Cosmonauts and the Space Race

Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't an American who was the first person to travel into space—it was a Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin.

On April 12, 1961, Gagarin went into orbit around the Earth aboard the Vostok 1, marking a significant victory for the USSR in the then-ongoing Space Race against the United States.

But another lesser-known fact about this is that Gagarin didn't land inside his spacecraft.

The Vostok 1 wasn't built to withstand the impact of landing.

Hence, just before hitting the Earth's atmosphere, Gagarin had to eject himself from the spacecraft and fall back to Earth using a parachute.

With this mission, Gagarin became an international hero and a symbol of Soviet space supremacy, changing the face of the Cold War and leaving an indelible mark on human history..