Launched at 9h 7m by Moscow time on 12 April, 1961, at the BAIKONUR
space-vehicle launching site in Kazakhstan was ``Vostok", a space ship and an
artificial satellite of the Earth. It completed a circle around the Earth and
landed successfully 108 minutes later. On board the ship was a space pilot,
major Yuri Gagarin.
The revolution period of the ship-satellite around the Earth was 89.1 min,
the vehicle being at the distance of 181 km in the nearest point to the
surface of the Earth, and at 327 km in its farthest point. The inclination
angle of the orbit to the equator plane was 64^o 57'. The weight of the
spaceship-satellite was 4725 kg, the final stage of carrier rocket being out
of account. The total capacity of the rocket engines - 20 millions of
horse-power.
Radiocontact with the cosmonaut was maintained throughout the whole flight.
After the successful completion of the assignments planned and the
fulfilment of the flight program ``Vostok" landed safely in the needed area,
near to the village of Smelovka, district of Ternovsk, region of Saratov.
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR decreed to celebrate annually the
Cosmonautics Day on 12 April.
( The text reproduces an official message. Its incorrect statements, for
example, those about the radiocontact maintained throughout the flight are
accounted for by the ideological directives of that time).
CHRONOS
Translated by Nalaiya Lipunova
