Launch Success
Liftoff Time (GMT)
06:07:00
Wednesday April 12, 1961
Yuri Gagarin became the first human in history to orbit the Earth. First crewed flight in history.
Yuri Gagarin performed the first crewed orbital spaceflight in history. His flight consisted of a single orbit around Earth which skimmed the upper atmosphere at 169 kilometers (91 nautical miles) at its lowest point. The flight took 108 minutes from launch to landing. Gagarin parachuted to the ground separately from his capsule after ejecting at 7 km (23,000 ft) altitude.
Low Earth Orbit
1 Payload
4,725 kilograms
17th
Mission
3rd
Mission of 1961
25th
Mission
5th
Mission of 1961
14th
Orbital launch attempt