The Belarusian Institute Of System Analysis And Informational Support Of Scientific And Technical Sphere

April 12 – International Day of Human Space Flight
Document address: http://www.belisa.org.by/en/news/f92a417a3fbcf20a.html

12.04.2024

It was on this day, April 12, 1961, that Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made an orbital flight around the Earth for the first time in human history, opening the era of manned space flights and the path to outer space exploration.

Gagarin's flight lasted 108 minutes. Having flown around the planet once, the astronaut received a command from Earth to descend. The descent module landed in the steppe near Saratov. At an altitude of several kilometers, Yuri Gagarin ejected and made a soft landing by parachute. The first cosmonaut on the planet was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on April 14, 1961.

In honor of the historical event, in April 1962, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, a holiday was established — Cosmonautics Day. In 1968, it received international status and was renamed World Aviation and Space Day. On April 7, 2011, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of human space flight, the UN General Assembly, by its resolution, proclaimed April 12 as the International Day of Human Space Flight.

From the first days of space exploration, Belarus did not stand aside. The first developments on space topics in the republic date back to the early 1960s. In scientific institutes and industrial enterprises, the development and creation of the latest optical instruments, ground-based missile launch control systems, and programs for processing space images were carried out.

Over the entire history of its exploration, four natives of Belarus have been in space.

Pyotr Klimuk made his first flight into space in December 1973 as commander of the Soyuz-13 spacecraft. He has three space flights with a total duration of 78 days.

Vladimir Kovalenok visited space three times, spending a total of 216 days there, including more than two hours in outer space.

Cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, during his first flight, led the main crew, which flew to the International Space Station (ISS) on October 23, 2012. On November 17, 2016, during his second space flight, he unfurled the Belarusian flag on board the ISS and took photographs of Minsk and other cities of Belarus from space. In total, Novitsky carried out four space flights with a total duration of 545 days and made three spacewalks. In December 2021, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko awarded Novitsky the Order of Friendship of Peoples.

On March 23, 2024, for the first time in the history of sovereign Belarus, a woman went into space — Marina Vasilevskaya. She made a space flight from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to the International Space Station as part of the main crew of Expedition 21. It also included pilot-cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky and flight engineer and NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson. The flight duration was 14 days, of which 12 days were on the Russian segment of the ISS. Marina Vasilevskaya carried out a scientific program developed by the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus together with Roscosmos and the Russian Academy of Sciences.

On April 11, 2024, at a ceremony at the Palace of Independence, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko presented Marina Vasilevskaya with the Hero of Belarus medal, as well as a cosmonaut certificate. The head of state emphasized: "Marina is among two empires – Russian, the most advanced in space, and the Americans. You understand, this is not just an image. This is our country's greatest victory. Our people deserve it."Alexander Lukashenko assured that Belarus will continue to move towards the development of space technologies: "We will do everything, and we will do a lot more."

Today, all general secondary education institutions in Belarus are holding a single lesson dedicated to the International Day of Human Space Flight. Its goal is to develop students’ interest in the country’s achievements in the field of space research, to cultivate a sense of patriotism, pride in the achievements of Belarus, respect for people who dedicated their lives to the conquest of space, and to develop cognitive interest in space exploration. Also, students will definitely be told about the flight of Belarusian Marina Vasilevskaya into space.

Source: belta.by