How The First Man Went Into Space

A story of how the space race propelled the first man into space 50 years ago.

Space and its wondrous objects have always held a fascination in man's mind since time immemorial. Exploring the moon and planets and visiting others world has always caught the fancy of every human being. But that dream lingered on through the ages and it took the determination and the race between two men to realize that dream. Today, on the 50th anniversary of the launch of first man in space, we will tell you how the story began.

While the story begins as the space race between two World War II allies started, you first need to know about the individuals who deserve credit for the seemingly unattainable feat.

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was a Russian rocket scientist who is considered one of the founding fathers of rocketry and astronautics. Born deaf and partially blind, he self taught and theorized ways for man to explore space by using multistage rockets fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. His mention is important because his works served as an inspiration and his ideas were put into practical use by future generations of rocket scientists around the world and most prominently, the two pioneers of rocket science - Sergei Korolev of the USSR and Wernher von Braun of Nazi Germany. Sergei Korolev and another Soviet rocket scientist Valentin Glushko studied his works as youths. It has been known that von Braun possessed a copy of one of his books and almost every page had annotations by von Braun.

Sergei Korolev

Sergei Korolev was one of the top most Soviet rocket scientists and pioneer of his time. He and his group of fellow engineers had already launched the Soviet Union's first liquid propelled rocket as early as 1933. He had a dream of man exploring space in general and Mars in particular. Just as his career was taking off, he was incarcerated in the gulag on false charges during the Great Purges of the late 1930s, he was sentenced to 10 years hard labor imprisonment and it seemed that his dream of space exploration would never be fulfilled. But by 1942, the Soviet Union needed someone capable of leading the fledgling space programme and Korolev was the only person deemed capable of that responsibility. Accordingly, he was released and made the Chief Designer and worked with Valentin Glushko who served as rocket engine designer.

Wernher von Braun

Wernher von Braun was a leading German rocket scientist under the Nazi regime. He also shared Korolev's dream of manned space exploration and was a rocket scientist par excellence. His talent for rocketry was soon recognized by the Nazi leadership and he was recruited to develop rockets to be launched to enemy territory. Thinking that he will eventually be able to convince the leadership to let him design rockets for manned space exploration, he did not resist the offer. He was the mastermind behind the development of the dreaded V-2 rocket, poised to snatch victory for Nazi Germany. The V-2 could reach over four times the speed of sound and could go past the stratosphere, taking just six minutes to travel the 200 miles to London from Peenemunde on the Baltic coast and was unstoppable at that time.

How it all began

V-2 rocket

Not enough number of V-2 rockets could be made to save Germany from defeat. With defeat appearing imminent, von Braun was asked by the SS to destroy the blueprints for the V-2 rocket design to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. Determined to not let his lifelong dream crumble in this way, Von Braun got the blueprints hidden in an abandoned quarry so he could retrieve them later. The Americans knew about von Braun and his V-2 rocket and were in pursuit. While they did not get their hands immediately on von Braun, they did manage to locate the abandoned V-2 factory. Eventually von Braun surrendered to the U.S. led allied forces and was taken with several of his associates to Fort Bliss in U.S.A. in what came to be known as Operation Paperclip. Needless to say, the Americans had plans to use his expertise in rocketry to their end.

With the Germans getting defeated in the war, the Soviet Union entered the race to get their hands on the German V-2 rocket, which was the deadliest and unstoppable weapon of that time. Germany was divided into eastern communist region governed by the Soviet Union and western democratic region governed by the Americans and allies. With von Braun already falling in American hands, the Russians were left to salvage whatever they could to get their own version of V-2. Accordingly, they sent Korolev, Glushko and Vasiliy Mishin (yet another rocket engineer) to study what was available. At the same time, the remaining 150 German rocket engineers in Soviet occupied Germany decided to join Korolev's efforts to manufacture a V-2. Lacking any blueprint, they painstakingly took two years to create new blueprints for parts of the V-2 by way of reverse engineering. The Soviet V-2, designated R-1, was ready in September 1948, but the failure rate was very high - of the eleven launched, only five hit the target. Incidentally, this was the same ratio as that of the German V-2, thus proving how unreliable this design was.

Failure, frustration on both sides, but the fight continues

Meanwhile, things weren't looking good for von Braun either, because the Americans were not really showing any interest in his rocket designs. He met with frustration when it became known to him that the U.S. Navy was instead planning to launch missiles from their submarines, disregarding his rockets completely. Failing to get any Von Braun tried to get public support for his rocket project.

In the Soviet Union, fed up with the constant failures, and coming under increasing pressure from the Politburo, Korolev decided to let go of the V-2 and instead to build a rocket of his own design. The rocket he envisioned was a multi-stage rocket so that it would automatically keep on losing stages and getting lighter as it ascended. For that, he needed Glushko to design a rocket engine with more thrust. The authorities wanted an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) rather than a vehicle to transport humans into space, because they wanted it to be instead able to deliver a five ton warhead to American soil. Korolev took the bet and decided to build such a rocket with the actual goal of sending a satellite into space. For that, he needed help from the leading Soviet rocket engine designer Glushko. Since one engine could not possibly carry such a rocket, Korolev suggested the use of a cluster of four engines strapped to the main body of the rocket. Once the rocket attains sufficient speed and altitude, these four were to drop away and the central engine with a lighter weight would take over. The problem to solve was that these four rocket engines should fire simultaneously. The rocket thus developed was named the R-7.

R-7 rocket

In America, Wernher von Braun was held back in his efforts to develop a rocket due to competition from the U.S. Navy and was limited to create rockets with short range, rather than the long range ones he wished to create to be able to launch a satellite. Eventually in 1956, von Braun was allowed to create the Jupiter C rocket capable of launching a satellite, but to carry warhead. This was far less powerful than Korolev's R7, but could have launched a small satellite. To prevent von Braun from launching a satellite secretly before the U.S. Navy, Pentagon inspectors monitored the launch. The rocket reached an altitude of 682 miles, which could have actually allowed the U.S. to launch the first satellite.

While the world and Korolev knew about von Braun and his plan to launch a satellite, Korolev's identity remained a state secret. Alarmed that von Braun may launch a satellite before him, Korolev exhorted Soviet premier Khruschev to allow him to launch a satellite instead of a warhead, by telling him that it can be used to spy over any place on Earth. Most importantly, he stressed that if they don't, the Americans would launch it before them and they can later use a warhead in place of a satellite if required. Unknown to Korolev, von Braun faced tough challenges to his rocket programme and was unlikely to be allowed to launch a satellite.


he Soviets score a psychological victory

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first manmade satellite into space using the R-7 rocket with clustered boosters. This was quickly followed a month later on November 3, 1957 by Sputnik 2 carrying the first living creature to space - a female dog called Laika.

Shocked by the development and frustrated at being held back by the Pentagon, von Braun even resorted to divert some of the components provided by the government to slowly and secretly build a rocket to launch a satellite. But in April 1959, the newly created NASA decided to give him the go ahead to be able to launch the first astronaut. Seven test pilots known as Mercury 7, were selected, of which one would go to space. The Atlas rocket was chosen as the rocket to take America's first man into space, but it continued to fail, prompting NASA to choose an old U.S. Army missile called Redstone. Wernher von Braun tried to modify the Redstone to be able to carry man to space, but the rocket vibrated severely when reaching supersonic speeds and was unsuitable for the purpose.

The Soviet Union shocked America again by launching the Luna 2 in September 1959 to become the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the moon.

Hunt for the first man to space

In 1959, Korolev got the go ahead to launch a man into space. He decided to choose an astronaut and stated that to be eligible, the candidate has to be aged around 30, with height less than 170 cm, weight less than 70 kg, but most importantly, he must be a man with a broad smile on his face. Throughout Russia, the hunt for a spaceman to match Korolev's specifications was launched by military experts. This was kept so secret that even those chosen do not know what they are being chosen for. All twenty selected candidates were put under extreme physical tests, taking some to the brink of death.

A final six, known as the Sochi Six, was chosen eventually and it was now up to Soviet aviator Nikolai Kamanin to decide who would go to space. The Vostok 1 capsule was to be used to take the cosmonaut to space. Even at this point of time, Korolev was facing a challenge from other rocket groups, namely from his associate as well as rival Glushko. It was necessary for Korolev's team to succeed to be able to secure the funding for his space programme and to launch the first man in space. In order to secure the contract, he planned a historic mission to bring the first living creatures back from space. Belka and Strelka were two dogs sent to space in August 1960 and they safely returned back to Earth. Now that he proved it possible to bring back living creatures back from space, it was time to send a man to space.

Final efforts on both sides of the iron curtain

Von Braun had prepared a modified version of the Redstone rocket, which he test-launched in November 1960. But it had problems and failed to ignite the booster rocket. Only the escape tower got launched in a humiliating public display. Alan Shepard was chosen to be the first astronaut to achieve sub-orbital flight on 6 March, 1961. The next Redstone flight on 31 January, 1961, carrying a live passenger - a chimp, narrowly averted disaster and the chimp returned safely. Notwithstanding the Soviet competition, von Braun decides against risking the life of an astronaut in the still shaky Redstone rocket, thus eliminating any competition for Korolev to send his cosmonaut first to space.

In the USSR, 27 years old Yuri Gagarin was selected to become the first cosmonaut. But Korolev was yet to perfect his rocket too, especially the re-entry part, so that the passenger returns safely back to Earth. Two more attempts with dogs result in disaster. If the problems are not rectified and they go ahead with a flight, this could be Gagarin's fate. They decide to go ahead with the flight on 12 April, 1961.

Vostok 1 is launched, Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space

At 9:06 am local time on 12 April, 1961, the Vostok 1 lifted off with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin to take the first man to space. Within 3 minutes of the liftoff, the central booster accelerates the Vostok 1 to 17,500 miles per hour. After 5 minutes, Gagarin became the first human to ever look back on our planet from space. Gagarin described seeing Earth and cumulus clouds from his capsule porthole. Nine minutes later, he experienced weightlessness.

Yuri Gagarin aboard the Vostok 1 space capsule

Thirty minutes after the launch, the Vostok 1 with Gagarin was on the night side of the Earth over the South Pacific. Calculations for re-entry were made after just about an hour for the capsule to safely enter the atmosphere and return to Earth. If the orbit was too steep, the capsule would be burnt out, if too shallow and he would move into a higher orbit and get lost in space. The retro rockets were fired to propel the capsule back towards the Earth along the calculated descent.

Vostok 1 space capsule

In a last minute glitch, the retro rocket service modules failed to separate from the capsule and the capsule hurtled towards Earth. At the last moment, the service module separated from the capsule by the cable connecting the two being burnt up by heat during re-entry. Gagarin ejected from the capsule four miles above the Earth mid-air and landed safely at a location far from the intended location.

In his 108 minutes flight, Gagarin had traveled 25,000 miles and become the first human to orbit Earth.

Soon after this, Alan Shepard became the first American in space, Alexei Leonov became the first person to do EVA (Extra-vehicular Activity) or spacewalk, Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space and Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon. It has been 50 years now that this landmark was achieved and over 500 human beings have since been to space. This event will always be remembered for paving way for future manned space missions for the benefit of humanity.