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).
Translated by Nalaiya Lipunova
