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Space & Astronomy

What really happened to Yuri Gagarin ?

By T.K. Randall
June 16, 2013 · Comment icon 24 comments

Image Credit: PD - Anizotropia
After 40 years, the real cause behind the death of the world's first man in space has been revealed.
Details of exactly what happened to Gagarin have remained something of a mystery. The famed cosmonaut was said to have died during a test flight after a "foreign object" caused him to lose control and crash, but specific details have remained elusive. Aleksey Leonov, the first man to conduct a spacewalk, has been attempting to obtain permission to reveal details of the incident for more than two decades.

According to a now declassified report, Gagarin's demise was the result of an unauthorized SU-15 fighter jet which flew dangerously close to the plane he was testing. "While afterburning the aircraft reduced its echelon at a distance of 10-15 meters in the clouds, passing close to Gagarin, turning his plane and thus sending it into a tailspin – a deep spiral, to be precise – at a speed of 750 kilometers per hour," said Leonov. Gagarin had been unable to regain control of the plane which descended to the ground and crashed, leaving no survivors.[!gad]Details of exactly what happened to Gagarin have remained something of a mystery. The famed cosmonaut was said to have died during a test flight after a "foreign object" caused him to lose control and crash, but specific details have remained elusive. Aleksey Leonov, the first man to conduct a spacewalk, has been attempting to obtain permission to reveal details of the incident for more than two decades.

According to a now declassified report, Gagarin's demise was the result of an unauthorized SU-15 fighter jet which flew dangerously close to the plane he was testing. "While afterburning the aircraft reduced its echelon at a distance of 10-15 meters in the clouds, passing close to Gagarin, turning his plane and thus sending it into a tailspin – a deep spiral, to be precise – at a speed of 750 kilometers per hour," said Leonov. Gagarin had been unable to regain control of the plane which descended to the ground and crashed, leaving no survivors.
After over 40 years of secrecy, the real cause of death of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, has been made public. Prominent Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Leonov reveals the truth behind the events of that tragic day.


Source: Russia Today | Comments (24)




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Comment icon #15 Posted by szentgyorgy 11 years ago
Tut-pasheri and the good Col. R. above have hit upon an issue that deserves a thread of its own: National governments covering up mistakes, friendly-fire incidents and other foul-ups that, truth be told at the time, would be an embarrassment to said government(s). Most recently comes to mind the obvious mental diminution of Ronnie Reagan in his second term; confirmed in fact as Alzheimer's Disease upon his retirement. For wartime morale/propaganda/secrecy reasons, the truth of 700+ US soldiers dying off the cliffs of Dover in a 1944 rehearsal for D-Day (due to military blunders) remained veile... [More]
Comment icon #16 Posted by minera 11 years ago
If so, then you have to fill in a gap between Krushchev being pushed out in 1964 and death of Gagarin in 1968. And he was grounded for some time specificaly to avoid there being an accident. After Gagarin's death, Valentina Tereshkova was permanently grounded so she would not be lost as well. Your post reeks of lack of knowledge and repeating propaganda...... It was Khruschevs own son who told of the split between his father and Gagarin.Being in the top echelon of power and prestige Gagarin began drinking more heavily. check out his bio on http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin and some o... [More]
Comment icon #17 Posted by minera 11 years ago
Tut-pasheri and the good Col. R. above have hit upon an issue that deserves a thread of its own: National governments covering up mistakes, friendly-fire incidents and other foul-ups that, truth be told at the time, would be an embarrassment to said government(s). Most recently comes to mind the obvious mental diminution of Ronnie Reagan in his second term; confirmed in fact as Alzheimer's Disease upon his retirement. For wartime morale/propaganda/secrecy reasons, the truth of 700+ US soldiers dying off the cliffs of Dover in a 1944 rehearsal for D-Day (due to military blunders) remained veile... [More]
Comment icon #18 Posted by Tutankhaten-pasheri 11 years ago
It was Khruschevs own son who told of the split between his father and Gagarin.Being in the top echelon of power and prestige Gagarin began drinking more heavily. check out his bio on http://en.m.wikipedi...ki/Yuri_Gagarin and some of other Russian websites. I am from that part of the world and we know the difference between propaganda and fact. It is common belief among the people that there was KGB and foul play involved in his death. You know nothing about living under the communist system. Gagarin did not die on a soyuz mission.He died in a jet crash along with his flight instrutor in a Mi... [More]
Comment icon #19 Posted by Lex540 11 years ago
sorry dude but you died a hero
Comment icon #20 Posted by minera 11 years ago
ясно..... I was born in 1948 in Budapest Hungary. While I forgot my Russian which was mandatory to learn I do remember my native language. We left in 1956 after Khruschev sent in his troops to quell the revolution. Since my English is not perfect it is not bad considering it is not my first language but my fourth. Besides I don't waste time correcting spelling or grammar errors of others.
Comment icon #21 Posted by Tutankhaten-pasheri 11 years ago
I was born in 1948 in Budapest Hungary. While I forgot my Russian which was mandatory to learn I do remember my native language. We left in 1956 after Khruschev sent in his troops to quell the revolution. Since my English is not perfect it is not bad considering it is not my first language but my fourth. Besides I don't waste time correcting spelling or grammar errors of others. Though I think your obvious reason for not liking Krushchev is not a reason to say that Gagarin was victim of KGB four years after Krushchev left office. That some people are suspiscious and make rumours does not make ... [More]
Comment icon #22 Posted by RingFenceTheCity 11 years ago
Death of Yuri Gagarin demystified 40 years on All the hallmarks of a lizard-bird incident imv. The SU-15 might have been subject to a lizard-bird gaze forcing the pilot to a lower altitude and forcing Gargarin & co to have a near miss etc.. According to a declassified report, there is a human factor behind the tragic incident - an unauthorized SU-15 fighter jet was flying dangerously close to Gagarin’s aircraft. Leonov had been in charge of parachute jump training on that day. The weather was extremely bad, with rain, wind and snow making it impossible to carry out exercises. He waited f... [More]
Comment icon #23 Posted by Colonel Rhuairidh 11 years ago
Though I think your obvious reason for not liking Krushchev is not a reason to say that Gagarin was victim of KGB four years after Krushchev left office. That some people are suspiscious and make rumours does not make rumours the truth. What you in effect say is that Gagarin was murdered by the state. This is wrong and much too cynical, something from Hollywood. Tereshkova herself has always said that she was permanently grounded because of Gagarin's death. Besides, after Soyuz 1 there was only one more Soyuz accident, that of Soyuz 11, and it was not a systemic failure in the sense of burocra... [More]
Comment icon #24 Posted by Tutankhaten-pasheri 11 years ago
... and what does even the U.S. rely on now to get people into space .... ? The legacy of the genius and hero of mankind Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. His name will live on as we one day will journey out into the cosmos beyond our system. Korolev and Gagarin will live while others have become dust.


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