Yuri Gagarin is celebrated as the first human in space, but some believe he wasn’t the first — just the first to survive.

Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space when he orbited Earth in 1961 aboard the Vostok 1 space capsule. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here ...

Yuri Gagarin belied the West's austere impression of the Soviet Union – a charming, easygoing Russian with a ready smile. The first man in space became a powerful propaganda tool.

On April 12, 1961—55 years ago today—Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin launched into the great beyond, becoming the first human in space. When he came back to Earth, Gagarin was looked upon as ...

Yuri Gagarin ejected from the spacecraft at 20,000 feet and thus did not land with the craft, technically, some say, not setting the record as per FAI rules.

April 12, 2011 — -- Yuri Gagarin.First man in space. For the rest of history his name will rank -- perhaps with Columbus, Magellan, Marco Polo and Neil Armstrong's -- among the world's ...

Then, in 1961, 27-year-old cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, beating NASA's Alan Shepard by three critical weeks. Here, a celebration of a Russian genuine trailblazer.

On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin circled the Earth aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1. After parachuting from the craft near the Russian village of Smelovka, Gagarin landed a hero ...

Related: Yuri Gagarin on Vostok 1: How the 1st human spaceflight worked (infographic) The first human ever to fly in space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (left), meets with spacecraft designer Sergei ...

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to fly in space, as seen in 1968 before his death in a jet crash. RSC Energia. By Robert Z. Pearlman ...

Yuri Gagarin was celebrated as the first man to orbit Earth. But he didn’t make a complete orbit, almost died due to equipment failures, and ejected too early — landing in a potato field.

On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin circled the Earth aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1. After parachuting from the craft near the Russian village of Smelovka, Gagarin landed a hero ...