Yuri Gagarin Becomes First Human in Space Aboard Vostok 1

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first human to travel into outer space when he completed a single orbit of Earth aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft. The flight lasted 108 minutes, reaching an altitude of 327 kilometers. Gagarin launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome at 09:07 Moscow Time and landed by parachute near the city of Engels in Saratov Oblast. The mission was a landmark achievement in the Space Race and prompted President John F. Kennedy to announce the goal of landing an American on the Moon before the end of the decade.