On April 15, 1961, Yuri Gagarin arrived at a meeting with the team of OKB-1 (now – the National Space Corporation named after S.P. Queen, part of the state corporation “Roskosmos”), where the spacecraft “East was created “.
That’s how the veteran of the enterprise Arthur Mikhailovich is recalling the veteran of the enterprise:
“How to order, it was an unusually sunny and a warm day. No pass on this day was needed, in the open gate of the passing enterprise, residents of the city were completely calmly, who learned about the arrival of Gagarin.
The rally was organized on the square in front of the workshop building at once, as soon as you enter through the right gate. In advance, installed an improvised tribune of several trucks with open sides. The square was filled, as they say, under the string, someone even climbed into the roof of the building. Everyone smiled in anticipation of the first cosmonaut. Here, smiling Gagarin also appeared accompanied by the widely smiling Sergey Pavlovich Queen and President of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh. Together with them in the podium, we first saw the first group not yet flying astronauts. All of them were young and beautiful. They smiled too. In general, I would say that there was no sea of people, but a sea of happy smiles, so well transmitting the joyful state of people.
Sergey Pavlovich in the father’s manner congratulated Yuri Alekseevich with a successful flight, said a lot of good words about the astronaut, and also congratulated and thanked the team of the enterprise for dedicated work and brilliant success.
Yuri Gagarin thanked the creators of the wonderful ship “East”, said (I will try to convey the main and beautiful meaning of his words) that he managed to make this flight thanks to the work of engineers and workers who are in front of him that in fact they created their work Success, at the top of which he was lucky to be. He said well, very sincerely, even as if slightly apologizing to those present. He also told about some flight details and about deep impressions at the sight of our Earth’s beauty from space.
“From now on, the road is open!” – so figuratively and prophetically said Sergey Pavlovich Korolev on the same rally.
passed sixty years. Humanity not only successfully mastered the near-emblem space, but it even managed to look at the other planets. However, for so many past years, I will not be missed by the feat of Yuri Gagarin. “