In Brief

Happy Birthday, Human Spaceflight! Yuri's Night Celebrates Yuri Gagarin's Epic Trip

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On April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (left, on the way to the launch pad) made the first human spaceflight, a 108-minute orbital journey in his Vostok 1 spacecraft. Newspapers like The Huntsville Times (right) trumpeted Gagarin's accomplishme
On April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (left, on the way to the launch pad) made the first human spaceflight, a 108-minute orbital journey in his Vostok 1 spacecraft. Newspapers like The Huntsville Times (right) trumpeted Gagarin's accomplishment. (Image credit: NASA)

It was 53 years ago today on April 12, 1961 when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin launched into space aboard his Soviet Vostok 1 and ushered in an era of space travel that continues to this today. Twenty years aftet Gagarin's flight, NASA's first space shuttle flight soared on its maiden flight with John Young and Robert Crippen aboard the Columbia, and the age of winged spaceflight was born.

Each year, we at Space.com pause to reflect on both April 12 space anniversaries, and space fans around the world do the same with Yuri's Night, a global celebration of human spaceflight. This year, more than 40,000 people are expected to participate in the worldwide space party during 180 events planned in more than 47 countries. [Yuri Gagarin, First Man in Space (Photos)]

"The efforts put forward by our fans and by many events to host bigger and better parties each year is great!” Yuri's Night executive director Ryan Kobrick said in a statement. "We're nearly at 200 events, and we expect to register many more by Saturday. This is going to be another fantastic year for Yuri's Night." To find a Yuri's Night event near you, visit: http://find.yurisnight.net.

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Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.