Celebrate Yuri’s Night!
Posted on April 11, 2011 – 8:00 PM | by OldManFoster
Wow.
Tomorrow, April 12, 2011, will mark fifty years to the day that a human being entered space. At 6:07 AM, April 12, 1961, Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin blasted off from Tyuratam, deep in the Soviet Union, for a 108 minute trip into outer space. In that time, his Vostok 1 spacecraft made one complete trip around the earth. Gagarin and craft came down (separately) at about 8AM.
Yuri Gagarin became a worldwide celebrity, but continued his work in Soviet aeronautics. Tragically he was killed while testing a jet in 1968, just the year before Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon.
Beginning in 2001 space enthusiasts around the world have been honoring Gagarin by celebrating April 12 as Yuri’s Night. Yuri’s Night parties draw thousands each year, and this year will be the biggest yet.
So far we haven’t got word of any local Yuri’s Night parties, so that means there’s only one thing to do- have your own! Keep us posted if you hear of any good ones!