Yuri Gagarin. Photo: Getty ImagesSixty years since Russian Yuri Gagarin became the first human to conquer space, the former superintendent at Mt John Observatory in Tekapo remembers the "big news". Blasting into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, now in Kazakhstan, Gagarin's historic mission lasted 108 minutes. Photo: University of CanterburyNew Zealand astronomer Alan Gilmore, a former superintendent at Mt John Observatory in Tekapo, was still at school and remembers learning about the launch on the evening news. Vostok I, a space shuttle used by Yuri Gagarin.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 13, 2021 02:03 UTC