How did Yuri die? The mysterious death of a space-age hero

[emad]

The first man in space gave his name to countless Russian streets and schools. But his death in 1968 fuelled just as many conspiracy theories - and now a new petition demands that the case be reopened. By Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published: 28 July 2005

Stock Soviet icons such as Lenin or the improbably productive Stakhanovite workers that his successors dreamt up are old hat in today's Russia.

Their statues lie scrapped or neglected. Their achievements rubbished. And their life stories are forgotten or mocked.

Only one poster boy of the USSR remains: Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin. The mere mention of his name sees Russian chests swell with pride. His achievements are legendary and he is unique in transcending the country's harrowing transition from Communism to capitalism.

Any Russian school child can tell you that the Soviet cosmonaut was the first man in space. And his mission aboard the capsule Vostok 1 won the space race for the Soviets when it orbited the Earth on 12 April 1961.

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article302054.ece

[Kraklen]

1. I don't see what's so mysterious.

Airplane crashes killed several American astronauts, I don't see why it would be unheard of for Soviet cosmonauts.

[emad]

2. The article's time line is of note:

It is believed that Gagarin tried in vain to prevent the launch of the faulty Soyuz spacecraft in which cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov died in 1967, an event that was a severe embarrassment to the USSR at the time.

Almost 40 years after his tragic death Russia is eager to know the truth. "The plane crash which killed our national hero, the planet's first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, and his instructor still remains unsolved and the reasons for their death unknown," reads the petition demanding a fresh investigation.

"The official conclusions have still not been published and as a result the investigation has legally not been completed."

Whether the truth about Gagarin, a man who was received by the Queen of England, toured the world and ventured quite literally where no man had ever been before, will ever be known remains uncertain.

With Russia looking harder than ever for heroes capable of carrying the weight of hope and expectation, the ghost of the man whose hour-long stellar voyage propelled him from farmer's son to Soviet icon will not be allowed to rest quietly.

The space race

1956

* 31 JULY

Soviet Union announces intention to launch a satellite into space two days after the United States declared it would.

1957

* 4 OCTOBER

Soviet Union launches the world's first satellite, Sputnik 1. The satellite, weighing 90kg, orbited the earth for three months. Industrial output in the Soviet Union rocketed during the decade, and the launch was a demonstration of the might of the Soviet system.

* 3 NOVEMBER

Sputnik 2 is launched. Its passenger, a dog called Laika, is the first living being in orbit.

1958

The US government creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Nasa.

1961

* 12 APRIL

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin is the first man in space on Vostok 1.

* 5 MAY

Alan Shepard is the first American in space on a 15-minute sub-orbital flight. Nine months later, John Glenn is the first American to orbit the Earth.

1963

* 16-19 JUNE

Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space, on Vostok 6.

1965

* 18 MARCH

Aleksei Leonov, cosmonaut on Voskhod 2, makes first space walk. The mission nearly ends in disaster: Leonov has trouble returning to capsule, and ship lands 1,000 miles off target.

1968

* 27 MARCH

Yuri Gagarin is killed with flying instructor during MiG-15 training flight near Moscow. Cause of the crash is uncertain.

1969

* 20 JUNE

US wins round two of the space race when Apollo 11 lands on the moon and Neil Armstrong walks on the surface.

1974

* 26 DECEMBER

Soviet Union launches Salyut 4, the first orbital space station.

1975

* 15 JULY

The Soviet craft Soyuz 19 docks in space with America's Apollo 18. For the first time, astronauts from the rival nations pass into each other's ships and conduct experiments together.

Robin Stringer