Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was the first human to journey into outer space. He was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. Yuri Gagarin was the first human to travel into space, and the first to orbit the Earth. He was awarded many medals and titles, including ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’, the nation’s highest honour. The total mission lasted just 108 minutes. He became the first human to journey into outer space when his Vostok Spacecraft completed one orbit of the earth in 1961. Yuri served as the deputy training director of the Cosmonaut Training Centre outside Moscow.