The astronaut's luck rite before flying into space

For astronauts, rituals or luck rites play a very important role before they begin their flight into space.

Private traditions and rituals to soothe the astronauts' tension before flying

Explorers always follow certain rituals and beliefs to reassure themselves before a long and dangerous journey. Similarly, astronauts also have their own traditions and rituals to ease the tension before flying.

Astronauts have their own traditions and rituals to ease the tension before flying.Photo: ERproductions Ltd / Blend Images / Corbis.

"People will become comfortable following a routine before departure. Sometimes it happens two or three times during a train launch, because the flight may be delayed if the weather is bad or system failure, "said Paul Lockhart, former NASA astronaut.

A week before becoming the first man to fly into space, Yuri Gagarin planted a tree. Two days before boarding, he went to get a haircut. The night before the flight, Gagarin watched a movie. On the way to the place where the launch pad was found, he realized he needed to go to the prize, he stepped off the bus and settled right next to the right rear tire of the car. Since then, every astronaut flying from Kazakhstan's Baikonur airport has repeated the same sequence of actions.

For American astronauts departing from the Kennedy Space Center , the rite begins with a meal of steak, eggs and pastries. Before the team boarded the spaceship, they would sit and play poker together until the commander gave up.

On the launch pad, astronauts also have a series of other traditional rituals . It was bad luck for the crew to see the spacecraft leave the warehouse, so they had to stand far from the departure area before the spacecraft was ready. At Baikonur airport, the Soyuz spacecraft rolled on the tracks that were placed by observers to crush the wheels. In addition, the crew will carry a stuffed animal during the flight to get it, and to know when they enter the weightless environment.

Since an astronaut made a request in 1994, every spacecraft leaving Baikonur airport has been blessed by the Orthodox pastor. Before each flight, NASA engineers designed crew print poster to mimic a favorite sci-fi movie. Recently, many astronauts also bring towels to bathe with them as a lucky object.