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TIL Yuri Gagarin returned to Earth during his historic first manned spaceflight by ejecting 6 km from the ground and parachuting down by himself.

airandspace.si.edu Why Yuri Gagarin Remains the First Man in Space, Even Though He Did Not Land Inside His Spacecraft

Every year as the anniversary of the first human spaceflight approaches, I receive calls inquiring about the validity of Yuri Gagarin’s claim as the first human in space.  The legitimate questions focus on the fact that Gagarin did not land inside his spacecraft.

Why Yuri Gagarin Remains the First Man in Space, Even Though He Did Not Land Inside His Spacecraft
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  • I don't get it. Is 6km up Space?

    Also wdym "by himself". Did you expect him to parachute with someone else?

    • No. Just high enough that he could parachute down safely without the craft because they didn't know how to get both down safely.

      • So it wasn't a space flight?

        • No. It was a space flight. He, inside the Vostok 1, went into space. He orbited the Earth once. He re-entered the atmosphere. When he was only 6 km from the ground, he jumped out of the Vostok 1 and parachuted to the ground.

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