Today is 12 April, a historic day in Space history. Fifty years ago On 12 April 1961,Yuri Gagarin, the legendary Russian cosmonaut, became the first man to orbit the earth in Vostok spacecraft. By this flight, Yuri Gagarin created a milestone in space history and his name has been written in golden letters and will be remembered always ……with unforgettable memories….To commemorate this special day Austrian Post issued a postage stamp today.Many other Postal administrations issue stamp today to mark this very special day !!
Date of Issue – 12 April 2011
Today a souvenir sheet of one stamp dedicated to the anniversary of the first human spaceflight has been issued by Russian Post . On April 12, 1961, at 9:07 a.m. Moscow time, spacecraft "Vostok" with Yuri Gagarin on board was launched into Earth orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The flight lasted 108 minutes. During this time, "Vostok" made a circle around the Earth and landed in the Saratov Region, not far from Engels (city). After the flight, Yuri Gagarin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the day of April 12 became the World Day of Aviation and Astronautics.
The stamp depicts a portrait of Yuri Gagarin, spaceship "Vostok" blasting off is represented on the fields of the souvenir sheet.
Date of Issue – 12 April 2011
This new stamp issued by the Italian Post is dedicated to the anniversary of the first manned flight into space. On April 12, 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin realized for the first time in history a complete orbit around the Earth.
The stamp depicts a portrait of Yuri A. Gagarin in the left foreground, and a part of the universe with the spaceship Vostok 1on the right side.
50th Anniversary of human space flight: Stamps by UNPA
Today on 12 April 2011, the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) issues three stamps in the denominations of US$ 0.44, CHF 0.50 and € 0.35 in a mini-sheet format of sixteen stamps to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Human Space Flight. UNPA is also issuing one souvenir sheet with six different denominations, two from each office. The denominations are US$ 0.44, US$ 0.98, CHF 0.85, CHF 1.00, € 0.55 and € 0.65. This is the first time ever that UNPA has issued a souvenir sheet in this format.
On 12 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics became the first human to travel into outer space. His space flight heralded a new era of human endeavour in what has become known as the “final frontier”. Since that historic flight, humans have set foot upon the Moon, have learned to work in the harsh vacuum of outer space, and, for the last decade, have maintained a permanent human presence outside the Earth.
Though human space flight began during the height of the cold war, it became an arena of both competition and cooperation. The race that culminated in the first steps taken on the Moon by American astronaut Neil Armstrong on 20 July 1969, also resulted in the first tentative steps towards international cooperation in human space flight – the 1975 joint American-Soviet space mission, known as the “Apollo-Soyuz Test Project”. Since then, nations have recognized the benefits of working together in outer space and that cooperation has led to the establishment of humanity’s permanent space outpost: the International Space Station (ISS). With over 15 nations working together in what is considered one of humankind’s greatest scientific and technical achievements, the ISS is a truly international endeavour and epitomizes one of the goals of the United Nations: international cooperation in outer space.
Celebration of 50th Anniversary of first manned spaceflight by USA
To be issued on 4 May 2011
The 50th anniversary of America’s first manned spaceflight is being commemorated with the issuance of two stamps on May 4 by US Postal service.
One stamp salutes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Project Mercury, America’s first manned spaceflight program, and NASA astronaut Alan Shepard’s historic flight on May 5, 1961, aboard the spacecraft Freedom 7.
The other stamp draws attention to NASA’s unmanned MESSENGER mission, a scientific investigation of the planet Mercury. On March 18, 2011, MESSENGER became the first spacecraft to enter into orbit around Mercury.Studying Mercury will help astrobiologists understand the nature of small, rocky planets and the conditions that lead to habitability on such worlds.
These two historic missions—Shepard’s Mercury flight and MESSENGER’s orbit of Mercury—frame a remarkable fifty-year period in which America has advanced space exploration through more than 1,500 manned and unmanned flights.
The Project Mercury stamp depicts Shepard, the Mercury capsule Freedom 7, and the Redstone launching rocket. The MESSENGER Mission stamp depicts the MESSENGER spacecraft in orbit around the planet Mercury.
Read More about : Messenger
