International Day of Human Space Flight is celebrated annually on 12^th of April. On this day in 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made the first flight into space in the history of mankind - this year marks the 60th anniversary of this event. Vostok satellite ship that was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome (at that time it was called the 5th Scientific Research Test Site of the USSR Ministry of Defense), it flew around the Earth once and successfully landed in the Saratov region. For his space flight, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

On 12^th of April, the professional holiday is celebrated not only by astronauts. This date is also important for engineers, scientists, technicians and other specialists involved in space programs. International Day of Human Space Flight is also celebrated in our country, as Uzbekistan has made a significant contribution to the development of this industry. The Uzbeks took an active participation in the construction of the Baikonur cosmodrome that is located in Kazakhstan. Our signalmen, builders and other specialists were sent there.

From the first days of space exploration, cosmonauts of Uzbekistan have made a worthy contribution to the development of the industry. The world famous names of cosmonauts Vladimir Dzhanibekov - the first cosmonaut of Uzbekistan who visited space five times, twice Hero, Major General of Aviation and Salidzhan Sharipov - who spent 203 days in space, Colonel of Aviation, Chevalier of the highest Uzbek orders of Amir Temur and “Buyuk xizmatlari uchun”. Among the scientists, whose works have gained international recognition, the name of Shavkat Akhadovich Vakhidov should be emphasized as well. Our compatriot has achieved outstanding success in the creation and development of space engineering.

Some interesting facts about Space and astronauts.

The Soviet spaceship "Vostok" flew in space for 24 hours in 1960 and returned to earth with the dogs Belka and Strelka on board.

The flight of the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin aboard the Vostok-1 spacecraft overcame gravity and flew around our planet in 108 minutes.

In 1961, after a space flight, Yuri Gagarin went abroad on a “mission for peace”. He traveled across continents and countries of the world for two years. Presidents and top officials of states considered it an honor to shake hands with the astronaut.

Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space - she flew on the Vostok-6 spacecraft in 1963, the flight lasted three days.

American businessman Dennis Tito became the first space tourist; he paid $ 20 million for the flight in April 2001.

The world record for the longest stay in space was broken by the Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, who spent two years and two and a half months there.

A crater on the far side of the moon is named after Yuri Gagarin.

The first person to look into space with a telescope was Galileo. This happened almost 400 years ago.

Flowers grown in space smell differently than on Earth. The scent of roses grown in the space shuttle Discovery was included in the Zen perfume of the Japanese company Shiseido.

From 1969 to 1972, there were six landings of people on the moon. A total of 12 astronauts examined the surface of the Earth's satellite. No one else has been on the moon since December 14, 1972.