April 12-World Aviation and Space Day

60 years ago, on April 12, 1961, a citizen of the Soviet Union, Senior Lieutenant Yuri Gagarin, flew into space for the first time in the world on the Vostok spacecraft.

The flight, which lasted only 108 minutes, was a powerful breakthrough in space exploration. The name of Yuri Gagarin became widely known in the world, and the first cosmonaut himself received the title of Major and Hero of the Soviet Union ahead of schedule.

In our country, the holiday was established by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 9, 1962, and it received international status in 1968 at the conference of the International Aviation Federation.

At the Avangard Center, the topic of space exploration is one of the key topics in the training program. Cadets get acquainted with a special type of armed forces-VKS. During the classes, high school students learn about the main mission of the aerospace forces and study the history of space exploration.

In addition, Hero of the Russian Federation, cosmonaut Maxim Suraev became a guest of Avangard on March 30 as part of the Reverse Side of a Star project. He told the children about the history and significance of World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day, shared his memories of a spacewalk, as well as what a person feels when they return to Earth after several months in zero gravity.

The Educational and Methodical Center for military-patriotic Education congratulates all those involved on the Day of Cosmonautics!