Yuri Gagarin – Remembering the First Human in Space

It was 50 years ago today that Yuri Gagarin became the first human to reach the lofty heights of space … to infinity and beyond anyone?

He was only 27 years old at the time and I was an 8 year old schoolboy – amazed at such wonders, although far more pre-occupied with my own life to really understand the achievement.

Unfortunately, Yuri is no longer on this Earth, as I am sure he would have grown into an even more amazing man. He died at the age of 34, while on a routine training flight in a MIG-15. I have stood next to and touched a MIG-15 and remember being in awe of anyone who had the nerve to get into such a basic aircraft and actually dare to see if it would fly!

Yuri Gagarin was obviously an extraordinary person, but the truth is he probably didn’t possess any more raw material to work with than any of us, it is just that he chose to excel and believed he could.

Here is a short excerpt, taken from a PDF on the the NASA website, in which some of Yuri Gagarin’s character is explained:

“Gagarin would never try to ingratiate himself, nor was he ever insolent.”

“fantastic memory; distinguishes himself from his colleagues by his sharp and far-ranging sense of attention to his surroundings; a well-developed imagination; quick reactions; persevering, prepares himself painstakingly for his activities and training exercises; handles celestial mechanics and mathematical formulae with ease as well as excels in higher mathematics; does not feel constrained when he has to defend his point of view if he considers himself right; appears that he understands life better than a lot of his friends.”

It would seem that he was focussed and sure of himself, but not arrogant with it.

Self-belief is invaluable in our quest for Universal Riches and Yuri Gagarin has shown what can be achieved if we are prepared to go above and beyond average behaviour.