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- A sense of weight: how Izvestia released a book about Gagarin at cosmic speed
A sense of weight: how Izvestia released a book about Gagarin at cosmic speed
"Convey my heartfelt greetings to the readers of the newspapers Pravda and Izvestia, and my sincere wishes for success in their work and happiness in life to all Soviet people," Yuri Gagarin congratulated the readers after returning to Earth. On April 12, 1961, a special issue of Izvestia was published. A few days later, the entire book "The Soviet Man in Space" was published from the printing house of our newspaper. One of the symbols of the triumph of Soviet science was Boris Yefimov's famous cartoon, in which the first cosmonaut writes welcoming words in the starry sky.: "We've come to space!" How the country and the world learned about the historic flight 65 years ago — in the Izvestia article.
Holiday number
"A Soviet man in space" — with such a headline 65 years ago, on April 12, 1961, the newspaper Izvestia appeared. The only theme of the issue was Yuri Gagarin's flight — all six strips were dedicated to this event. From the first page, the first cosmonaut in the history of mankind, dressed in a summer jacket and a leather helmet, looked at the reader.
"The greatest victory of our system, our science, our technology, our courage," the newspaper described the flight in another headline.
On that day, on the pages of Izvestia, official appeals and congratulations from foreign countries were juxtaposed with reports from the launch and landing site of the Vostok spacecraft, poems and wishes of ordinary Soviet people.
The headline of the second page is "Our motherland has opened a new era in the history of mankind."
"After successfully conducting the planned research and completing the flight program, on April 12, 1961, at 10:55 a.m. Moscow time, the Soviet ship Vostok landed safely in a designated area of the Soviet Union," the TASS report says.
The material "In the hero's family" about how the flight was monitored at Yuri Gagarin's house was also published here.
Last words from Chief Designer Sergei Pavlovich Korolev to Yuri Gagarin before the launch of the Vostok launch vehicle with the Vostok-1 spacecraft on board
"The TV is on. We have just received a message about the successful return to earth of the owner of this apartment. His young, courageous, smiling face is on the screen. And the hostess of the house, Valentina Ivanovna, has tears of joy in her eyes," the Izvestia correspondent reported.
The authors of the analytical materials emphasized that the Soviet space program had deep scientific and historical roots. It became possible thanks to the discoveries of great European and Russian scientists. And before sending a human into orbit, many experiments were successfully conducted. For example, a ship with dogs Belka and Strelka was launched, this flight provided valuable data on the behavior of a living organism in zero gravity.
From the materials of the festive issue, readers also learned about the emergence of a new, "high—altitude" and "high—speed" profession of a pilot-cosmonaut, the impeccable operation of the automation of the space mission, as well as how Moscow rejoiced after the first reports of success.
"We've come to space!"
The spirit of that time was conveyed not only by the texts of the correspondents. The very next day after the launch, Boris Yefimov's cartoon was published in the April 13 issue of Izvestia, which later became one of the symbols of this event.
On it, Yuri Gagarin handwrites on the black space of the Universe, as on a wall.: "We've come to space!"
A few days after the historic event, the Izvestia Library series released a special issue in the form of a book with the same title as the festive issue of the newspaper — "A Soviet Man in Space."
The pages of the book, which could be bought for just 14 kopecks, contain official documents, transcripts of press conferences, addresses and speeches by Yuri Gagarin, a description of the festive rally on Red Square, unique photographs, notes on the significance of the historic flight, explanations by scientists about what technical achievements made it possible. The main character of those days vividly described his impressions, such as the feeling of weightlessness.
"After launching into orbit, when the launch vehicle separated, weightlessness appeared. At first, this feeling was somewhat unusual, although I had previously experienced the short-term effects of weightlessness. But soon I got used to this condition, got used to it and continued to carry out the program," Yuri Gagarin noted in his speech.
Speaking about the first observation of the Earth from orbit, the cosmonaut described what he saw especially vividly: "The Earth is surrounded by a characteristic blue halo. It is clearly visible when you observe the horizon. From the delicate light blue color, the sky very smoothly and beautifully turns into blue, blue, purple and, finally, into a completely black color."
Gagarin's flight from all points of view
The materials of Izvestia journalists are united by a sincere interest in the personality of the first cosmonaut and his human experiences.
A newspaper correspondent described the preparations for the launch on April 12, 1961, as follows: "Everyone was worried: doctors, engineers, scientists. And only this man, who was about to leave Earth in a few minutes and fly through outer space for the first time in the history of mankind, was sleeping peacefully. The night before, according to the prescribed regime, the doctors ordered Yuri Gagarin to go to bed and sleep for ten hours. He lay down, and everyone around him was surprised at how quickly he fell asleep. It was as if he wasn't going to space tomorrow, but to go fishing or to a basketball game with his friends."
And this is how Yuri Gagarin looked right after the flight: "Burly, smiling, as a truly happy person can do, he was descending from the plane ramp. He's wearing a blue, sky-colored jumpsuit and a flight helmet. People hug him, congratulate him, and kiss him."
The authors paid special attention to the technical side of the flight, which they considered as a victory for the whole country, which was able to send a man into space for the first time.
"Huge engine power is required to put a spacecraft into orbit. From the very beginning, Soviet jet technology solved the problem of high power, developed large and heavy satellites. The most powerful rocket engines in the world were created by the work of our scientists, engineers, and workers," Academician Evgeny Fedorov wrote in his article.
An important part of the book is devoted to the international reaction to the event. Reports from Mongolia and the United States, China and Hungary, Pakistan, Poland and many other countries cite statements by statesmen and prominent scientists.
"I would like to express my sincere congratulations to the outstanding scientists who made this possible, and to Major Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin, the first man to enter space and return to Earth," Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said in his congratulatory message.
In one of his speeches, Yuri Gagarin addressed the readers directly: "Convey my heartfelt greetings to the readers of the newspapers Pravda and Izvestia, and my sincere wishes for success in their work and happiness in life to all Soviet people."
Yuri Gagarin after the landing of the descent vehicle of the Vostok-1 spacecraft
Izvestia continued to inform about the exploration of near-Earth space. The first woman in orbit, the first spacewalk, the first scientific stations on the Moon, the future of Russian cosmonautics — all this could be learned from the pages of the newspaper, which covers this topic today.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
