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    "label": "Report by Major Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin, Pilot-Cosmonaut",
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    "title": "Report by Major Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin, Pilot-Cosmonaut",
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    "ocrText": "REPORT\nsibcort\nThe\nby Major Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin,\nPilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR,\non flight on spaceship-sputnik \"VOSTOK\"\nApril 12, 1961\nOn the 12th of April 1961, the Soviet spaceship-sputnik \"VOSTOK\" was\nput in orbit around the Earth with me on board.\nIn preparation for the flight I had completed a special training pro-\ngramme worked out by our scientists. I had studied well the technical\nequipment and was well prepared for a space flight.\nBefore the flight I felt fine and was absolutely sure of a successful\noutcome. The spaceship and its equipment was very good and reliable and\nall my comrades--scientists, engineers, technicians and I had no doubt as\nto the success of the space flight.\nDuring the flight I also felt fine.\nIn the course of the powered flight, in the ascent period, g-loads and\nvibrations had no depressing effect on me and I could fruitfully work in ac-\ncordance with a predetermined programme.\nThe spaceship put in orbit and the carrier-rocket separated, weightless-\nness set in. At first the sensation was to some extent unusual, although I\nhad experienced weightlessness of short duration before. But soon I\nadapted myself to the condition of weightlessness, got used to it and could\ncontinue fulfilling my programme. My subjective opinion is that weight-\nlessness does not affect work capacity or physiological functions.\nDuring the whole period of flight I was carrying out fruitful work un-\nder the programme. I ate and drank and maintained continuous radio com-\nmunication with the Earth on different channels by telephone and tele-\ngraph. I controlled the operation of the spaceship equipment, sent reports\nto the Earth and recorded my observations in the logbook and on a magne-\ntophone. During the whole period of weightlessness my work capacity was\nfully preserved, and I felt fine. Then in conformity with the flight pro-\ngramme at a definite time a command was given to descend, the brake pow-\ner unit was switched on and the spaceship acquired a velocity necessary\nfor landing. The landing predetermined by the flight programme was ef-\nfected and I was back on the Earth happy to see my dear Soviet people.\nThe landing took place in a prescribed area.\nNow I want to describe in short my observations while in space.\nFrom the height of 175-327 km there was a very good view of the\nEarth. Its surface had approximately the same appearance as when you\nlook at it from a jet-plane flying at a high altitude. I could clearly distin-\nquish big mountain ranges, big rivers, large forests, coastlines and islands.\nI had a good view of the clouds covering the Earth's surface and of the sha-\ndow they cast on the Earth. The sky was jet-black. The stars were some-\nwhat brighter and clearer seen against that black background. The Earth\nhad a very distinct and pretty blue halo. This halo could be clearly seen\nwhen looking at the horizon. It had a smooth transition from pale blue to\nblue, dark blue, violet and absolutely black. It was a magnificent picture.\nWhen I emerged from the Earth's shadow the sun was shining through\nthe Earth's atmosphere. Here the halo looked somewhat different. On the\nEarth's surface, at the very horizon, there was a vivid orange band which\nwent through all the colours of the rainbow--pale blue to deep blue, vio-\nlet and jet-black.\nThe entry into the Earth's shadow was very rapid. Everything became\ndark at once. I could see nothing on the Earth's surface, probably because\nI was over the ocean. Were I passing over big cities, I could very likely\nhave seen their lights.\nThe stars were clearly visible. Emergence from the Earth's shadow\nwas also very rapid and sudden.\nThanks to a thorough training I experienced no discomfort from the\neffects of the space-flight factors. At present I feel fine.\n144\n0\nY. A. Gagarin\n-Cosmonaut of the USSR\nApril 15, 1961"
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