10 little things to know about Yuri Gagarin, the first astronaut to fly into space

Today April 12 is the 55th anniversary of the day when astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to fly into space.

Yuri Gagarin and his wife.(Photos: Wikipedia)

1. "Let's go"

Gagarin said " Poyekhali! " Means " Let's go " when the spacecraft is about to launch on June 12, 1966. In fact, he intended to say " Take off. " This is considered the beginning of the world aerospace industry.

2. The separation letter

Before the trip, Gagarin wrote a farewell letter to his wife and daughters. However he returned safely, so it was completely useless. 7 years later, his wife Valentina opened it when Yuri died after a plane crash.

3. Auction items

Spacecraft compartment worth more than 2 million USD (Photo: Flickr)

The Vostok 3KA-2 spacecraft was sold at Sotheby's auction on April 12, 2011 with a value of US $ 2,882,500. This is the first Vostok chamber to be taken out of Russia and privately owned, the rest are stored in museums in Russia.

4. Rewards . panties

Thanks to the victory at that time, the Soviet government rewarded Gagarin an apartment, a car. However, the extremely detailed item list also includes " 6 pairs of silk panties " and " 6 pairs of socks ".

5. Forget tying shoe laces

Upon arriving in Moscow to meet leader Nikita Khrushchev, reporters and officials were surprised by the " normal " level of Gagarin because he did not tie his shoelaces.

Gagarin is welcomed by the people (Photo: Wiki)

6. Jealous

There are quite a few " legends " about Gagarin's eyebrow scar. One of them was because he was caught by his wife in the room with another woman, a nurse taking care of him after the Black Sea sailing accident in 1961. He tried to escape by jumping out of the window. and crashed into the stone fence.

7. Tombs on the Kremlin

Gagarin is cremated and buried on the Kremlin wall, Red Square.

Gagarin and assistant Vladimir Seryogin died after the MiG-15UTI accident near the city of Kirzhach. Their bodies were cremated and buried on the Kremlin wall, Red Square.

8. Two daughters

Yelena Gagarina (Photos: Wiki)

First daughter Yelena Gagarina is an art historian, currently serving as the director of the Kremlin conservative, Moscow since 2001. Galina Gagarina is a professor at Plekhanov Economic University in Moscow.

9. Glory at home

The house where Gagarin used to live in high school.(Photo: Wiki)

The astronaut's original home, Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin in 1968.

10. Astronaut's Day

The day Gagarin flew into space, April 12 officially became the Astronaut's Day in 2011 in Russia. April 12 was also chosen by the UN General Assembly as the Astronaut Day in 60 countries.