MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2021) Russia will name one of its manned Soyuz spacecraft in honor of Yuri Gagarin, the first human to journey into outer space 60 years ago, Sputnik learned from the plan for the preparation of anniversary celebrations.
"Assigning the name of Yuri Gagarin to the Soyuz MS manned transport spacecraft, which will be launched in 2021," the plan, approved by Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov, read.
Three Soyuz MS spacecraft are expected to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) throughout this year. Soyuz MS-18 is scheduled to depart to the ISS from the Baikonur space field on April 9, three days before the Cosmonautics Day. It will carry three members of the ISS Expedition 65 Crew. The next ones will leave in October and in December. The document did not specify which spacecraft would be named after Gagarin.
In 2011, on the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's legendary flight, the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft was also named after the Soviet cosmonaut. It was inscribed with what Gagarin was best remembered by the Soviet and Russian people for pronouncing "Poyekhali!" (Let's Go!) as his Vostok spacecraft lifted off the ground.
On April 12, 1961, a booster rocket took Vostok into orbit carrying the first person to ever travel to space. After orbiting the Earth once, the re-entry module landed on the territory of what was then the Soviet Union.
