Tom MitchelhillFollowAug 11, 2022·6 min read·Member-onlyLeave Space AloneOr cement your place on the wrong side of history6am. April 12th, 1961On a launchpad in Southern Kazakhstan a Soviet rocket called Vostok 1 is being prepped for take off. Strapped inside a small capsule atop Vostok sits a 27-year-old Russian astronaut named Yuri Gagarin.