Sending the first man into space

In 1961 cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to journey into space. Stephen Walker delves into the supercharged battle between the Soviets and Americans to reach this milestone

On 12 April 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made history when he became the first man to journey into space. Stephen Walker delves into the story of Gagarin’s gruelling secret mission and the seismic battle between the world’s superpowers to conquer the new frontier: space.

Stephen Walker is the author of Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey into Space (William Collins, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Stephen-Walker/dp/0008372500/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-hexpod/

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