Yuri Gagarin, legendary 'naut, makes London debut
First orbital human joins Captain Cook on the Mall
Cloud storage: Lower cost and increase uptime
A statue of Yuri Gagarin has been unveiled by the cosmonaut's daughter, Elena Gagarina, in London.
The legendary cosmonaut was the first human being to orbit the planet Earth, back in 1961. He died only 7 years later in an accident during a routine flight in a MiG-15 fighter jet.
The statue stands near the British Council, just off the Mall by Admiralty Arch, and is a copy of one in Lubertsky – where Gagarin trained as a foundry worker. He was invited to tour the UK after his flight by the National Union of Foundrymen. Gagarin's statue stands opposite that of equally-famous British explorer Captain James Cook, who favoured sailing ships for his voyages rather than space capsules.
The zinc-alloy figure stands 3.5 metres high.
The head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, Vladmir Popovkin, said:
"Russians are very proud that [Gagarin] was Russian, but if you look at it more philosophically – he was a delegate from the whole world to space. He reminds us how we must be together in the exploration of space."
COMMENTS
Re: Why
Because the world is chock full of statues of conquerors and mass-murderers, and building a statue to a guy who actually risked his own life for the progress of humanity is a nice change?
Because he's a pioneer for the whole human race
Yuri Gagarin represents the curiosity and exploratory spirit of humanity. He was also incredibly brave, and actually a nice guy as well. He really is the kind of person who deserves a statue.
Also, it's only there for a year, unless plans change.
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
Steps to Take Before Choosing a Business Continuity Partner
Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider
Cloud storage: Lower cost and increase uptime
SaaS data loss: The problem you didn’t know you had
