The day the first person went into space – level 1

12-04-1961

Yuri Gagarin is 27 years old. He is preparing for his flight into space. The training for the flight takes months. Six men do this training. Only one man can go to space.

The training is very hard. The men have to stay in a very hot room for 2 hours. They also have to stay alone in one room for fifteen days. They also do parachute training.

In the end, the leaders choose Gagarin. He is a friendly person. He has a good name, Yuri. This name represents the Soviet Union well.

On April 12, 1961, everything is ready at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Then, Vostok 1 takes Gagarin into space.

The flight is 108 minutes long. Gagarin flies 327 kilometers above the Earth. He flies around the Earth once. Then Vostok 1 goes down. When Vostok 1 is 7 kilometers above the Earth, Gagarin catapults. Then he parachutes to the ground.

Soon, people all around the world know Gagarin.

Difficult words: stay (to be in one place), choose (to say which thing from many you want), once (only one action), catapult (to throw very quickly into the air), parachute (to jump from a plane and use a parachute).

What did Yuri Gagarin become most known for as a result of his flight into space?

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