YuriGagarin50, a campaign to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight and the achievements of UK and Russian spaceflight over the past 50 years, was launched last week (Thursday 10th June) by Dr Helen Sharman OBE at the House of Commons.
Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space and the first person to orbit the Earth on 12 April 1961. YuriGagarin50, which is part funded by the UK Space Agency, aims to encourage activities around the anniversary on 12 April 2011 and raise awareness of the legacy of Gagarin's flight.
[URL=http://yurigagarin50.org/][/URL]
The [URL=http://yurigagarin50.org/]YuriGagarin50[/URL] website has a searchable calendar of events planned to celebrate the anniversary, which include exhibitions, talks and hands on activities. As the site develops in the run up to the anniversary, further information will be included on Yuri Gagarin, his visit to the UK in July 1961, and current space activities in the UK and Russia.
Dr. Welch, Chair of YuriGagarin50, also announced the 'Rockets for Yuri' initiative, which will encourage the public to take part in a mass launching of air and water-powered rockets at locations across the UK at 12pm on 12th April 2011, to celebrate Gagarin's flight.
Dr Helen Sharman, who became Britain's first astronaut when she spent 7 days on the Mir Space Station in 1991, said "After his historic flight, Yuri Gagarin was given the international crown for inspiration and wherever he went people thronged in the street to see him. On my last night in space, reflecting on my time, I realised that being away from Earth reinforced what my Russian friends had told me on the ground - what's important is personal relationships and what people can do together. Space is grand and being part of it makes people feel grand."
Six of the UK's young 'future space stars' spoke about how had space inspired them and their vision for the UK's future involvement in space. Ruth Pearson, who will begin a PhD in cosmology at the University of Sussex in September said, "I am inspired by the way countries cooperate in space and I believe that this type of collaboration in science can help us solve many of the humanitarian problems we face."
The UK Space Agency's contribution to YuriGagarin50 is through its "Space for All" programme - a new community sponsorship award scheme which allows organisations and individuals to apply for funding for innovative projects that promote the UK space programme, and inspire the use of space as a focus for learning in schools and colleges.