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Yuri Gagarin: 50-Year Anniversary of First Space Flight (VIDEO)

The first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, is trending on the 50 th anniversary of his maiden space flight.

As a 27-year-old cosmonaut, Gagarin spent 108 minutes in orbitbefore landing on April 12, 1961.

Gagarin’s flight spurred the international space race betweenthe United States and the Soviet Union, leading President John F. Kennedy toset the goal of being the first to land on the moon.

Seven years after Gagarin’s first journey into space, he waskilled on a routine training flight. Gagarin’s pioneering legacy is rememberedat Star City, Moscow’s oldest space-flight training facility.