The Mysterious Death of Yuri Gagarin

[@TodayIFoundOut]

This video brought to you in part by our Patrons over on Patreon. If you’d like to support our efforts here directly, and our continued efforts to improve our videos, as well as do more ultra in-depth long form videos that built in ads and even sponsors don’t always cover fully, check out our Patreon page and perks here: www.patreon.com/TodayIFoundOut And as ever, thanks for watching!

[@DominiqueSpikes-i1t]

Me too 😂😂😂

[@CRIZZEX]

@@TodayIFoundOut You should do a video covering Apollo 1. And Apollo 13 respectively

[@codyfletcher5460]

.l7😂x6😂

[@gunns0413]

Can you do one on Viktor Belenko?

[@frantisekkasanic6877]

25:35 25:36

[@eriggle83]

Wouldn't it be more accurate to title this video "The Entire Life of Yuri Gagarin"?

[@BGage-fb2jr]

Lol yes

[@MeganAndrews-gc6lw]

Nah, not click baitie enough 😂

[@A.C.Lawrence]

His death wasn't even mysterious lol is simon desperate for views?

[@soxfan182]

This is my gripe with his channels. When it was him writing it was interesting. Now he’s just a voice for others

[@Dominicn123]

eh too much work for them lol the fact they can have a dozen channels and frequent videos is because they reply on reading a wikipedia page for their scripts so minmum effort = lots of content lol

[@Rid3thetig3r]

Gagarin used to travel to the launch site to see the rockets being tested. They fell apart, fell over, blew up etc. but he still climbed into one and launched. Heart of a lion.

[@eddiewillers1]

And balls of steel!

[@danielseaburg9763]

He also waited for others to die before going into a safe one. Such lion. Such heart. Wow courage.

[@jake1776]

He believed in the Soviet state and was willing to die for that disgusting regime.

[@PatrolBoat-Riverine-Streetgang]

Great courage can be completely indistinguishable from insanity.

[@HighlanderNorth1]

Sir, I can _assure you_ that the komm-you-nist system is devoted to the safety, comfort and welfare of all citizens! Soviet leaders cried every time a comrade died.... Also, they take dim-okracy very seriously! They imprison poll-it-ikal opponents and outlaw rival poll-it-ikal partees, to protect dim-okracy! Western l e f t i s t s are SO devoted to protecting dim-okracy that they are starting to use these same tactics. 🙃😉

[@jordanpeters3746]

A friend of mine was walking through London when he saw some men standing in a line ... so he stood at the end of the line. Gagarin appeared and walked along the line shaking hands with everybody ... including him.

[@CanisMythson]

Ah yes, the unquestionable British instinct to stand in a queue

[@TheDavidlloydjones]

So that's who did it. MI5 operation, no doubt...

[@fayezurrahman8141]

what was the date, when you write write in complete sense.....never mind....

[@Amita_Nasir]

What are you talking about? Yuri died in 1968.

[@jordanpeters3746]

Gagarin visited London in 1961. There's KZbin videos about the extraordinary welcome he got ... as "The most famous man in the world!" ... and my friend got to shake his hand.

[@ClappOnUpp]

It's sad to know he died before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969. I think he would have been in awe.... If he had lived, I like to think they would have met in their 70s, shook one another's hand, sat down together on a park bench in new york or Moscow, and reminisced about their accomplishments; each complimenting the other on their impact upon our world.. both feeling that the other man was more influential than themself🥲

[@Rid3thetig3r]

That's a nice thought.

[@Gary-Seven-and-Isis-in-1968]

They can still have that conversation. Just not on Earth.

[@WarPigstheHun]

Just like Kalashnikov and the m16 dude!

[@jeffedwards823]

Never happened

[@KSparks80]

Instead of rainbows and prancing unicorns, it'd probably go more like this: "Getting old sucks!". "I hear ya, man."

[@Silentgrace11]

I honestly assumed this was a Decoding the Unknown until I realized Simon lasted a solid two minutes into a script without going on a tangent 😂 fabulous content as always!

[@StefanMedici]

Oh you can be guaranteed he went on tangents, it's just they were edited out for this channel.

[@eastlynburkholder3559]

I like the tangents.

[@strummy77]

I saw Yuri Gagarin in Old Trafford Manchester when his open top car pulled up outside our school on the way to Trafford Park. The whole school lined the road and he stayed with us for about 10 minutes he actually gave me the thumbs up. One of my biggest claims to fame. What a hero…no not me, Yuri.

[@mpersad]

A superbly produced and presented video, a fitting biography to Yuri Gagarin the first man in space. Thank you, the channel's quality work continues.

[@jaimeduncan6167]

first man in orbit technically.

[@stewartmackay]

@@jaimeduncan6167 That IS space. Why are you being so pedantic?

[@gaborrajnai6213]

Both of them. He was the first man in space and the first man in orbit.@@jaimeduncan6167

[@Flies2FLL]

OK, I can tell you what happened. "The rain turned to sleet and conditions were so bad that I canceled the session and requested permission to return to base". Gagarin flew into icing conditions and wound up stall/spinning this airplane. MIG-15's are scary airplanes to fly, with terrible stall characteristics and since the pitch trim did not alter the position of the horizontal stabilizer the way it does every jet produced since, this airplane was a death trap in a high speed dive! A transonic shock wave would form over the elevator hinge line and you simply could not pull out of a dive. Damned if you do, damned if you do not....

[@jacktrader9957]

Saved me the trouble of learning the whole history of Greg

[@dannydetonator]

That's the official reason, which might be true. The unofficial version going around USSR eventually was that he was just drunk on that flight, as he reportedly let his fame get to his head and got reckless later on. As plane crashes usually are unfortunate coincidences of multiple factors and events, both might be true, but an alcoholic superstar is something Soviet officials would never report.

[@dannydetonator]

Edit: just got to the part where Simon mentions it. I can confirm that the vodka theory was the most popular in my nick of USSR (not Russia) during the '80s.

[@2degucitas]

​@@dannydetonator Your English is awesome.

[@veganbutcherhackepeter]

​@@dannydetonator Makes sense. Vodka is one of the main causes of death for most male Russians.

[@robertw.anderson6102]

I had passed on his video several times mostly because of the length. But I also doubted that much real information could be found. This guy was a strangely appealing young man. And I had no idea there was any controversy about his death. Flying in the USSR was risky business in this era. I’m very glad I made the time for this presentation. Lots of details!

[@lestranged]

I think the early cosmonauts, like the early astronauts, had no preparation for fame. They had so much training for the mission but had no way to expect and cope with the life afterwards. For an ordinary person to be thrust into worldwide fame like that, must have been overwhelming.

[@csaracho2009]

'Nobody' is prepared for 'fame'.

[@danielseaburg9763]

lmao kamarov was given every opportunity to step aside for gagarin.....but kamarov chose death lmao.....

[@onyx747]

​@@danielseaburg9763 tbf Komarov did apparently refuse to step aside in an attempt to save Gagarin's life

[@adamhubbert8896]

These were NOT ordinary men.

[@TheIndianaGeoff]

​@adamhubbert8896 Yes, not ordinary men. Hero's of the state. And the Soviets revered their heros. Preferably after they are dead. They wouldn't want them to get ideas.

[@edvinmester5228]

Learning something new never stops! Loving the channel

[@kevinfoster1138]

It completely freaked the Soviets out after this happened they no longer let their heroes do anything dangerous!

[@CurtisJeffries-cd5vu]

this guy had the most fked up death ever. is this the one where he's kicking the solar panel to try to get it to work and he tries to deploy the parachute and it doesn't work? as he smashes into the ground... the other story on this was friggin hilarious. oh, I hope this isn't that one.

[@swymaj02]

​@@CurtisJeffries-cd5vusome dude git himself up on an orbiter in some, I think, execution-style mission. his ca0sule came down the atmosphere so fast it burned more than a comet. the dude's corpse looked like an alien baby's charred remains from the pictures I saw.

[@GereBrewstein]

@@CurtisJeffries-cd5vu komarov had his body on display because he knew the flight would be seriously faulty (this is also why he didn't let gagarin fly it, since he would had if komarov had refused, Komarov couldn't handle the thought and "sacrificed" himself) I understand his thought 100%, therefore he said that "put my body on display before those assholes so they really see what they've done to me and to this space program and to my country" Not word to word but basically he said that. And that famous picture shows it all.

[@CurtisJeffries-cd5vu]

@swymaj02 yea, I think that might be the guy. Simon did another video on this guy, n it was funny as hell. mainly cuz every system failed for this dude. he thought he was finally gonna make it, but his parachute failed on him. it's messed up man. they forced him to come out of retirement to do this. he was a pound of ash n the photo.

[@ritz6982]

@@CurtisJeffries-cd5vu Funny?

[@Dee-x9f]

Great piece! I was born in the US in 1963 and have heard about Gagarin my whole life, mostly as a kind of vaguely caricatured figure of the Cold War. This video really humanized him for me.

[@larrybremer4930]

The KGB investigated itself and found no wrongdoing.

[@bodan1196]

It once happend, that two soviet archeologists and historians were invited by Egypt to examine a mysterious mummy. As this was at time where the party was paraniod about defections, it was decided that two dedicated KGB officers would escort the two historians. After three weeks of studying the mummy, two historians had formed strong but different oppinions about the age of the mummy. And every day there were heated arguments between them. The lead KGB officer finally tired of hearing the two screaming at each other, so he put his foot down, told them to shut up and leave the laboratory. As the KGB officer was clearly as serious as KGB can be, the two historians did as told. Three hours later, the two KGB officers came out declaring that the mummy was 5304 years old and that the man had the name Athmet. The two historians were silent for a moment, but eventually one could not but ask how the age and name had been determined. The KGB agent looked sternly into the eyes of the historian and answered: He confessed.

[@Plaprad]

Amazing how they've done nothing wrong. Ever. In History. It's all Western degenerate propaganda.

[@kamakaziozzie3038]

CIA?

[@dannydetonator]

@bodan1196 😂Brilliant😂

[@jedaaa]

The CIA ... what ?​@@kamakaziozzie3038

[@jasonmansfieldsr8645]

I worked with a guy who emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1989. He was of the opinion, after living through Soviet media control and all the rest, that Yuri Gagarin was not the first man in space. He was the first to come back ALIVE. of course, we may never know for sure.

[@danielch6662]

we will never know ... unless and until the communist government falls and the archives were declassified ...

[@darknights4653]

That I would believe.

[@Albatross-365]

Guess who did a video about that. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKi2mqeKra2SnNk

[@WarPigstheHun]

That's a terrifying thought.

[@litterpicker1431]

I have long wondered why people just accept that Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, given that animals launched previously had died, and given the USSR's habit of covering up its more serious accidents.

[@sarahcoleman3125]

When you know you have no chance, you might as well make the boss laugh. "I should be sent because my name is Cosmic, and it'll sound good." 😂

[@7thsealord888]

Bad weather, limited visibility and an aircraft design with some especially dangerous tendencies. It really didn't need much else for an accident to happen.

[@christopherreed4723]

Based on USAF General Yaeger's evaluation of a MiG-15 during the Korean War, I'd say (as a non-pilot) that the wake-turbulence theory has some merit. Yaeger and the test crew were warned by the North Korean pilot who'd defected with the MiG-15 that the planes had a bad tendency not to recover from spins (the recovery procedure he described was to push the stick forward to the white line painted on the instrument panel and, if the plane had not recovered in three revolutions, to eject immediately). Yaeger did not spin-test the MiG, as such tests had been prohibited in order to prevent the only MiG-15 the USAF had from being destroyed. He did, however, intentionally stall the MiG with the gear down just after lifting off. He wrote in his autobiography that there was no shake or slop in the stick as the stall initiated. The MiG "just quit flying" and slammed back onto the runway. The weather conditions described by Leonov are also significant, IMO. Low cloud, low temperatures at or near freezing, and rain are likely to create dangerous ice buildup on the wibg surfaces, changing their aerodynamics and rendering an aircraft unflyable. Ultimately the MiG-15 was, in its own way, as flawed a vehicle as the early Soyuz spacecraft. The same NK pilot whose MiG Yaeger test flew also warned him not under any circumstances to turn on the auxiliary fuel pump, since doing so had a tendency to blow the tail off the airplane. And we have the cockpit vents mentioned in this documentary that weren't standard on Russian MiG-15s, and apparently only poorly understood (or not at all) by Russian ground crews. Ultimately, it's a matter of "too many suspects". Icing, the MiG-15s already iffy stability (made worse by the wing tanks), or any one of a number of other issues present in the design could easily have killed the two pilots. And one or another of them probably did.

[@madkoala2130]

Oh, great. I thought up untill this point that Soviets got their stick with jet fighters after mig-15, now i see non of them were any good and more of the death traps just like all their earlier jets.

[@gaborrajnai6213]

Well, its the general wisdom amongst pilots, that Mig21 is the most reliable jetfighter ever made. You tighten the screws fill it up with gas, and it goes. Thats a general thing with the Russians, they build some horrible stuff, but what they build well, they build it incredibly well. Like the AN-2 the most produced airplane ever, there are more AN2-s in the world than all Cessna models combined.@@madkoala2130

[@colinmarshall4778]

Excellent reply... 👍

[@dark2023-1lovesoni]

Those "harvester operators" are also collectively immortalized, and got 1 of the best bar-stories to ever exist. They got to say they personally welcomed the first space-man home. It's a truly unique honor. Aside from the mission staff, they were the closest any other earth-dwelling human will ever have come to the first cosmic homecoming celebration.

[@KSparks80]

An alien in his sporty UFO landed in my yard and asked for directions to a gas station the other night. A few minutes later he came back by, thanked me for the help, and tossed me a gift. I heard him bitchin' about gas prices as he hauled ass. Does that count as a space-man welcome? EDIT: Does anyone know what the hell an Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator does?

[@markfinlay422]

Yuri Aleksyevich was a true hero of the Soviet Union. He was the one who had the "right stuff".

[@jejbsh2191]

Commies= 🗑

[@andrewdillon7837]

The guy that went instead of Gagarin , Knew it would fail..

[@nneeerrrd]

Soviets = Nazis

[@Dj.MODÆO]

A Smaller person is better when it comes to submarines and spacecraft. They need less oxygen per hour and take up less space. They are also often less claustrophobic

[@michalpavlat3943]

Taller pilot would not fit into the Vostok capsule's ejection seat. Cosmonauts did not land inside of the capsule but used the ejection seat which had VERY limited dimensions so it could fit into the capsule.

[@Steve-GM0HUU]

Eric "Winkle" Brown is on record saying that his relatively small stature was key to his survival as a test pilot. He reckoned that it reduced the risk of being injured due to being thrown about inside cockpits.

[@y_ffordd]

@@Steve-GM0HUU Eric Winkle Brown, there's an aviation legend!

[@frankmylove7343]

Smaller people have a shorter distance from brain to heart - - so all other things being equal they are more resistant to blacking out under Gs which is caused by lack of oxygen as the heart struggles to pump blood to the brain under the increased G

[@StanTheman-u2z]

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW ABOUT SHORT GUYS IS THAT THEY HAVE DIFFICULTY GETTING WOMEN! MOST WOMEN DO NOT LIKE SHORT MEN! 😮

[@TheWombat2012]

I love the memorial at the crash site. They still trim the tees to follow the path his plane took as it descended so from the crash site you can look up and see the way he came in.

[@amazinggrace5692]

Oh wow!

[@TRabbit1970]

NEVER get more popular than the Dear Leader. Ever.

[@robinseibel7540]

Every year, parties are held around the world on Yuri's Night. Gagarin was a legend and gutsy as hell. RIP, Yuri.

[@babygraceblue1807]

Not " around the world", no offense, but my first language is Russian and I was boen in then Soviet Belarus, nobody aside from some Russians celebrate it. And even most of those who do usually just use this occasion to get drunk. It's just reality.

[@robinseibel7540]

@@babygraceblue1807 "Around the world" does not mean every country. It means parties happen in countries around the world. I know for a fact that Yuri's Night parties happen in the US, so that means there's a country outside of Russia and Belarus where it happens. In fact, from the organizing group's website, there's this: "In 2011, the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight, over 100,000 people attended 567 officially-recognized events in 75 countries across all 7 continents, while tens of thousands more watched the 12-hour live Yuri’s Night Global Webcast and participated online in the virtual world of Second Life." I think 75 countries justifies the "around the world claim".

[@danielseaburg9763]

So gutsy he waited for the other cosmonauts to die before stepping into a soyuz that was actually safe. Yup, so gutsy.....

[@robinseibel7540]

@@danielseaburg9763 That's cool made-up story. You realize he didn't get a choice in that matter.

[@FreshLexo]

​@@robinseibel7540The 50th anniversary party? A one time event is what you're using to back up your post? I'm gonna go with the person born in soviet Belarus.

[@asb2106]

Watching Yuri Gagarin’s story reminds me that, at our core, people in Russia and the USA are not so different. We wake up, go about our daily lives, and strive for happiness and security for ourselves and our families. Whether in Moscow or New York, we want the same things: peace, stability, and a better future. Unfortunately, we often have little control over the ambitions of those in power, who drive political agendas beyond our reach. But when it comes down to it, we are all just humans trying to live our lives

[@amycollins8832]

The version told by Leonov about entering the wake of the Su-15 & the poor weather conditions is the most accurate. They were in the same cosmonaut group and were good friends.

[@seantlewis376]

I wouldn't say that Gagarin's death is all that mysterious. He was a test pilot, and died in a crash. That's normal for many test pilots. He was the most famous test pilot of all time, but he died the way a test pilot does. I have the transcript of John Glenn's trip -- America's first -- and it is fascinating to see all of his thoughts as he was the second human in space. I would love to read Gagarin's transcript, if it exists.

[@arthuralford]

Actually, Alan Sheppard was the first American in space, though it was a suborbital flight. Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth

[@seantlewis376]

@@arthuralford Good point. I guess I was thinking of Glenn's orbit.

[@GereBrewstein]

This was your best episode/video imo, it brought some emotions to the surface while watching it, comfortably lenghty also, not too short to leave a feeling that something was left missing. Exept Yuri

[@mattkrea]

It’s interesting that we feel the need to mention “political reliability” specifically in the USSR space program as if the US would have allowed someone that had, for example, openly criticized the Korean War to go to space.

[@NC-lb9ul]

Thank you for this comment. I was really enjoying this well researched video and wish I didn't start reading the comments... Glad that some people are still able to pause and reflect instead of poking fun at 'fashionable targets' without any real, in-depth knowledge on the subject.

[@c0ffeef0x]

"Dislocated his spine" are words I didn't expect to hear suddenly. What a way to die...

[@bassett_green]

36:40 correction: The incident you are talking about occured on March 12 1963. The cosmosnauts involved were Nelyubov, Anikeyev and Filatyev. Mars Rafikov was not present, having been dismissed from the program a year earlier in March 1962 for "unauthorized absenteeism", although it's suspected that the real reason was that he was divorcing his wife in violation of the Air Force code.

[@bassett_green]

Alexei Leonov mistakenly conflated these two incidents in his book, which I suspect is the source of the error. In fact, Leonov's autobiography includes several stories of events that didn't happen, like the time he traveled to Cuba and met Hemingway who congratulated Leonov on his spacewalk . . . despite the fact that Hemingway had committed suicide 5 years before humans went to space. Or in regard to the sad death of Valentin Bondarenko, burned to death in a pressure chamber fire, that he was given a "big state funeral." Bondarenko's identity was a state secret, and his funeral was only a smsll family affair. Even his gravestone did not denote his cosmonaut status until 25 years later. (That's also why most people don't believe the story mentioned at 47:15)

[@knowEyeDeer]

​@@bassett_greenthank you. I was a little confused but thought it must've been me misremembering - the last thing I watched on Gagarin was an (actually pretty convincing) conspiracy idea. But that was about a year ago, so I can't even remember the broad strokes. I doubt we'll ever know precisely what the truth is other than the facts already known. Which is a shame imo, the first human in space deserved better than that - basically what amounts to obfuscation to avoid embarrassment.

[@kamakaziozzie3038]

No one likes a “know it all”

[@misstekhead]

The reason so many of Simon’s channels are filled with misinformation is over-reliance on Wikipedia and other script writing shortcuts. There’s a reason so much content is pumped out at seemingly amphetamine induced quickness.

[@LaMorenitaDivina]

Interesting, thank you!

[@armandomachadocastro]

Thank you for a great work

[@Afrocanuk]

This guy's topics are always guaranteed to be interesting.

[@Hillbilly001]

He only reads what is written for him. He's too smooth brained to write the script himself. If you watch all the way to the end the writer is in the credits and it ain't Simon.

[@Themata]

The fact he fought Nazis as a kid is kinda wild. Great video (sans misleading title)

[@derekblair1645]

Yes some new Simon for my addiction

[@justinsmith4562]

lame

[@CRIZZEX]

Hey man your videos are great. . . This may be a daft request but could you do a video on Apollo 1? Same year as Vladimir Komorov.

[@tsbrownie]

As a pilot, I have flown at 11,000 feet in a Cessna. 4000 meters is 12,000 feet, so not an issue. Wake turbulence is a small maybe because 2 jets coming within 20 meters by chance is not very likely. Bad weather could cause icing, and with some wings, even a bit of ice can cause very radical changes in control and finally stalling.

[@M1903a4]

4,000 meters is actually over 13,000 feet, 4,000 yards is 12,000 feet. Rough rule of thumb is just add 10%. Having said that, I have flown a Mooney M20F coast to coast several times, briefly at 13,000 or 13,500 crossing the Rockies with no problems. I agree that icing is more likely, it causes a lot more crashes than wake turbulence.

[@rescue270]

​@@M1903a4 I made 14,500 for 25 minutes (just under the no supplemental oxygen limit of 30 minutes) in a Cessna 210A a few years ago crossing the Continental Divide near Taos, New Mexico, en route to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Last week I hit 12,500 in a Cessna 172P crossing mountains to Belen, New Mexico.

[@tortysoft]

Truly excellent. It filled in so very much and added very much more to my knowledge. I never thought such detail would ever be available. I was born in 1957 and still hope to see the stars, if only from the ground !

[@thomasfx3190]

Pretty impressive for 1961 that he even survived, all sorts of things could have gone wrong and nearly did. He was the fab four before the fab four.

[@mariyamwaniki]

Things were made sturdy back then.

[@JoshuaTootell]

We don't know how many before, and after Yuri, didn't survive.

[@babygraceblue1807]

​@@mariyamwanikiReally? Soviets couldn't even make a well functioning car throughout the entire history of the Union. Only 10% of population at most even had cars, military equipment was built a little better but was still faulty, nobody cared about safety. Pilots flew on a hope and a prayer.

[@mskellyrlv]

Wow! That is one of the most meticulously researched and in depth documentaries of any aspect of the Soviet space program I've ever seen. And I've been a student of Soviet space flight for 50 years. This is a super high quality post. I can't even come up with a set of superlatives to do it justice.

[@RRaquello]

In about the same time period, the US lost 4 astronauts in aviation accidents: Theodore Freeman, Elliot See, Charles Bassett & CC Williams. There is a strong possibility that Bassett would have been on the first moon landing and Williams was definitely scheduled for Apollo 12, so these would have been very famous men even today if not for the accidents. So it should be no surprise that the Soviets had their accidents too, and maybe more we never heard about because they involved Cosmonaut trainees who'd lost their lives before their names became known to the public. The fact that one of those killed in an accident was Gagarin was a bad deal for the Russians because he was the best known of their Cosmonauts and his sudden absence couldn't be covered up.

[@jamescrawford5330]

I don’t save many nor finish watching documentaries of this length. Congratulations on your superb research and presentation skills.👏👏 Please continue to educate us🙏🙏👏👏😎🇺🇸

[@bassett_green]

24:36 correction: The decision was made by the administrators of the vostok program. The cosmonaut group carried out an *informal* survey amongst themselves about who should be chosen.

[@bassett_green]

Also, I can't find any contemporary sources for that quote from Mars Rafikov; I suspect it's apocryphal

[@gaborrajnai6213]

Most likely they asked Korolev, and he pointed to Gagarin. Noone questioned his authority by that time. Although I would say, that maybe Nikolayev was objectively a better candidate than Titov, and maybe even better than Gagarin, but he wasnt Russian.

[@R0bobb1e]

Yuri was the symbol of how a dream could come true. He and Neil were my inspiration for joining the young astronaut program.

[@padawanmage71]

I’d heard that after his friend’s death in Soyuz one, Gagarin threw a champagne glass at Brezhnev during a party sometime after, possibly in thinking the Premier responsible for the death

[@Rosseboi]

Edited.

[@jakhaughton1800]

As a child I remember Gagarin along with Telstar etc. He was a pioneer for humanity.

[@normanpearson8753]

Yep , Telstar , '62 , and the great Wonderful Land , too.

[@topquark22]

"Kaputnik," America forgotten failed first attempt to launch a satellite. Love the title.

[@thomashenebry8269]

First on the moon.Love that title too, loser?

[@williesnyder2899]

I’ve got to hand it to young Yuri for f___ing with the Nazis!! His heart and handfuls of nails, garbage and dirt were put to great effect!!

[@ShekelBerg-yw8bg]

“Muh nazis” 😂 Was it worth it?

[@eadweard.]

Gruelling remarks.

[@LemonJackRazer]

Last time I was this early I became a father

[@blackgirlcouchreviews]

😂😂😂☠️☠️☠️

[@the80hdgaming]

Bwahahaha 😂😂😂😂

[@mizFahrenheit]

😂

[@miguelcastaneda7257]

Mean ya jumped up and down I win I finished first

[@bananadime]

Nice one you come up with that all on your own 🤡🤡

[@M1903a4]

Outstanding! I'm not sure which part I found most interesting, that fact that he ejected from the capsule or the various crash investigations. I'm old enough to have seen him on TV after his return when he became world famous.

[@williamkirby3552]

Had no idea Gagarin was 5’2”.

[@LaMorenitaDivina]

Same. It makes sense, especially since I’ve seen one of the Vostoks, but I didn’t realise it either.

[@pieterjlansbergen6988]

Thank you for such a well narrated and deep insight into this fascinating story.

[@czdot]

Simon, if you mention another video, you HAVE TO post a link!

[@Hillbilly001]

No he doesn't because it's probably one of his channels.

[@kenwatkins9385]

Yes, a long video, but I so appreciated the excellent coverage of how the Soviet manned space program developed. It didn’t solve exactly what happened. probably no one will ever know. I’m sure this took a ton of research. Thank you so much great program!

[@YouTubeHandlesAreMoronic]

Skip to 41:00, which is when he FINALLY gets to the point of the video.

[@leemori90]

You need a build up to the point, for people like me who don’t know this guy. Otherwise what would be so interesting about some random guy dying?

[@Legalize.Raping.Russian.Broads]

THANK YOU, HOMIE!

[@All_Loves_Lost]

😂😂

[@linagonzalezp]

I think you are not necessarily familiar with Simon’s way of doing things… plus, I found that Tereskova was mainly chosen for being pretty 🤯🤯 and found two other videos to see tomorrow.

[@grahambate1567]

Very well put together presentation, must have taken a long time to research and produce

[@scyobiempire4450]

i just finished the Lost Cosmonauts video and then was recommended this one, that’s a funny coincidence

[@markheller8646]

You just figured out something Yahoo was fully engaged in decades ago.

[@markheller8646]

Look up the term reluctant hero and up pops Yuri G. How Neil Armstrong managed to live is way over my pay grade. Two great men cut from the same cloth.

[@gaborrajnai6213]

Lol Neil Armstrong was specifically selected for Apollo 11, because he singlehandedly survived more catastrophic system failures and near fatal incidents than anyone else combined at NASA, they knew if something goes south Armstrong has the best chance to fix it. That was a very clever move from NASA.@@markheller8646

[@scottfitzpatrick1939]

That is so wonderful that the first man in space simply landed on a back road and was surrounded by his country folk ❤

[@turtleboy4111]

Awesome just made pasta perfectly timed

[@Onora619]

I keep asking people if they know Fact Boy so I can talk about stuff with them lol

[@babydriz]

Turtle power! 🐢🐢🐢🐢

[@kevindondrea144]

Born and Raised in the United States. I'm proud of Yuri and have been ever since I was old enough to learn about his accomplishment.

[@edenisburning]

American here: The name cosmonaut is so much better than astronaut. Credit where credit is due..

[@frustrateduser9933]

Yeah but Cosmoglide just doesn't have the same panache😏🚀

[@edenisburning]

@@frustrateduser9933 😂

[@christiangeiselmann]

These are all mere orbonauts.

[@drstrangelove4998]

@@frustrateduser9933😂

[@carlacook5181]

This was a very good video, informative, thanks

[@erez369]

Yuri Gagarin is often considered a victim of the Soviet Union because, despite his status as a national hero for being the first human in space, he was subjected to the pressures and dangers of the Soviet space program, which prioritized achievements over individual safety. Gagarin’s later career was heavily controlled, and he faced significant restrictions on his personal and professional life. His tragic death in a plane crash in 1968 is partly attributed to the lack of proper safety protocols, reflecting the broader systemic issues within the Soviet regime that prioritized propaganda and political goals over the well-being of its individuals, even heroes like Gagarin.

[@lornaginetteharrison7168]

"My name is 'cosmic' and this will sound good." Got to agree!

[@crakkbone]

I love this channel.

[@TodayIFoundOut]

Thanks! -Daven

[@NIGELANGST]

Great show, thank you! I love to geek out on Space 🚀

[@jim.franklin]

Tecnically, sub orbital flights are not 'space', not to take anything away from anyone who has completed such flights, but as the atmosphere extends far above where even the ISS orbits, it is arguable that humans have yet to enter space - even the Moon landings are still, technically, inside the exosphere, which extends far out beyond the Moon. It is a shame Gagarin was killed in that air crash, it is safe to guess that he would have been a dominant player in the Soviet space program had he survived, and his input may have changed the direction of the Soviet program.

[@roddroid]

You're right, the border between atmosphere and space is a matter of international convention, most counties consider that space starts beyond 100km altitude, but as the first American Astronaut who entered space couldn't reach that height (it was a short suborbital flight, at that time USA had no massive rocket that could compete with the Soviet R-7 / Vostok / Soyuz of Sergei Korolev), USA preferred to lower the border to something like 80km, so they could consider that they were now equally able to travel into space ;-)

[@DrMackSplackem]

The real delineation to me is Earth orbit because if you can get there you're halfway to anywhere else. It's more a measure of delta-vee than distance from the surface. I've heard of another measurement that makes sense regarding escape from Earth, which is 8000km (it's something like sphere of influence, I forget exactly). It's 8,000km not because anything changes at that height. If a vehicle can fly straight up to that altitude it would still fall back down, but the same amount of fuel could instead be used to reach escape velocity.

[@melaniemanning2462]

I like that everyone kisses each other, even men. It's so sweet.

[@Repsol1krr]

None of you were as first as Yuri. Didn’t go well for him!

[@MoonWomanStudios]

Best comment, by far

[@Moody012577]

Epic episode... Well written and put together

[@YevhenRawrs]

You can't just mention Laika out of the blue like that, what an emotional flashbang 😭😭😭

[@StanTheman-u2z]

THE STORY OF POOR LAIKA MAKES ME SICK TO THE STOMACH!😢😢😮

[@thespyderwithin]

That looked like the most terrifying way to parajump that has ever been conceived by man 😮

[@kamakaziozzie3038]

I’d rather slide off a wing than jump out of a doorway next to rear stabilizer

[@Rudi-xd1bp]

Good job, Simon and Co.

[@catherine_404]

I wonder if Simon has a Russian-speaking person to assist with the research. As a Russian, this was a nice listen to! I thought, I could assist some of his writers with their research sometimes, me being a librarian in Moscow (over 10 years of experience, vast resources to access), but then I remembered, it would be extremely difficult for them to pay me if they wanted (and I appreciate Simon's stance of no free labour). Russia is switched off from the Swift payment system. Probably it's the world punishing us for not defenestrating our dictator (it's sarcasm).

[@MizterTonik]

Being a librarian in Moscow must be a trip and a half. Stay safe!

[@catherine_404]

@@MizterTonik I was born in Moscow, it's not me who's the dissenter, it's them (the government) who are the unlawful occupants, lol 🥲 Being a librarian is not too stressful in general. Nobody thinks about culture, so we are not in any danger except on our commute maybe. But also nobody thinks about culture, so our wages are meh, and the state investment in culture is like "here's some change, buy books" (while we are relying on some century-old technologies and our computers are of 90's level), it's painful to truly understand the shabby condition (I can't think of a better adjective) of it all. (The wage, I calculated, is about equal or even lower than the lowest allowed wage in some US states; but it's decent, even good compared to many other Russians!) Obligatory sorry for my English in case I wrote something in a weird/wrong way

[@MizterTonik]

@@catherine_404 guess government frustrations are universal, huh? I'm glad to hear there's not much danger, but it's sad to hear nobody's that interested in the culture. I hope things turn around, yeah? Until then, just keep on keeping on! Also your English is fine, better than some native speakers I know lol

[@gaborrajnai6213]

Its cute that you think they are interested in the Russian side of things. They rarely do, they have their western experts who tell them what to think about certain things. There are some fellas, who are genuinely interested like James Oberg, but they fly themselves to Moscow and search the archives, most of them simply use whatever a british or american dude wrote before them, who most likely got his informations from a CIA pamphlet circulating around during the Cold War. Dont mistake me Oberg is an incredibly unreliable source, who takes things absolutely personal, which harms his objectivity, and spread a lot of BS when it fits his purpose, so he is not a saint either, but on the positive side he at least took the effort to check the original sources.

[@ReyOfLight]

Stay safe! And know that many of us around the world are thinking of you and your fellow country(wo)men who aren't agreeing with what's going on right now

[@micahfoley9572]

For me, it's not even being the first in space, it's being the first human to see the whole of the earth at once, with your own two eyes. Can you imagine? Something so important, so fundamental to our existence as people, and no one had ever seen it before. It was just you. No one but you. Imagine coming home and trying to find the words to express what you'd seen.

[@chrislong3938]

Gagarin was a true hero in my eyes! It was easy for me to dismiss all Soviet people as savage enemies when I was younger. ... easy to forget that these are people with their own aspirations and desires. He certainly had it a helluva lot better than a farmer or a steel worker, but his compassion toward his comrades was touching to me. We, in the West, often forget that ideologies do not forsake peoples' humanity and those living under ones different than ours are just as good or bad as anyone else. It is unfortunate that some people feel the need to enforce their views of the world at the point of a gun! Communism makes sense to creatures like ants or bees, but not humans, and Lenin was a true idiot for thinking it does! Of course, Russians have never truly lived outside of an autocracy and their views on the world are truly and, perpetually warped, even as we can see, today! Boy! Did I ever go off on a tangent here! ;-) Anyway, Gagarin was great!!!!

[@andrewhurdle]

Thank you for your presentation of an amazing amount of detail. It's very interesting to understand how with so much control of information coming out of the Kremlin how can you be so positive of the information you present?. I have a huge interest in the program and I've never found a level of detail you're presenting and have heard information that directly contradicts yours. You have encouraged me to do more digging, especially around the rumors of Vladimir Ilyushin

[@covercalls88]

It was a accident, not much else to read into it. A loss to space exploration.

[@AugustusLook-l2s]

Body cam vids bringing me down. Thank you Simon for a breath of fresh air. Love your stuff. 🙏✌️♥️🇺🇲🇷🇺🇺🇦🇮🇱🇮🇷

[@TheIceCream1]

There is always a western chauvinism in these videos about Soviet Union… I don’t remember seeing random comments regarding American Government massive secrecy and cover ups on its programs or the personal life’s issues and shortcomings of their astronauts when talking about them.

[@adrienroy9310]

Nonsense. We do the same to our astronauts and government. Buzz Aldrins depression and alcoholism are well documented, not to mention the landing on the moon, by many, is thought to be faked by our government.

[@mizFahrenheit]

My god, I have never been this early for Simon!!! And what a story.

[@bananaberrylemon6316]

Cosmonaut, Cosmonaut, The Cosmonaut. Cosmonaut!

[@KasumiRose77]

Great video!!

[@scooby45247]

Whats mysterious? It was a soviet aircraft.. They cut corners at the cost of pilots..

[@gaborrajnai6213]

Not that a multitude of american astronauts didnt die in airplane accidents... Guess if they would be from any other nation there would be conteos about how they secretly orbiting the Sun since then in a giant coverup. Neill Armstrong almost died 5 times during his career that safe was working for NASA.

[@pixelkatten]

This was an interesting video despite the long run time, I think it would be equally interesting if you made a video about Neil Armstrongs path to the moon landing and what he did afterwards!

[@LordMarcus]

17:06 You mean to tell me the Russians had demonstrated the dangers of an enriched-oxygen environment, yet five years later Apollo 1 happens?

[@darlenefraser3022]

You expect Russia of that era to TELL the US that???

[@MistahBryan]

​@@darlenefraser3022indeed... They wouldn't

[@LordMarcus]

SOMEone at the CIA had to know. 😆

[@itarry4]

​@LordMarcus you expect the CIA of that time to tell NASA something like that? They're about as likely to tell NASA they have a spy in the Soviet Space program as the Soviets were to tell NASA about the accident.

[@levilandes1719]

​@@LordMarcusCIA were busy getting loaded on LSD and staring at goats during this period. Oh, and trying to turn Castro gay, or blow him up with Wile E. Coyote style cigars. Honestly they were cartoon villians during this period and were just as competent and trustworthy.

[@NoviJoe]

Before I even looked at the video I recognized this chap by his posh accent. We used to eat bangers and chips at the best pub on High street! I owe you a pint!

[@desmonddwyer]

No mystery just an accident 🤔

[@raquellofstedt9713]

Yes. It was a test flight. Those are dangerous as it is.

[@nct948]

very interesting resume. These were exciting times for the people all over the world I believe with Gagarine as a leading light on our path to the stars.

[@Yobinski4900]

I’m number 1 and I’d like to take a moment to mourn Business Blaze 😢❤

[@qazhr]

Huh?

[@Papa_Nurgle360]

Long live brain blaze

[@JamesG-k5f]

The days of the script slap, talking to a space heater and pacing back and forth. The good ol days I tell ya.

[@Hillbilly001]

Just call it The Blaze and get over it.

[@khironkinney1667]

Yo we are all OG BB. I miss the more manic format script slapping and all. I currently reek of rotten turtle. But you know we all still love Simon in all of his endeavors.

[@bradlevantis913]

Outstanding episode.

[@mikeharrington5593]

Hey Simon, can you do a 5 minute version ?

[@Zexion0]

A bit out of context but that "supposed" recording of the female cosmonaut burning up in the atmosphere is one of the most legitimately heartbreaking and creepy things I've ever heard.

[@Yggdrasil42]

Yeah the people who published it later admitted it was a hoax though.

[@Somemaysayso]

I read that he was not supposed to be given the control code. It was hidden somewhere in the cockpit only to be disclosed where in an emergency but a kindly colleague did so as he strapped in, as you say.

[@FD2003Abc]

You are VERY GOOD at this. Do you teach MasterClasses?

[@TRIChuckles]

Thank you for something I knew about

[@edsonsilvestre6292]

29:46 It’s believed that the spacecraft passed exactly over a City called Moçamedes in the Province of Namibe (Angola). Later on the City’s Airport was renamed Yuri Gagarin. (Aeroporto Iuri Gagarin, in Portuguese).

[@terryeaster1]

Outstanding video

[@philipbuckley759]

On 27 March 1968, Yuri Gagarin, the first man to go into space, died together with pilot Vladimir Seryogin during a routine training flight, after the MiG-15 jet fighter they were flying crashed near Novosyolovo in the Soviet Union.