April 12, 1961: First man in space

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made headlines all over the world when he became the first human in space. His space flight on a Vostok spacecraft took an hour and 48 minutes, during which he orbited the earth once and parachuted to a safe landing in Kazahkstan. The Vostok spacecraft was not maneuvered by Gagarin, but was instead controlled by ground crews.