Gagarin 50 years on: Memories of first space flight
Fifty years ago, the Soviet Union became the first country to put a man in space when Yuri Gagarin completed one orbit of the earth and returned a hero.
Gagarin was one of 20 test pilots selected by the Soviet Union to become cosmonauts. Also in that group was Alexei Leonov, who would go on to become the first man ever to walk in space. He and Gagarin grew to be close friends.
These are Alexei Leonov's memories of the world's first space flight.
12 Apr 2011
- From the section Science & Environment