Remembering First Man in Space 54 Years Ago

April 12 is the International Day of Human Space Flight, marking the day in 1961 when 27-year-old Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the world's first man in space. His historic single orbit around Earth, while crouched in the Vostok 1 spacecraft at a speed of 27,400 kilometers per hour, lasted only 108 minutes, but ushered in a new chapter of history - space travel. Before Gagarin's flight, space travel had been the purview of science fiction writers. Gagarin had no...

© La Voix de l'Amérique - dimanche 12 avril 2015