What Yuri Gagarin Saw From Orbit Changed Him Forever

First in Space: New Yuri Gagarin Biography Shares Hidden Side of Cosmonaut

Gagarin was a young man of humble origins, studying at a technical school in Saratov to become a metal worker. Here he became interested in flying. A few years later he chose to join the air force. He wanted to become a pilot at all costs as if he had known what he was destined for.

Today marks two major spaceflight anniversaries: On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to venture to space. And on April 12, 1981, NASA launched its first space shuttle mission, STS-1.