Today, on April 12, Astronautics Day is celebrated all over the world. On this holiday, we congratulate cosmonauts, design engineers, courageous space explorers and everyone related to the space sphere.
Space exploration has been the cherished dream of many scientists and pioneers. A big breakthrough in this matter occurred on April 12, 1961 with the launch of the Vostok spacecraft from Baikonur. On board there was a 27-year-old Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. After successfully completing his mission, which lasted 108 minutes, Gagarin returned safely to his home planet. Since then, April 12 has acquired special significance in the history of space exploration. By decision of the UN General Assembly, it began to be celebrated internationally as the International Day of Human Spaceflight.
Belarus has been actively involved in space exploration from the very beginning. In the early 1960s, the republic conducted research and development of new optical instruments and ground-based equipment for missile launch control. There were also developed programs to process data received from satellites.
THE FIRST DISCOVERERS OF THE SPACE
The first female cosmonaut in the world was Valentina Tereshkova. She went into space on June 16-19, 1963, flying the “Vostok-6" spacecraft according to the group flight program with the “Vostok-5” spacecraft, piloted by Valery Bykovsky. The flight lasted two days, 22 hours and 50 minutes, during which her spacecraft circled the Earth 48 times.
The first spacewalk took place on March 18, 1965. It was performed by Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov from the “Voskhod-2” spacecraft. The duration of the first exit was 23 minutes 41 seconds, of which the cosmonaut spent 12 minutes 9 seconds directly outside the ship.
Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to perform a spacewalk and the second female cosmonaut. Her exit from the “Salyut-7” station happened on July 25, 1984.
The “Apollo - 11” manned spacecraft, commanded by Neil Armstrong, took people to the moon for the first time in human history. This significant event took place on July 21, 1969.
BELARUSIANS AND SPACE
Pyotr Klimuk, the first Belarusian cosmonaut, is twice a Hero of the Soviet Union, a pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR, Colonel-General of Aviation, corresponding member of the International Academy of Astronautics, academician of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky and Doctor of Technical Sciences. He made three space flights with a total duration of 78 days.
Vladimir Kovalenok also made a huge contribution to the exploration of outer space. He had the opportunity to go into space three times, the total time of his stay outside the Earth was 216 days, including two hours spent in outer space. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union twice.
Oleg Novitsky conquered space four times with a total duration of 545 days: he led the main crew sent to the International Space Station in 2012 and 2016, made his third flight in 2021 on the “Yuri Gagarin” spacecraft (Soyuz MS-18), after which he was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples. During his second flight, Oleg Novitsky became the first person to unfurl the flag of Belarus in space. In 2024, his fourth flight took place.
Marina Vasilevskaya is the first cosmonaut in the history of sovereign Belarus. In 2024, she participated in a space flight as part of the main crew of the “Soyuz MS-25” spacecraft and a 12-day space expedition visiting EP-21 to the International Space Station. Marina Vasilevskaya became the first Belarusian woman to fly into space and the first representative of the CIS countries to perform a spacewalk.
Yesterday, on April 11, 2024, President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko presented awards to the participants and organizers of the space flight of the first Belarusian cosmonaut in the sovereign history of the country. The Head of State announced his gratitude to cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky. Cosmonaut Marina Vasilevskaya was awarded the title of Hero of Belarus for her courage in space flight and significant personal contribution to space exploration.
Congratulations to everyone on a truly national holiday – the International Day of Human Spaceflight!
