Yuri Gagarin
Awards & Honours
29
Awards Won
5
Honours
1
Rankings
4
Covers
3
Records
Yuri Gagarin's achievement as the first human in space earned him an extraordinary collection of honors. He was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union, the nation's highest title, and the Lenin Prize. Internationally, he received over 20 orders from countries across the globe, including the Order of Karl Marx from East Germany and the Order of the Nile from Egypt. His legacy is preserved in the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, a lunar crater, and an asteroid named after him. He remains a symbol of human exploration and courage.
Awards
Honours & Distinctions
Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center named in his honor
The Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City was renamed after Gagarin following his death.
Gagarin (lunar crater)
A crater on the far side of the Moon was named in his honor.
Asteroid 1772 Gagarin
An asteroid discovered in 1968 was named after him.
Order of Gagarin
A state decoration established by the Russian Federation.
Honorary Citizen of multiple cities
Gagarin was made an honorary citizen of dozens of cities worldwide, including his hometown Gzhatsk (renamed Gagarin).
Rankings & Lists
100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century
Magazine Covers
TIME
May 5, 1961
The Spaceman: Yuri Gagarin
Life
April 21, 1961
Yuri Gagarin in spacesuit
Paris Match
April 1961
Yuri Gagarin
Der Spiegel
April 19, 1961
Der erste Mensch im Weltraum
Records & Feats
First human in space
Gagarin became the first person to travel into space and orbit Earth on April 12, 1961.
First person to orbit Earth
He completed one orbit of Earth during his 108-minute Vostok 1 flight.
Youngest person to fly in space at the time
At age 27, he was the youngest human to reach space.