Cosmonautics Day
12.04.2024April 12, 2024 marks the 63rd Anniversary of the first human space flight — Cosmonautics Day.
The first space flight was made on April 12, 1961 by 27-year-old Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who orbited the Earth for 98 minutes aboard the «Vostok-1» spacecraft.
Gagarin's flight was a triumph of the Soviet space program and opened a new era in the history of space exploration. Gagarin became a national hero of the Soviet Union and a well-known personality throughout the world.
On the eve of Cosmonautics Day, after two weeks of work in space, Marina Vasilevskaya, the first cosmonaut of sovereign Belarus, returned to Earth on April 10, 2024.
On April 11, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko awarded Marina Vasilevskaya the title of Hero of Belarus, stressing that her flight brought the Republic of Belarus to a new level of participation in space programs.
