Vostok 1 was the spacecraft that carried Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961.
Launched on 12 April 1961, Vostok 1 made Yuri Gagarin the first human to travel into outer space and the first to orbit Earth. The spacecraft completed one orbit in about 108 minutes before returning to the atmosphere.
Vostok 1 was part of the Soviet Vostok program, which developed the technology needed for human spaceflight. Its spherical descent module carried Gagarin, while an equipment module contained propulsion, batteries, communications systems, and other support hardware. Gagarin ejected from the capsule before landing by parachute, a procedure not initially emphasized in some public accounts.
The flight was a major Cold War achievement for the Soviet Union and intensified competition with the United States. Gagarin’s radio call sign was “Kedr,” meaning “cedar.” His mission preceded Alan Shepard’s suborbital Freedom 7 flight by less than a month and John Glenn’s orbital flight by about ten months.