Vostok 1: The First Trip to Space!

Vostok 1 didn't launch from a regular park. It blasted off from a special place called the Baikonur Cosmodrome in a country that used to be called the Soviet Union. Think of it like a super-duper launchpad for rockets! On April 12, 1961, a brave explorer named Yuri Gagarin climbed inside the Vostok 1 capsule, ready for an amazing adventure.

Yuri Gagarin was the first human ever to fly all the way around the Earth in space! His Vostok 1 capsule was like a small, round spaceship. It zipped around our planet so fast, it completed one whole trip in just 108 minutes. That's less time than it takes to watch your favorite cartoon movie!

From his spaceship, Yuri could see Earth from way up high. The Vostok 1 capsule flew close to the top of our atmosphere, which is like the sky's fuzzy blanket. At its lowest point, it was about 105 miles up. That's like going from your house all the way to another state!

After his incredible journey, Yuri didn't land with his spaceship. When he was still high up in the sky, about 7 kilometers (that's like 23,000 feet!) above the ground, he popped out of the capsule and floated down using a parachute! It was a safe landing for the first space explorer.