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Monument to Yuri Gagarin is a 42.5-meter high pedestal and statue of
Памятники Москвы. Памятник Ю. А. Гагарину на Проспекте Ленина
/ref> The inscription at the base of the monument reads (in Russian):
The monument to Yuri Gagarin is depicted on the reverse side of a non-circulating 1 oz silver 3 rouble coin. This coin was minted in 1991 to honor the 30th anniversary of
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...
, the first person to travel in space. It is located at Leninsky Prospekt in Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. The pedestal is designed to be reminiscent of a rocket exhaust. The statue is made of titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
, a metal often used in spacecraft, and weighs 12 tons.
Description
The monument to Yuri Gagarin was built for the 1980 Olympic Games. It stands in Gagarin Square on Leninsky Avenue. The creators of the monument are the sculptor Pavel Bondarenko, architects Yakov Belopolsky, F.M. Gazhevsky, and designer A.F. Sudakov. The monument is made of titanium and mounted on a high ribbed pedestal. The total height of the monument is , the total weight is 12 tons. At the foot of the monument is a copy of theVostok Vostok refers to east in Russian but may also refer to:
Spaceflight
* Vostok programme, Soviet human spaceflight project
* Vostok (spacecraft), a type of spacecraft built by the Soviet Union
* Vostok (rocket family), family of rockets derived from ...
descent vehicle, which was flown on April 12, 1961, when Yuri Gagarin made the first crewed flight into space.
The statue creators turned to the specialists at the All-Russian Institute Of Aviation Materials
The All-Russian Institute Of Aviation Materials (VIAM) (russian: Всероссийский научно-исследовательский институт авиационных материалов) is a state research centre of the Russian Fe ...
(VIAM) for help, who recommended the sculpture use the titanium casting alloy VT5L, which has a shiny surface and acceptable color. In addition, specialists at VIAM developed technical processes used by VSMPO to cast ingots of VT5L alloy with a low oxygen content (0.12%).
The monument was made in less than a year at the Balashikha Foundry and Mechanical Plant. The titanium sculpture of Yuri Gagarin was assembled from 238 cast segments, which were connected with bolts and welding. The greatest problems arose with the manufacture of the largest segment – the cosmonaut's face. Its weight was , which was too heavy for melting in a vacuum oven. The Monument to Yuri Gagarin is the world's first large-scale monument made of titanium.
The figure of Gagarin is facing upward. The high ribbed pedestal is an important part of the composition and symbolizes the launch of the space rocket./ref> The inscription at the base of the monument reads (in Russian):
Commemorative coin
The monument to Yuri Gagarin is depicted on the reverse side of a non-circulating 1 oz silver 3 rouble coin. This coin was minted in 1991 to honor the 30th anniversary of human spaceflight
Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...
. An image of the monument is depicted on the back side of the coin, along with the words (in Russian) "30 years of human spaceflight".
See also
* Statue of Yuri Gagarin, Greenwich *Monument to the Conquerors of Space
The ''Monument to the Conquerors of Space'' ( rus, Монуме́нт «Покори́телям ко́смоса», r=Monumént "Pokorítelyam kósmosa", p=mənʊˈmʲent pəkɐrʲˈitʲɪlʲɪm ˈkosməsə) is a giant obelisk erected in Mosc ...
References
External links
*{{Commons category-inline, Monument to Yuri Gagarin at Leninsky Prospekt Metal sculptures Monuments and memorials to Yuri Gagarin Monuments and memorials in Moscow Sculptures of men in Russia Statues in Russia Cultural heritage monuments in Moscow