the first flight of a man into cosmic space

8/8/2019 The First Flight of a Man Into Cosmic Space

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THE FIRST FLIGHT OF A MANINTO COSMIC SPACE

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J E T P R O P U L S I O N L A B O R A T O R YC A L I F O R M t A 1 IQ S T I T U T E O f T L C H M O L O 6 Y


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National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationContract No. NASw-6

ASTRONAUTICS INFORMATIONi Translation No. 2 3THE FIRST FLIGHT OF A MAN

INTO COSMIC SP AC EPRAVDA, April 25, 1961

Compiled and tran slat edby Joseph L. Zygielbaum

1 '..*JET PROPULSION LABORATORYCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadena, California

May 5, 1961


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JPL AI/Translation No. 23

On April 12, 1961, the Soviet Union has accom plished the flight of a man intocosmic spa ce fo r the fi rs t time in history. The spacesh ip "Vostok,cosmonaut Y ouri A . Gagarin aboard, w a s placed in a satellite orbit around the Earth.The weight of the spa ceship-s atellite, excluding the last stage of the ca rr ie r rocket,was 4,725 kg. According to cor rect ed data which was obtained on the b asi s of pro-cess ing of all measu remen ts, the perigee was 181 krn, the apogee was 327 km, ndthe orbital inclination w as 64'57'.

with the pilot-

After completing it s flight in orbit, the spacesh ip-satellite landed safely at apreselected a re a of our country.

The first cosmic flight of a Soviet man opens an e r a of man's direct penetra-tion into cosmic space, and it is one of the most important events in the history ofcivilization. The real izat ion of this flight is the res ul t of completing a large purpose-ful progr am on the conquest of cosm ic spa ce which was conducted in the Soviet Union.

The gr ea t d ream of the founder of cosmic flights, K . E. Tsiolkovsky, cameTsiolkovsky said : "Mankind will not remain forever on Earth, but in searc hrue.

for light and space it wil l in the beginning barely pen etra te beyond the re al ms of ouratmosp here and then it wil l conquer the en tire so lar sy stem. I'

A DECISIVE STEP TOWARD THE CONQUEST OF COSMIC SPACE

During many thousands of year s, the inquisitive mind of man tri ed to pen etra tethe depths of the universe.discover his place in the un iverse a s well a s to lea rn how to control the laws ofnature.

This is a result of the yearnings of man to le arn and to


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J P L AI/Translation No. 2 3~~ ~~~

Contemporary science has at its disposDistances which a r e alreadytudy of co sm os .

expressed in astronomical figures.

tion a huge ars en al of methods for theaccessible by these means ar e

Cosmos is the world of s t a r s , as tr al associations, and galaxies in which oursolar system is located. Advanced sci enc e, which is equipped with the stu die s ofdialectic materialism, confirms the existence of a multitude of worlds, in which thedevelopment of a higher for m of life is possible.by no means excluded. One should not assert at the pres ent time whe re and in whatform life exists outside of our solar system, but one thing is certain, life does exist.

The orig in of life in the unive rse is

With the appea rance of man on the Ear th , a qualitatively new stage in thedevelopment of the Ea rt h a s a planet began. Learning the laws of nature, men beganto change the face of the E arth, arm ing himself with powerful weapons for the stru gglagainst nature.the greatest achievement--the first flight into cosmic sp ace.

Fro m the first ston e axe, men prog res se d toward the completion of

By ca rry ing out flights into cosmic space, men wi l l penetrate d irectly into anar ea entirely new to them. Any penetration into a new ar ea ca rr ie s with it unpre-dictable new disco verie s.alrea dy ma de possib le the discovery of the ex isten ce of radiation belts around theEarth , which has esse ntially changed our ideas about the atmo sph ere and the rad ia-tion danger during cosmic flights.

The flights of the first artificial Ear th satelli tes have

It is quite difficult to evalu ate completely at the prese nt time the values andall the poten tials of co sm ic flight. There is no doubt about one point, and that is--the penetratio n of sp ace by man will immensely extend the bo undaries of our knowl-edge and w i l l enric h scien ce and culture.

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JP L AI/Translation No. 23

The tem po of development of science and technology in our t ime is increasingwith each yea r. We a r e witnessing today achie vem ents which could not have beenimagined even 15 to 2 0 ye ars ago. There is no doubt that the further development ofscien ce and technique, and particula rly the technique of cosmic flights, wil l takeplace at a mo re rapid pace.

It should be anticipated that, in the very near future, cosmic instruments willbe utilized for the solution of a number of p rac tica l prob lems . Meteorological serv icand ic e re se ar ch , the relay of television and radio transm issio ns, the carr yin g out ofthe m ost extensive scienti fic investigations outside of the Eart h's atmosphere, thesea r e only the first steps on this road. These steps will be followed by manned flightsto the Moon and oth er pla nets of the so lar system , the creation of orbiting inter-planetary statio ns, the grad ual adaptation of ma n to life in space. In the distantfuture, communication with distant worlds can be foreseen , which at the present timeseems to be only sc ien ce fiction imaginings.

Among the g reat number of scientific technical prob lems which we re putbefore Soviet scientists and designers during the preparation and accomplishment ofa manned flight into spa ce, one of the prin cipa l pro blem s was to sec ure the necessaryconditions f or a saf e flight of a man and his return to Earth. For the solution of thisscientific technical problem, it was necessary to conduct a great number of con-struction tests and experimental launchings.

During the examination of possible variations for the first manned flight, itwas decided that the m os t purposeful way to accomplish this would be by the utiliza-tion of a spaceship-satellite, sinc e such a flight opens to man the ro ad dire ctly intocosmos. A flight along a ballistic trajectory aboard the rocket, which is essentially


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JPL AI/Translation No. 23~ ~ ~~

not a cosmic flight but basi cally only a sensational spectacle , was disreg arded. It isther efo re, not by accident that Soviet scie ntis ts and des igners have, fr om the verybeginning, directed all thei r ef forts towards the creation of a rtificial sate llite s andcos mic ships of larg e weights and dimensions. Thi s was the princ ipal approach forthe development of cos mic flights in the USSR. Only in this way could the hist ori calmanned flight into cos mic sp ac e have been accomplished.

Beginning with Sputnik II, which ca rr ied a n experimental anima l aboar d, thedog Laika, and up to the spaceship-s atellite "Vostok", Soviet sci en tis ts and design er

have followed this road without any deviations.It was necessa ry to obtain as much inform ation a s possible on the operation of

the str uc tur e of the cosmic ships, their instrumentation, and to check the reliabilityof contr ol for the vario us sy stem s during the flight. A princip al new proble m wasthe creation of a syst em for the orientation of cosmic spacesh ip-satellite s and thesolution of the p rob lem of the ship 's return to Earth.

F o r the flight of a man aboard a spaceship, it was also necessary to sec urethe maintenance of normal pres su re, tempe rature, the contents of air and other con-ditions necessary to the life activity of a man.

The car ryin g out of scie ntif ic investigations of cos mic s pa ce along with thesolution of pri ncip al pro ble ms of the physics of cos mos yielded the ne ce ssa ry info r-mation on the effe cts of various radia tions on live or gan ism s during conditions ofcos mic flight and also the meteo rite danger during the flight. On the bas is of the datobtaine d,steps were taken to protect the sp aceship -satellites fro m radiation.

A great amount of experimental material which was obtained a s a result of theflights of the first Soviet spaceship-satellites and the development of a system for


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securing a successful retu rn of the spaceship to Earth, made it possible f or Sovietscien tists and designers to start the construction of a spaceship for a manned flightinto space. A s a r esu lt of a gr ea t and intensive operation, the spac eship 'lVostokf'was created. In March, 1961, the two i na l controlled test launchings of this space-ship we re conducted. During these launchings theco smon aut's chair was occupied bya mannequin. In addition, the expe rimental animals Chernushka and Zvevdochka we rpresent in this cabin.

These flights were accomplished in ac cordance with the sam e pro gram bywhich the first manned flight into space was to take place. Both flights corre spon dedvery closely with the assig ned prog ram and confirmed the high reliab ility of the con-struc tion and al l systems of the spaceship.

A thorough preliminary testing of the spaceship -sate llite "Vostok" assu re d acomplete succ ess during its very first launching with a cosmonaut aboard , which tookplace on Apr il 12, 1961.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE COSMIC S H I P "VOSTOK"

The cosmic ship "Vostok" was developed on the basi s of the expe rience whichwas obtained during the launchings of the first Soviet spacesh ip-satellites.

The spaceship-satellite consists of two basic parts:1. The pilot's cabin, o r cockpit, which houses the cosmonaut, equipment which

assu res active life, and the landing sy stem;An ins trum ent secti on which is designed fo r housing all instruments which a re inoperation during the flight in orbit and the braking m otor installation of the s pac eship.

2.


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J P L AI/Translation No. 23

A f t e r achieving its orbit, the spaceship-satellite is separated fro m the laststage of the c arr ier rocket.accorda nce with a determined program, which assu re s orbital parame ter measur e-men ts, tran smis sion to Ea rt h of telem etry information and television images of thecosmonaut, a two-way rad io communication with the E arth , maintenance of the desiretem per atur e reg ime aboa rd the spaceship, and ai r conditioning inside the pilot's cab inThe operation of the instruments is controlled automatically with the help of a speci alprogr ammin g device aboard the spaceship and, during emergencies, by the pilot -cosmonaut himself.

During its flight, the spaceship's instrumen ts operate in

The program for the first manned flight into space called for only one orbitaround the Earth . However, the construction and equipment of the space sh ip- sat ell itepe rm its the accom plishment of m or e extended flights.

After completing the flight program , before landing, a special sys tem c ar r ie sThen, at a preselec tedut the or ien tat ion of the spacesh ip in a determined direction.

point on the orb it, the braking motor in stallation is activated, and,as a resu lt, thespaceship's velocity is decreased to a precalcu lated magnitude.activities, the spaceship-satellite enters a descent trajectory.

A s a result of these

The cosmonaut's cabin is slowed down in the atmosphere. The descent tra-jectory is selected in such a manner that the gravitation during the sp aceship'sentranc e into the dense lay ers of the atmosp here does not exceed the maximumgravitatio n forc e tolerable for man. After the spaceship's cabin comes down to thedesired altitude, the landing system is activated.cabin takes place at low speed. F r o m the moment of activation of the braking moto r

The direct landing of the pilot's

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JPL AI/Translation No. 2 3

inst alla tion to the moment of landing, the spaces hip trave ls about 8, 000 km.duration of flight along the descen t sector is approximately 30 min.

The

The ext ernal surfa ce of the pilot's cabin is covere d with a heat-protectionlaye r which elimi nates the danger of burning up during re- en try through the denselayers of the atmosphere.

Three illuminators and two rapidly opening portho les a r e built into the casingThe illumin ators a r e equipped with heat-resista nt glas s and perm it thef the cabin.

cosmonaut to make observatio ns during the duration of flight.

Inside the space ship -sate llite , the cosmonaut occupies an ejection sea t whichis also his working place during the flight; it is designed to se rv e as an escapemecha nism for the cosmonaut in ca se of necessity. The chair is installed in such amanner that the g-forces during the acceleratio n portion and during the r e-entry, wil lact on the cosmonaut in the most favorable directions (chest-back).

During his first flight, the pilot-cosmonaut was clothed in a protective suit,which ass ur ed his safety and work ability even in the event a leak should develop inthe herm etica lly seal ed cabin of the spaceship.

The spaces hip satellite also carr ied the following:1. Inst rum ents and equipment necessa ry fo r the protection of act ive life of a man's

organ ism (an air-conditioning system, a system for the regulation of pressure,food and water, a sy stem which assured th e elim inat ion of produc ts of a man 'sphysiological activities);Inst rum ents for fligh t control and a sy ste m for manual guidance of the spac eship(pil ots panel, instr um ent panel, block for manual control, etc);

2.

3 . A landing system;


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4. Radio equipment for communication between the cosmonaut and Ear th;5. A sy ste m for independent registra tion of data on the operation of the instruments

radio telemetry sys tems, and various indicators;6 . A televis ion syste m for the purpose of observation of the cosmonaut fro m Earth ;7. An appara tus fo r the regis trat ion of physiolog ical functions of the man;8 . A brak ing motor in stallatio n of the spacesh ip;9. An orientation-system apparatus;

10. Flight-guidance instruments;11.12. A thermo regulation system;13. Power sources.

Radio systems for m easurements of orbital param eters;

On the externa l sur fac e of the spaceship steering org ans, orientation elemen tshutters of the system of thermo regulatioqand antennas of the radio sy stem wereinstalleg.

The pilot's cabin aboard the spaceship-satellite is much more spacious thanThe equipment of the cabin is arranged with the considerationn airplan e cockpit.

of convenience for the activity of the cosmonaut during the flight. When sittin g in hischair, the cosmonaut can ca rr y out all necess ary o perations connected with observa-tions , communication with Ear th, flight control, and, when nec essary , guidance ofthe spaceship.

In the body of the pi lo t's chair a r e i nstalle d the following:1. A sep ara tion button with an auxiliary sy st em fo r the fixation of th e pilotIs body

during ejection and descent by parachute i f necessary;2 . A parachute system ;


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3 . Ejection and pyrotechnical installation;4. An emergency kit (food, water , and supplie s) and a radio communicator for com-

munications and direct ion finding which can be used by the cosmonaut in cas e of afo rced landing;

5. A ventilation syste m for the pilot's su it and a parachute oxygen device;6. Automation for the pilot's chair.

The pilot can land while remaining inside the cabin of the spaceship. Such alanding method was tested during the flight of the fo urth and fifth Soviet sp acesh ip-sat elli tes during which exp erime ntal animals were prese nt inside the cabin. A land-ing method is also provided with the ejection cha ir carry ing the cosmonaut fro m thecabin at a n altitude of about 7 km and a resulting landing by parachute. This methodwas also tes ted during the launchings of spaceship-satellites.

The air -conditioning sys tem which w as installed aboard the spaceship-satellimaintained inside the pilo t's cabin a normal pre ssu re, norm al concentration of oxygeby a concentration of carbon dioxide gas which did not exceed 170,a temperature onthe level of 15 to 22"C, nd a corresponding humidity within the limits of 30 o 70%.The rege ner atio n of the air composition, the absorption of carbon dioxide gas andwater v apors with a discharge of the corresponding amount of oxygen, is accomp-lished by the utilization of highly active chemical compounds.process is regula ted automatically . During the decr ease of the amount of oxygen andthe increase of the concentration of carbon dioxide gas, a spec ial indicator emits asigna l in response to which the executive mechan ism changes the mode of operation o

The regeneration

the regenerator. During an excess discharge of oxygen an automatic op eratio n of th


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JPL AI/Translation No. 23~ ~~

executive mechan ism takes place, which leads to a decre ase in the discharge ofoxygen into the atm osphere of the cabin.ca rr ie d out analogously.

The regulation of humidity in the air is also

In the c as e of contamination of a i r by harm ful adm ixture s which a r e producedby the discharge during man's physiological functions and the operation of the instru-ments, a purification is provided by special filters.

The maintenance of the desired temp eratur e lim its during the flight aboa rdthe spaceship is accomplished with a system of th erma l regulation. Its most out-standing property is the utilization, for the purp ose of eliminating excess hea t fro mthe cabin occupied by the pilot, of a liquid cooling agent, the temperature of which ismaintained at a constant level.

The cooling agent progresses from a sy ste m of therm o regulation into aliquid-air radia tor. The air consumption through the radiator is automatically regu-lated depending on the tem peratu re in the descending ship. Thus, the desir ed tem-perature limit insid e the cabin is maintained with gre at accuracy.

F o r the purpose of maintaining a stable temperature of the cooling agents andsecuring the required temp erature limit in the instrument section, its external sur-face is equipped with a radiation heat converter and a shutter sys tem which is alsocontrolled automatically.

F o r the purp ose of landing at a preselected area, the spaceship-satelliteshould be prop erly orie nted in space before the braking mo tor installation is activatedThis problem is solved by a sys tem of orientation.orientation was accomplishe d by one of the spaceship 's axes in the direction of theSun. The seris itive elements of this system a r e a number of optical gyroscopic

During this given flight, the

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J P L AI/Translation No. 23~

instruments. Signals fr om these instruments a r e converted into commands in theelectro nic block, and, i n respon se to these commands, the steering mechanisms areactivated. The orientation system provides automatic Sun seeking, the proper turningof the ship, and accu rat e locking-in of the s hip in the re quired position.

After the spaceship is oriented the braking motor ins tallation of the spac eshipis activated at the pro per time. The command for the activation of the ori enta tionsystem , the braking motor installation, and other sy stem s a r e given by the electron icprogramming installation.

Fo r the measurement of the orbital param eters of the spaceship-satellite andthe control of the operation of its instruments, a radio-measuring and radio-telemetry apparatus is installed. The measu reme nt of flight pa ram ete rs of the spaceship and the rece ption of teleme try information during its flight is ca rr ied out byground stations which a r e distributed along the te rri to ry of the USSR. Measurementdata are autom atically fed ov er communication l ines into computation cen ters , wher etheir processing is ca rr ied out on electron ic computers. A s a result, information isobtained oper atively during the flight on the basic para me ter s of the orbit, and aprognosis can be made on the further flight of the spaceship.

The radio sys tem "Signal" installed aboard the spacesh ip operat es on the f re-quency of 19.995 mc, and ser ve s a s a direction finder for the ship and for the trans-mission of bits of teleme try information.

The television syst em transm its imag es of the cosmonaut to Earth, whichmakes it possible to ca rr y on a visual observation of his condition. One TV cameratransmits full-face images of the pilot and another ca me ra shows the pilot in profile.

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J P L AI/Translation No.

A two-way communication between the cosmonaut and Ea rt h is secu red by aradio-telephone sy ste m which opera tes in a shortwave range (9 .019 and 20.006 mc)and an ultra-shortwave frequency (143.625 mc).

The ultra-shortw ave channel w a s utilized f or communication with groundstations at distances fro m 1,500 to 2,000 km.nels with ground station s which a re located on the ter ri to ry of the USSR can be carron during a large part of the orbit, as was proven by experien ce.

Communication over shortwav e chan

The radio-telephone sy ste m also contains a tape record er which reco rds thecosmo naut's voice during the flight s o that it can be played back and transm itted toEa rth when the spaces hip is passing over the ground-receiving stations. A radiotelegraph transmissio n is also provided for the cosmonaut aboard the spaceship.

The instrum ent panel installed aboard the spacesh ip and the pilot's panel a redesigned for the cont rol of the operation of the bas ic sy ste ms aboa rd the space shipand for assuring, in case of necessity, the retu rn of the spa cesh ip by utilizing themanual-guidance system.to rs and signal plates, an electr ic clock, and also a globe, the rotat ion of which issynchron ized with the motion of th e sp aceship along its orbi t. The globe permits thcosmonaut to dete rm ine the position of the spaceship . A handle and a switch locateon the pilot's pa nel control the operation of the radio-telephone sys tem, regulationthe temperature inside the cabin, and als o the activation of the manual co ntro l and tbraking motor.

The instrument panel contains a number of arrow indica-

During the construction of the spaces hip spe cial attention was given to theprov ision of utm ost safety fo r the pilot.satell ite have confirm ed the high reliability in the operation of the instruments and

The launchings of the first Soviet spaceshi


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equipment. However, on the spaceship "Vostok" a number of additional saf etymea sure s wer e taken in or der to exclude any possible unfortunate accidents and toguarantee a safe flight fo r the cosmonaut. Th is complied fully with the basic problemwhich was to construc t a spa cesh ip which would pe rmi t a man to penetrate safely intocosmic space.

Fo r the purpose of the spaceships orientation in the c as e of manual control,the cosmonaut will utilize the optical orientator which perm its him to determ ine th eposition of the spac eship in relation to the Eart h. The optical orientator is installedon one of the illum inators of the pilot's cabin. The orient ator con sists of two circu-lar mi rro r ref lec tors , a light fil ter and a glass with a reticle. Rays fr om the li ne ofthe horizon fall on the first reflector and then pass through the glass of the illuminatoand fal l on the second reflector which dire cts them through the reticle to the eye ofthe cosmonaut. During a cor rec t orientation of the spacesh ip in relation to the ve rti -cal, the cosmonaut can see in his field of vision the imag e of the horizon in the fo rmof a ring.

Through the c entral p art of the illuminator the cosmonaut can observe thesection of the Ea rth 's surface which is dire ctly beneath him. The position of thelengthwise axis of the spaceship in rela tion to the di rect ion of flight is determ ined byobserving the "run" of the Earth's surface in the field of vision of the orientator.

By activating the steer ing organs, the cosmonaut can tur n the space shiparound in such a manner tha t the line of t he horiz on wil l be visible in the orientator ithe f or m of a concentric ring and the direction of the "run" of the Earth's surface wilcoincide with the cou rse c har t of the scree n. This will testify to the corre ct orienta-tion of the space ship. In ca se of necess ity, the field of vision of the orien tator can bcovered up with a light filter or a curtain. 1


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J P L AI/Translat ion No. 23

The globe which is installed on the instru men t panel, makes it possible todeterm ine , in addition to the curr en t position of the spacesh ip, the place of landing byactivating the braking motor at a given time .

Finally, because of its natural braking in the atmosphere, the construction ofthe spaceship permits him to car ry out a landing on Ea rth even in the event the b rak -ing moto r installation fails.

Supplies of food, water , regeneration matte r, and the capacity of sources ofelectrical current a r e calculated for a flight lasting up to ten days.

In the con struct ion of the spaceship, mean s were provided which w i l l preventthe tempera ture inside the cabin to ri se above the d etermined lim its during theextended heating of its surfa ce which occu rs at the time of the grad ual braking of th espaceship in the atm osphere.

MEDICAL-BIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF A MANNED FLIGHTINTO COSMIC SPACE

F o r the so lution of the problem on the possibility of a manned flight intocosmic space and his medical security it was necessary to do the following:1 . Study the effect of fac to rs of cosmic flight on a o rga nism, and al so inves tigate the

possible f orm s and methods of protection fr om the unfavorable influence of thesefactors.Develop the most effective methods for s ecu ring norm al conditions of life activityof a man in the cabin of a spaceship.

2.

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J P L AI/Translat ion No. 23

3. Develop methods for medical selection and training of members of a spaceshipcrew, and also develop a sys tem of continuous med ical con trol ove r the conditionof health and work capability of the pilot during all portions of the flight.

Each of th e above-mentioned p roblems contained a gr ea t number of specificassi gnm ents on the study and solution of which intensive work was conducted fo r aperiod of 10 yea rs by specialis ts in the fie ld of physiology, hygiene, psychology,biology, and clinical and pro fes sio nal medicine. Investigations we re conducted inEarth-laboratory conditions and during flights of anim als aboa rd rock ets. Vastexp erien ces which wer e accumulated in appl ied fields of physiology and medicine,partic ularly in aviation medicine and in med ical provisions f or skin diving and sub-marine activities, w ere utilized. Wherever it was possible , special ground stan dswere set up which per mi tted investigations under lab ora tor y conditions, of the effectof fa ctor s which can be encountered during a cosm ic flight. The effec ts of g-f orc esand the endurance of or gan ism s to these force s w e r e stud ied with the help of cent ri-fuges. Acceleration was imita ted on centrifuges, which is analogous to the acceler-ation during the s tarting secto r of the spaceship or during its retur n to Earth.

With the help of vibrators, heat and vacuum cham bers , and othe r installatio nthe effects of othe r fact ors on an organism wer e investigated. However, labor atoryexperience, as a rule, can give results only in reg ard to the effects on an organismof one given factor at a time from among the above-mentioned, whereas , during anactual flight aboard the rocket, these factors act in a combined form and simultane-ously.of live orga nism s in conditions of weightlessn ess. The refo re, a sensible approach to the

In addition, under lab orato ry conditions it w a s imp ossi ble to study the behavi

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study of the effe cts of conditions of cosmic flights on org an ism s was the c ar ry ing outof biological investigations with rocke ts, which began in 19 51.

Several dozen experime nts with anim als aboa rd rocke t fl ights wereconducted up to altitude s of 450 km. A s a result of these investigations, broadscientific m ate ria l was obtained which charac teri zed the reac tion of physiologicalsy ste ms and the behavior of an ima ls (dogs, rabb its, ra ts , and mice) at var ious flightphases. A thorough investigation of experimental anima ls during the flight, a s wellas during a long period af te r their return to Earth, has per mitt ed us to conclude thatthe flight conditions aboar d roc ket s through the upper lay ers of t he atm ospher e can bewithstood by live organi sms completely satis fac tori ly. Changes which wer e noticedin se pa ra te physiological functions during the flight did riot ca rr y any il l effects; theyoften disappe ared even during the proces s of the experim ent and no after-e ffec ts w er ediscovered later on.

However, due to the fac t that rocket flights a r e very sho rt, we did not succee din investigating the biological effects of such important facto rs of cosmic flight a sextended weigh tlessness and cosm ic radiation.fo r biological experiments, artificial Earth sa tell ites, which began in 1957, was anextremely important s t ep forward.

This is why the possibility of utilizing

The first such experiment was made with the second Soviet artif icia l Ear thsatellite.biological tests with roc kets , but also succeede d in proving that an extended conditionof weightlessness in itself does not distort the basic processes of life activity.

Biological experiments were continued with the first Soviet spaceship-

Th is exper iment not only confirmed and broadened the data of p rev ious

satellites. The progr am of thes e medical biological investig ations also included a

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number of new problems.deeper study of the effects on an organism of extended weightlessness , and the tr an -sition fro m w eightlessness to gravitation and vice ver sa, also to investigate mo rethoroughly the biological effe cts of cosmic rad iatio n. An imp ortant sectio n of theprogram w a s als o the investigation of the ch ara cter ist ic s of operation and the effec-tive nes s of the system which in future flights should have sec ured normal conditionsfo r active life of a man and to guarantee his sa fe return to Earth. Fo r the purpose ofrealizing the assigned program, the first Soviet spaceship-satellite car ried a variety

of sp ecim ens of organic life, beginning with the most sim ple for ms of life and extend-ing to higher vertebrates.

It seemed to be important, in spi te of the additional and

The utilization of variou s types of anim als and plants during these exper imen thas p erm itted parti cularly complete and detailed study of the e ffects of conditions ofcosm ic flight under most variable proce sses and functions of organ isms . The infor-mation obtained on the behavior and condition of the physiological func tions of experi-mental anim als was very extensive, particu larly on clogs during the flight period.Observation of the behavior of an ima ls was accomplished with the help of specialtelevis ion syst em s. An analy sis of the obtained data has shown tha t not only did theanimals completely pres erv e their active life in conditions of extended ef fec ts ofweightlessness and the following effects of g-forces, but also no ill effects on the irbas ic physiological functions were detected.investigation of the a nim als a ft er the flight did not disclo se any deviations fro mnormal.

Also, sufficiently long and thorough

Very se rio us attention was paid to the possible d iscovery of any effects f romthe influence of cosm ic radiation during flights aboa rd spa ceship -satellite s . Numerou

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methods which w e r e utilized f o r solving this proble m did not d isclose any changeswhich could have been ascr ibed to ionizing radia tion.

These r esu lts of medical-biological investigations aboard spac eship-sa telliteshave made it possible to draw som e very important and reliable conclusions, It wasrecognized that flights aboard sp aceship- satellites along an orbit, which was consci-entiously selec ted below the near-Earth radiation belts, are sa fe for highly developedrep rese nta tive s of the anim al world . The res ul ts of biological exp erim ents wer eutili zed fo r the solution to the problem on the endurab ility of flight conditions by aman.

On this bas is, and als o taking into consideration the resu lts of labora toryinvestigations, we came to the conclusion that a manned flight into space is possiblewithout any ha rm to the health of the man.

PREPARATION OF THE COSMONAUT

The first cosmic flight could have been undertaken only uy a man who, afterrealizing the huge responsibility of the assignm ent placed before him, would con sci-entiously and voluntarily ag re e to give all his knowledge and power, and als o possiblyhis life, in ord er to car ry out this outstanding achievement.citiz ens, pat riot s of their motherland, of various ages and professio ns, haveexpres sed their wish to complete a flight into cosmi c spac e.rece ived the assignm ent for a scientifically based se lecti on of the first cosmonautsfrom that great number of volunteers.

During a cosm ic flight, a man wil l encounter the e ffects and en tir e complex o

Thousands of Soviet

Soviet sci ent ists

fac tors of the exte rnal environment (acceleration, w eightlessn ess, etc. ), considerab1


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nervous emotional tensions, which would req uir e a man to mobilize al l his m oraleand physical forces. A cosmonaut should thereby preserve a high work capability, anintelligent orientation in the complicated condition of flight, and, in ca se of nec ess ityhe should be ab le to particip ate in the guidance of the spaceship. Al l this has placedhigh requirements on the state of health of a cosmonaut, his psychological qualities,and the level of his general and technical preparation.

The se qualities coincide mos t closely with the profess ion of a pilot.activity of a pilot de term ines the stability of hi s nervou s emotional sph ere, and hisquality of strong will, and this is particularly important for the first cosmic pilots.Then, the category of people participating in such flights undoubtedly should and mu stbe considerably enlarged.

The

During the se lection of the group of cosm onau ts, numerous interviews wereconducted with a gr eat number of pilots who exp ressed their wish to partic ipatein cosm ic flight. The pilots who were mo st prep ared for such a task underwent athorough physical and psychological investigation.tion was: to determine the condition of health, to disc lose any hidden deficien ces ordecr ease in the stability of their organism towards sepa rate facto rs which a r e ch ar -acterist ic of the forthcoming flight, and to evaluate the reacti on of man under theinfluence of these fac to rs .

The purpose of such an investiga -

Investigations w ere conducted with the utili zation of a number of contemporarbiochemical, physiological, electro pw sio log ica l. and psychological methods andspecial functional tests which have permitted the evaluation of the re ser ve possibili t i

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of bas ic physiological sy stem s of the organisms (tests in a bar0 chamber by a rar i f i -cation of air to a considerable extent during a drop of barom etric pre ssur e, and inhalation of oxygen during incr ease d pre ssur e, centrifuge tes ts, etc. ).

An important stage was the psychological investigation, which was dire ctedtoward the disc overy of people who posse ss the best memory, imagination, active andeas ily changing attention, and capability fo r quick execution of well-coordinated movements.

A s a res ult of the clinical physiological investigations, a group was formedwhich imm ediately proceeded toward the accom plishme nt of the progra m of s pec ialtraining on special installation s and training devices which imitated i n ground andflight conditions the fac to rs of a cosmic flight. A t the same time, the individualcharac ter ist ics of reaction of a n organism to the effects of imitated factors w ere d eter-mined.

Th e p rograms for special training were calculated to familiarize the cosmonawith the nec essa ry knowledge on the basic theore tica l pro blem s which a r e connectedwith the as signment of the forthcoming flight, and also with the util ization of equip-ment and inst rum ent s in the cabin of a spac esh ip. Thi s pro gram provided for thestudy of the basic r ocket and cosmic techniques, the construction of a cosmic ship,spe cial proble ms of astronom y, geophysics, and basi c cosm ic medicine.

A complex of sp ecia l trainings and tests included:Flights aboard airp lanes in conditions of weightlessness;Training inside a mock-up cabin of a spac eship and on specia l stands;Extended presence in special sound-proof chambers;

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JP L AI/Translation No. 2

Training on a centrifuge;Parachute jumps f rom airplanes.

In the process of completing this special training certain problems were alsosolved which dealt with the security of a cosmic flight of a man, pa rticu larl y problemconnected with feed ing the cosmonauts during the flight, his clothing, and the air-regeneration system.

During flights aboard airplan es, individual reac tion s of cosmonauts to theeffects of weigh tlessness and transition from weigh tlessness to gravitation wereinvestiga ted. The possibility of carrying on rad io communication, eating and drink-ing, etc ., was also studied. This type of t es t has yielded an answer to a number ofimp orta nt questions on the possible activities of a man under conditions of cosmicflights.

It was e stab lished that al l selected cosmonauts endured the st at e of weight-lessness very well . In addition, it was prove n that , in conditions of weigh tlessnesswhich lasted up to 40 seconds, a normal acceptance by man of liquid, semi-liqu id andsolid foods is possible. The execution of fine coord inated ac ts (writing, intentionalhand motions, etc.) , carr ying on of radio communications, reading , and als o visu alorientation in space, is possible.

Training inside a mock-up cabin of a sp aces hip and on a s pec ial training s tandwas conducted for the purpose of studying the equipment and instrumentation of thecabin, checking the varian ts of the flight assignm ent, adaptation toward the presen cein a r e a l cabin of a spacesh ip, etc. For this purpose, a special training stand w a sdeveloped which, with the help of e lectronic modulating devic es, has per mitt ed re a lmeasurements to be conducted which would correspond with measurements made

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during an actu al flight. The activities of the pilot corresponded to the actu al flightactivities.training of the activities of the astronaut during such cr as h situations was as sure d.

The possibi lity of imitating the unusual (emerge ncy ) va ria nt s of flight and

The principa l assignmen t of investigations during the long period s in spec iallyequipped sound-proof chambers w a s to determ ine the nervous psychological stabilityof the cosmonaut during his long stay in isolate d space in clos e q uar ters in conjunc-tion with a considerable decrease of externa l stimulation. A day reg ime and condi-tions for feeding wer e crea ted, which w er e approx imate to the conditions which would

take place during a real flight.A great number of pbsiological investigations and also special psychological-

physiological methods ha s perm itted the sele ction of perso ns who had bette r char -acter is t ics of accuracy, clearer accomplishment of problems, and a more stablenervous -emotional sphere.

During tests on centifuges and heat cha mbers, the individual endurance bycosmonauts of the co rresponding effects w a s determ ined. The influence of thes eeffe cts on the co ur se of the bas ic physiological functions was studied, and the prob -lem s of in creased stability of the organism s to the crea ted fac tors fro m the externalenvironment were solved. As a result of these investigations, it w a s established thathe cosmonauts po sse ss a good stability toward the eff ects of the above-named fac torand the sele cted pe rson s withstood the tests better than the others.

In the pr oc ess of para chute training, each cosmonaut completed se ve ral dozenjumps. Phy sical train ing of the group of cosmonauts cons isted of planned exer cis esand morning gym nastics.

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J P L AI/Translat ion No. 2 3

The planned exercises w e r e conducted with the considera tion of individualch ar ac te ris tic s of the physical development of eac h of the cosmonauts.ex er cis es we re conducted for one hour daily and their purpose was gen eral physicalpreparedness . The physical exercises wer e directed toward the incre ase of stabilityof the organ ism toward the effect of accele ration , the cultivation of experience in the

The morning

fr ee control of a body in space, and the increase of the capability to endure extendedphysical tensions.

Physical training w a s conducted un der a constant medical observation and ha sincluded spec ially selec ted gymnastic exercises, games, water diving, swimming,and exerc ise s on special devices.

A f t e r the completion of th e progra m oftoward the forthcoming co smic flight w a s organized. This prep aratio n cons isted ofthe following:1. The study of flight assignme nts, chart of the area of landing, piloting instructionsconduction of rad io communication, etc. ;2. The study of the emergency kit, its utilization at the point of eme rgen cy landing,

the study of the di rec tion finding syst em, etc . ;Tes ts on the centrifuge in a sp ace suit at maximum magnitudes of an ticipated g-forces;Long-lasting tests in a mock-up type spa cesh ip with the utilization of a ll s yst em sof life pre ser vat ion .

special training, a direct preparation

3 .

4.

A s a r e su l t of the conducted tra inin gs , a group of cosmonauts w a s selectedwho were prepared and ready for a flight into cosmic spac e.

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I

J P L AI/Translation No. 2 3

F r o m that group of cosmonauts, the pilot Major Youri Gsrgarin was sele ctedfo r the first flight into spac e by a man.

Thi s outstanding Soviet man, Youri Gagarin , w as born on March 9, 1934, intoAf t e rfamily of collective farm ers.

gradua tion from the O renbu rg Aviation School in 1957, and af te r obtaining thespe ciali ty of a mi litar y fighter pilot, Youri Gaga rin serv ed in one of the sectors ofthe a rm ed f or ce s of the Soviet Union. By h is own reque st, he was taken into con-sideration as a candidate or a cosmonaut and he successfu lly passed the sele ction,During the prep aration of a group of cosmonauts,Youri Gagarin w a s one of the bestcandidates.

His long-lasting dr ea m was to become a pilot.

THE FIRST COSMIC FLIGHT

The launching of the s paceship "Vostok" took place on Apr il 1 2 , 1961, at 9:07a. m ., Moscow time.

During the duration of the en tire acc eler atio n sec tor of flight, the pilot cos-monaut Youri Gagarin maintained a continuous radio-telephone communication withthe ground cen ter which conducted the flight.during that sector of flight was very sa tisfactory . He noted the changes in gravita tionand the mom ents of s epa ratio n of the stag es of the carrier rocket very accurately.The noi se inside the cabin of the spacesh ip did not exceed the noise in the cockpit of aje t plane. During the acceleration sector, Youri Gagarin observ ed the Eart h throughthe illuminator.

The state of being of the cosmonaut

The control of the operation of the instr umen ts aboa rd the sp aceship duringthe flight in orbit, and the orientation and descent of the spacesh ip was ca rr ie d out

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J P L AIITranslation No. 23

automatically. However, in case of necessity, the cosmonaut could have, by his ownwish or by command from Earth, taken the contro ls of the spac eship into his hands,determine his position, and ca r ry out the descent and landing in the preselectedregion.

Afte r the injection into orbit, the state of weigh tlessn ess began. In the begin-ning, this state was ver y unusual for the cosmonaut, but very soon he becam e accus -tomed to it . The s ta te of being of Youri Gagar in during the ent ire duration of weight-lessness w a s very good; his work capability was completely preserved.

In correspondence with the assignment and the flight prog ram, Gagarinfollowed the opera tion of the ins truments aboard the spaceship , he maintained acontinuous telephone and telegrap h radio communication with the E arth , he conductedobse rvatio ns through the illuminator and the optical orien tator, he report ed to Earthand record ed data of ob serva tions in his log book a s wel l as on a tape recor der, andhe ate and drank.

The Ear th 's surface was clearly visible from an altitude of 300 km. Gagarincould s ee very sharply the shoreline, large rive rs , the relief of the Earth 's surface,large forests, clouds and thei r shadows on the Ea rth. During the flight over theter rito ry of our country, Youri Gagarin could observe th e lar ge fields of our collec-tive farms .

The sky was ent irely black. The stars on the background of the sky seem ed to bebrighter and sharper than as seen from the Earth. The Ea rt h is surro und ed by a ve rybeautiful blue halo. The colors on the horizon change fro m Light blue, to blue, deepblue, violet, and finally black. During the exit fro m the shadow ne ar the horizon of theEarth, a bright orange co loring appears, which then pa sse s on to all colors of a rainbow

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At 9:51 a . m . , Moscow tim e, the automatic s ys tem of orientat ion of thespace ship was activated. After leaving the shadow, this syst em carr ied out it sseeking operation and the sh ip was oriented on the Sun.

A t 9:52 a.m., MOSCOW ime , the cosmonaut Youri Gagarin, who was thenflying over the area of Cape Horn, tra nsmi tte d one of his rep ort s about his well beingand the norm al operation of the instrum ents aboard.

At 10: 15 a. m ., Moscow time, from the automatic programming device camethe command fo r the prep aration of the instru men ts aboard toward the activation ofthe braking motor. A t that moment, the spa ceship was flying toward Africa, andYouri Gagarin transmitted his succe ssive rep or t about the flight.

A t 10:25 a .m ., Moscow time, the braking moto r was activated and the sp ace-ship tran sfe rre d from the orbit of a n Earth satellite to a descent trajectory.

A t 10:35 a . m . , Moscow tim e, the spa ceship began to enter the dense layers ofour atmosphere. After completing the first cosm ic flight in history with a cosmonautaboard, the spaceship "Vostok" landed at a preselected are a at 10:55 a. m., Moscowtime. After his ret ur n fro m that cosmic flight, the pilot cosmonaut Youri Gagarin isin very good shape. No distur bance s in the sta te of h i s health and mind were detected

The first flight in histo ry into cosm ic space, which was accom plished by aSoviet cosmonaut Youri Gagarin aboard a space ship-s atellite "Vostok", has mad e itpossible to draw the conclusion of great scientific value about the prac tica l possibilityof manned flights into space.conditions of cosm ic flights, accelera tion, and injection into an orbit and of re tu rn toEarth. This flight has proven that conditions of weig htlessn ess do not affect a ma n' scapability to maintain his work capability, coordination of movements, and sh arp ne ss

This flight has pro ven that man can normally en dure

of mind. 2


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Fig. 1. Orbit path of spaceship-s atellite Vostok

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Fig. 2. Inside view of astronaut Gagarin's cabinPilo t's control panel (5) Manual flight control stickInstrument panel withsynchronized globeTelevision cameraIlluminator with ret icle(optical orientator)

( 6 ) Radio receiver(7) Food container

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Fig. 3. Gagarin in space suit before flight

the first flight of a man into cosmic space

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