![The Soviet Union 1964 CPA 3014 stamp (Space Exploration](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/The_Soviet_Union_1964_CPA_3014_stamp_%28Space_Exploration._Gagarin_and_Vostok_1%29.jpg)
The International Day of Human Space Flight is the
annual celebration, held on 12 April, of the anniversary of the first human space flight by
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...
(
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
). It was proclaimed at the 65th session of the
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
on 7 April 2011,
a few days before the 50th anniversary of the flight.
Yuri Gagarin crewed the
Vostok 1
Vostok 1 (russian: link=no, Восток, ''East'' or '' Orient'' 1) was the first spaceflight of the Vostok programme and the first human orbital spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA space capsule was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on Apr ...
mission in 1961, completing one orbit around Earth over 108 minutes in the
Vostok 3KA
Vostok (russian: Восток, translated as "East") was a class of single-pilot crewed spacecraft built by the Soviet Union. The first human spaceflight was accomplished with Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961, by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
The ...
spacecraft, launched on a
Vostok-K
The Vostok-K (russian: Восток meaning ''"East"''), GRAU index 8K72K was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union for thirteen launches between 1960 and 1964, six of which were manned. It was derived from the earlier Vostok-L ...
rocket from
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...
in Kazakhstan, USSR.
In the Soviet Union, 12 April was commemorated as
Cosmonautics Day
Cosmonautics Day (russian: День Космона́втики, ''Den Kosmonavtiki'') is an anniversary celebrated in Russia and some other former Soviet Union countries on 12 April. since 1963, and is still observed in Russia and some
former Soviet state
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
s.
Yuri's Night
Yuri's Night is an international celebration held every April 12 to commemorate milestones in space exploration. It is named for the first human to launch into space, Yuri Gagarin, who flew the Vostok 1 spaceship on April 12, 1961. In 2011, Yur ...
, also known as "World Space Party" is an international observance initiated in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 2001, on the 40th anniversary of Gagarin's flight.
Also commemorated on this date is the first
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
launch,
STS-1 of ''
Columbia'' on 12 April 1981, exactly 20 years after the first human spaceflight.
See also
*
Cosmonautics Day
Cosmonautics Day (russian: День Космона́втики, ''Den Kosmonavtiki'') is an anniversary celebrated in Russia and some other former Soviet Union countries on 12 April.
*
Yuri's Night
Yuri's Night is an international celebration held every April 12 to commemorate milestones in space exploration. It is named for the first human to launch into space, Yuri Gagarin, who flew the Vostok 1 spaceship on April 12, 1961. In 2011, Yur ...
*
Astronauts Day
Astronauts Day is an American holiday, dedicated to NASA astronauts and their achievements. It is a "floating" holiday, observed on the last Friday of January.
Overview
This date was chosen to commemorate a number of space-related disasters which ...
*
National Astronaut Day
National Astronaut Day is an American commemorative day held on May 5 since 2017. It commemorates the first United States human spaceflight, on May 5, 1961, piloted by astronaut Alan Shepard.
See also
*International Day of Human Space Flight ...
*
Asteroid Day
__NOTOC__
Asteroid Day (also known as International Asteroid Day) is an annual global event which is held on June 30, the anniversary of the Tunguska event in 1908 when a meteor air burst levelled about of forest in Siberia, Russia.
Asteroid ...
*
Astronomy Day
Astronomy Day is an annual event in the United States and later in other countries, intended to provide a means of interaction between the general public and various astronomy enthusiasts, groups and professionals.
History
This event was start ...
*
World Space Week
, website = https://indiaspaceweek.org
World Space Week (WSW) is an annual holiday observed from October 4 to 10 in over 95 nations throughout the world. World Space Week is officially defined as "an international celebration of science and tech ...
References
{{Portal bar, Society, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Science
April observances
Human spaceflight
Observances about science
Space advocacy
United Nations days
Monuments and memorials to Yuri Gagarin