History Lesson: First Man in Space

On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyvich Gagarin became the first human being to travel into space.  Aboard spacecraft Vostok 1, Gagarin orbited the Earth at a maximum altitude of 187 miles.  His space flight lasted roughly under 2 hours.  Back on Earth, he became an instant hero and celebrity.  Gagarin traveled the world to spread the word of Russia's successful space trip.  Gagarin died on March 27th, 1968 in a routine training flight that ended in a fatal crash.  There are many speculations and conspiracy theories about the reason why his aircraft failed.