The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation published secret documents relating to the first cosmonauts of the USSR. Materials are available on the website of the department in the section “Earth Orbits of Cosmos Conquerors”.
Historical artifacts – photos, certificates, flight task and other archival documents – the Ministry of Defense was disclosed to the 60th anniversary of the first flight of a person in space. In the section you can see the photo directly Yuri Gagarin and other members of the first cosmonauts squad – German Titov, Alexey Leonov. Also on the site posted information about the head of the preparation of the first cosmonauts Nikolae Kamanin, the instructor of the first pilots-cosmonauts of Mark Galae, the front-line pilot Georgy Berevoy and others.
In the subsection, which concerns the first cosmonaut, there are a certificate, flight task for the first space flight, credit books, service characteristics, premium sheets. “Fly loves, flies boldly and confidently. In the flights, I dare, Initiative, persistent,” said in the description of the release of the 1st Chkalov military aviation school of pilots named after K.E. Voroshilova. According to documents from the School, Gagarin flew 166 hours. From 1957 to 1959, when cosmonaut was in service in the 769th Fighter Aviation Regiment, it was added to his experience for another 265 hours. The site has a copy of the order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR Marshal Soviet Union Malinovsky on the extraordinary assignment of the Gagarine of the title of Major.
Also in the section there are electronic copies of documents for Assignment on April 14, 1961 Yuri Gagarin of the title “Pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR”. Later, the same ranks will receive German Titov and Alexey Leonov.
The website of the Ministry of Defense is specified that after flights to Cosmos, Gagarin, Leonov and Titov continued their education. For example, during training in the N.E. Air Engineering Academy Zhukovsky first cosmonaut passed all items on “excellent”, except for the highest mathematics, according to which he always stood the rating “Good”.
Among people who were preparing astronauts to fly, there were many front-line. For example, the test pilot Mark Galai became an instructor-methodologist to piloting spacecraft – he participated in the defense of Moscow, received gratitude from Stalin. After the war, Galai began to experience a new jet plane. The participant of the war Nikolai Kamanin was awarded the Order of Kutuzov II degree and became the cavalier of the Order of Suvorov II degree. At the time of start and throughout the flight, Gagarin Kamanin led radio communication with astronaut.
The first flight of a person in space took place on April 12, 1961. The carrier rocket “East” with the ship “East-1”, on board which was Gagarin, made a turn around the earth. The flight lasted 108 minutes.
On April 9, the “Soyuz-2.1a” rocket started from the Baikonur cosmodrome with the transport piloted ship “Union MS-18”, which received the name “Yu.A. Gagarin”. Also on the carrier rocket was sticker with the official emblem of the 60th anniversary of the first person in the history of a person in space.