12 April 1961. The Landing of Gagarin by his Personnel Parachute… Furthermore the Technical and the Personnel Background of this Process

Abstract

The objective of my study is to review the historical space flight of Gagarin, especially the last phase of it: ejection from the re-entry capsule and landing by his personnel parachute. My intention is to shortly summerize my gathered information on Wostok’s cosmonauts’ individual landing system which was to guarantee their safe return to the surface of the Earth. In my work I describe the phases of this special landing system-innovations characterised by the historical (political) atmosphere in the Soviet Union at the time when the country was preparing for „cosmic” missions, the main direction of research and the development process were strongly influenced by the political circumstances of that era. Moreover, I try to highlight briefly some moments of the creation process of the ejection seat and the parachutes, the results of the practical tests and the training of the future applicants in order to ensure the safe operation of the whole system.