A.

Everyone knows about the significant date - April 12, 1961. There are many stories about the great cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. This article tells about the place where the spacecraft landed with the first person flying around the Earth.

A bit of history

The Vostok spacecraft with Yuri Gagarin flew up to 327 kilometers on board. Then he girded the whole globe and without any problems performed a landing in the village of Smelovka in the Saratov region, 26 kilometers from the city of Engels. It is this place of Gagarin's landing that will be described in our article.

April 12, 1961 there was a significant event. This day for many people was unremarkable. Someone was going to work, someone was resting, everyone was doing their usual things. And no one suspected that this day would remain in their memory. At 10 o'clock 02 minutes the radio announcer said: "Attention! Says Moscow! Man in space! "This wonderful day of spring became a holiday for all mankind, because it is:

1. Star day of the Earth.
2. The beginning of the space age.

This memorable date entered the history of civilization by the fact that the Soviet pilot Yu. A. Gagarin performed his first flight into space on the ship "Vostok". 108 minutes of flight in the vastness of the galaxy completely changed the life of the cosmonaut. The pilot of the fighter aviation regiment suddenly became the most famous man in the world. And the fact that he belongs to our nation, evokes a sense of pride for his native Fatherland. The ship "East" flew around the globe, and this momentous event simply shook the whole world. After all, the history of the cosmos did not know that yet!

Interesting Facts

The launch vehicle Vostok with a ship piloted by a pilot was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome. Very symbolic is the fact that the landing site of Yu. A. Gagarin is located not far from Saratov. Namely in this city 6 years ago the young man graduated with honors from the Industrial Technical School. In addition, the so-called "winged youth" of the future cosmonaut began here, as he studied at the flying club DOSAAF and made his first successful and independent flight on the Yak-18 plane. In total, Yuri Gagarin performed 196 flights.

The first cosmonaut's landing was not planned on the Saratov land. We expected that it will be in the region of Kazakhstan. But the range and time of the spacecraft's flight changed as a result of the fact that Gagarin's orbit was higher than the estimated 40 km due to a failure in the ship's braking system. At an altitude of 7,000 kilometers, the cosmonaut was ejected from the cabin of the ship and descended to Earth on a parachute.

Official sources said that the place of Gagarin's landing was planned. In fact, it landed autonomously from the "East". It happened two kilometers from the Volga River. Thanks to excellent parachute training, Gagarin did not sink to the waters of the great river, at which time huge ice floes swam.

The place where the spacecraft landed was for a while classified. But soon it became known about him - it's the village of Smelovka.

What did the people see on April 12, 1961?

That day everything went on as usual. And neither the city of Engels, nor the surrounding settlements, nor the Saratov itself was famous for anything special. Gagarin's landing place Became in a moment known to the whole world.

Residents of the village of Smelovka heard two explosions. Then they saw two parachutes descending from the sky. At that time, they did not even suspect that a great event of a truly world-scale scale had happened. This moment gave rise to the holiday - the Day of Astronautics, which began to celebrate on April 12.

Life of Gagarin after the flight into space

For his self-sacrificing feat the first cosmonaut, who made one revolution around the Earth, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. When he landed on the parachute on Earth, the landing site of Gagarin became well-known. After his first space flight, which aroused great interest all over the world, the young man became a world celebrity. He was invited by public organizations and heads of various countries, including foreign ones.

In total for his life he visited about 30 states, including:

1. Czechoslovakia.
2. Finland.
3. England.
4. Bulgaria.
5. Egypt.
6. Canada.
7. India.
8. Ceylon.

Gagarin was engaged in socio-political work and on the territory of the Soviet Union, he was a deputy of the Supreme Council, a member of the Central Committee of the Komsomol, the president of the Society of Soviet-Cuban Friendship. He graduated at the time of the Air Force Engineering Academy. Zhukovsky, worked in the Cosmonaut Training Center and was intensively preparing for a new flight into space.

The death of the pilot-cosmonaut

In 1968, in March, Yuri Gagarin died in the Vladimir region in an airplane crash, performing a training flight on the MiG-15 aircraft under the guidance of an experienced instructor V. Seryogin. Until now, the causes and circumstances of the sad accident that killed the remarkable man have not been clarified. He was only 34 years old. So suddenly the destiny of the pilot-cosmonaut was cut short. Since then, the place of Gagarin's landing has become memorable. Activities that were carried out in connection with his death:

1. Nationwide mourning.
2. Renaming in his honor of streets and squares, some settlements, including his hometown - Gzhatsk (Gagarin).
3. Installation of monuments.

True or false?

Till now the polemic is conducted: on territory of what collective farm the space vehicle has landed:

1. "Lenin's way".
2. Shevchenko collective farm.

Previously anonymous, and now "Gagarin Field" - that's the place where Gagarin landed, the photo of which you see in the article. Most likely, this is only a formal place. There is one more version according to which, the real territory where the space unit has touched the ground with a person on board is a polygon near the village of Podgornoye. The location of this place is slightly north of the fields of the above collective farms.

What happened after the spacecraft landed?

The cosmonaut's cabin, on which the actual descent to the Earth occurred, resembles a ball in shape. After he landed, he was carefully examined. The metal case was strongly melted, and the window-porthole was completely smoked. It seemed incredible that there could be a person here.

Where there was a place of landing Gagarin, or rather his descent vehicle, installed a sign with the inscription: "Do not touch 12.04.61". Soon it disappeared, most likely, the locals took it as a souvenir, and the column stood for another year. A few days before the anniversary of the landmark flight near the column, a cement pedestal with a commemorative plaque was made.

How did Gagarin's landing place look like before?

In 1965 an obelisk with a height of 27 meters was installed on the Gagarinsky Field. It is a kind of rocket taking off into the sky. By the way, this obelisk is a small copy of the monument "Conquerors of the Universe". It was built in Moscow in 1964, on Prospect Mira, in honor of the achievements of the Soviet people in the exploration of outer space. The height of the monument reaches 107 meters.

In 1981, on a pedestal to the 20th anniversary of the first space flight around the Earth, at the base of the obelisk appeared a sculpture of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. On one side of the pedestal, which is faced with gray marble, a metal sign with the inscription: "April 12, 1961, the first cosmonaut Yury Gagarin landed here." This is how Gagarin landed, the address of which is known to everyone.

Over time, around the monument dedicated to the first flight into space, was planted a park. The architectural complex on the "Gagarinsky Field", that is the landing place of the first cosmonaut, was included in tourist maps and became a favorite route for tourists and guests of our country.

"Gagarin Field" in our time

In 2011, in honor of the 50th anniversary, the place of Gagarin's landing (a photo of the sculptural monument is attached) was supplemented with stands with bas-reliefs of the sculptor A. Rozhkov. They depict prominent figures in space exploration, such as:

1. K. Tsiolkovsky - scientist of the founder of astronautics.
2. S. Korolev is the designer of Russian rocket engineering.

Also in the memorial complex is a composition of 12 portraits of astronauts. These are people who have contributed to the development of Russian science:

1. G. Titov.
2. V. Tereshkova.
3. K. Feoktistov.
4. P. Popovich.
5. S. Savitskaya.
6. A. Leonov and others.

The memorial was called "Space Gallery". Everyone who comes to Saratov, the place of landing Gagarin is simply obliged to visit. After all, you can enjoy here not only the beauty of a remarkable architectural monument, but also with natural compositions. The park with an upwardly directed missile is located at the obelisk. The slope of the ravine is decorated with an alley of elms, and a neat asphalt road leading to the "Space Gallery" is planted with poplars with a pyramidal crown. This place is often visited by the newlyweds to lay flowers at the monument dedicated to the first flight into space.

Events for the Day of Astronautics

Hundreds of residents of Saratov and guests from all over the globe visit this famous place of landing Gagarin. How to get there, any local resident will tell. A lot of people come to the memorable "Gagarin Field" to pay tribute to the great son of Russia, who paved the first path to those distant worlds.

On this day, not only in the Saratov region, but throughout the country there are various solemn events dedicated to the anniversary of astronautics:

1. Meetings.
2. Exhibitions.
3. Forums.
4. Concerts, etc.

Also, films related to space, dedicated to space pilots, including Yu. A. Gagarin, are being broadcast. Pass demonstration performances of parachutists at the landing site of the spacecraft. At the "Gagarin Field" an exhibition of sports and military equipment is held. Attack aircraft of the aerobatic team "Rus" show the air show. Thanks to the April 12 landing place Gagarin became a popular attraction of the city of Engels.