12 April 1961: Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space

On 12 April 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth once in Vostok 1, in a flight of 108 minutes. As he lifted off, he said: 'Poyekhali!', 'Let's go!' The date is marked every year by the United Nations as the International Day of Human Space Flight.