FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation

They were the pioneers. Celebrating the first space explorers

Left Top – Galina Titova; Left Bottom – a note by Gherman Titov to mark 12 April as Cosmonautics Day; Right – a souvenir photo to Gherman Titov with Yuri Gagarin's autograph
12/04/2021

 

For more than six decades, space science and technology have been helping to solve global problems, including climate change and food security. The United Nations (UN) considers it one of its tasks to use the unique opportunities offered by the exploration of outer space for the benefit of all humanity.

On 12 April 1961, Soviet pilot Yuri Gagarin became the first person in the world to fly around the Earth.

On the occasion of the significant date – the 60th anniversary of the first human space flight, our colleague Ms Galina Titova shared her memories of her father, Dr Gherman Titov, the Second man in space, who is still the youngest cosmonaut on the planet, which is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.

On 6 August 1962, just 4 months after Gagarin's flight, Gherman Titov was the first in history to make an orbital space flight lasting more than a day.

Galina, the daughter of Gherman Titov, has worked in the United Nations system in Russia since 1993 in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). In 2016, she joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Liaison Office with the Russian Federation and has been working in the Office for more than five years.

– Your father Gherman Titov proposed to make 12 April a public holiday, Cosmonautics Day, as evidenced by the copy of his letter to the country's leadership published today. How did he feel about his involvement in the beginning of the era of human space flight?

– Gherman Titov, of course, did not dream of space since his childhood. At that time, no one could even think about space. When he entered the flight school, he was selected for the cosmonaut squad: the pilots were offered to fly on the "new aircraft", and he, certainly, agreed.

He was versatile and thought globally, he treated his work responsibly, worked well and was successful in it. He was a highly professional pilot, and this later helped him become a brilliant cosmonaut.

Gherman Titov always said that only the joint work of Soviet specialists contributed to the creation of the world's first rocket and the launch of a man into space.

– What did your father most often remember about his flight? What details of the journey to the stars remained the most important for him?

– At home, Dad tried not to talk about his work. But when we went to different meetings together, where he spoke, I absorbed all the information. I learned a lot about his flight from these conversations. I remember that he repeated many times: our Land is so beautiful and so small that it must be protected by all means. He strongly opposed the militarization of outer space.

Subsequently, he devoted himself to various space projects, many of which are still in use today. For example, he was at the origin of the creation of the GLONASS global satellite navigation system. It was his idea, which his colleagues were able to implement.

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The International Day of Human Space Flight is celebrated annually on 12 April to mark the beginning of the space era for mankind. This day serves as a reminder of the important contribution of space science and technology to achieving, among other things, the Sustainable Development Goals, improving the well-being of States and peoples, and striving to preserve space exclusively for peaceful exploration. In Russia, this memorable date is known as Cosmonautics Day.

 

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