50th anniversary of first human spaceflight

[Jurre]

As an astronomy enthusiast, I'd like to focus attention on the fact that today; the 12th of april 2011, is the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight in history, and therefore of the spaceage in general.

On this day in 1961 Yuri Gagarin was launched in his spacecraft Vostok 1, and brought into an orbit around the earth, making him the first human being to travel to outer space. (of course the first earthly creature to be shot into space was the dog Laika)

His last word before boarding his spacecraft; 'Poyekhali!' (off we go!) is what every Russian cosmonaut still shouts before launch.





Yuri died in a planecrash in 1968, but his name lives on.