

April 12, 1961: First man in space - ilkhd2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin

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lotharbot
Related: April 12, 1981 was the first orbital flight of the Shuttle Transport
System (Space Shuttle). The launch was originally scheduled for 2 days earlier
but was scrubbed.

Every year on April 12, there is a celebration called "Yuri's Night: the World
Space Party". This year it was celebrated on all seven continents (plus a
couple of gatherings in Second Life), and in previous years it has been
celebrated on the ISS. It's a great time to reflect on space exploration and
technology, as well as on the individual work of astronauts and cosmonauts.

Of particular interest to me is the cultural exchange that went on, even
during the Cold War, between those on opposite sides who shared the common
experience of having been to space. I had the privilege of picking up some
astronauts and cosmonauts at the airport, and every single one of them made a
point of telling me about how great it was to interact with those who had been
on the other side of the Cold War.

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winter_blue
How is this relevant to HN?

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rdtsc
Well he was my hero growing up so this is at least relevant to me.

Just to put in perspective, Gagarin was _the_ superhero of every boy in ex-
Soviet Union. It wasn't someone like Brittney Spears or Arnold Schwarzenegger.
It was a real human being who flew into space. If you can discard all the
communist propaganda and other party bullshit, it is pretty cool to have a
real cosmonaut as your hero growing up instead of a fictional character or
just an actor.

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kgrin
I grew up in Kiev, and went to a primary school named for Yuri Gagarin. In
most ways, it didn't really matter (any more than the eponym of any elementary
school does); but for what it's worth, yeah, it was pretty cool to once in a
while reflect on the grandness of space travel, and to have your school named
for a cosmonaut rather than, say, a politician.

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eru
We also had some streets after him in East Germany.

~~~
eru
+named.

