| THE SOVIET SIDE | ||
Despite the set-back resulting from the death of Bondarenko, the Russian space program did have a great deal of early successes. Among them was the first man in space. Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s launch, Earth orbit, and re-entry on April 12, 1961 aboard Vostok 1 raised the stakes in the Cold War space race between the United States and Russia. The first Vostok flight was automated and Gagarin’s flight instruments were locked to prevent him from taking control of the ship. A bypass key in a sealed envelope was available in case of an emergency. This proved unnecessary and Gagarin ejected after re-entry and descended under his own parachute, according to plan. |
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