Spoiler: Boeing Starliner launch was canceled the day after.

  • buckykat [none/use name]
    hexbear
    82
    edit-2
    24 days ago

    Did they delete this tweet? I don't see it on their nitter page. It would have been on May 5.

    Also, just found this on Alan Shepard's wiki page: "On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space, and the first to orbit the Earth.[70] It was another body blow to American pride.[67] When Shepard heard the news he slammed his fist down on a table so hard a NASA public relations officer feared he might have broken his hand.[71]"

    wojak-nooo You can't get to space first!

    yuri

    • Droplet [comrade/them]
      hexagon
      hexbear
      63
      24 days ago

      Yes, they deleted it. The Russian Embassy in South Africa twitter account replied and the link it pointed to is now unavailable.

      • dannoffs [he/him]
        hexbear
        52
        24 days ago

        I learned from the replies there that some weirdos don't think his flight counts because he ejected before landing and one of those "international" organizations that are always fucking French said you have to land for it to count.

        • RedDawn [he/him]
          hexbear
          34
          24 days ago

          I’m quite sure that Gagarin actually landed after going to space, not like he’s still up in the air somewhere. Having to be in the launch craft when you land is such a ridiculous technicality lmao nobody should take that seriously. Like he went to space and came back, and he was the first person to do so, nobody can dispute that.

          • utopologist [any]
            hexbear
            36
            24 days ago

            The criterion of having to be in the craft when it touches the earth again came exclusively from the West realizing that Soviet craft would most likely come down onto land because of how large and how far from the oceans the USSR was. Since US craft could come down into the ocean and the astronauts could be easily recovered, they basically got the international aeronautics body to add that little detail in there. Absolute bullshit

            • CyberSyndicalist [none/use name]
              hexbear
              31
              24 days ago

              Sorry but you have to comedown on land for it to count as "landing", if you comedown on the ocean it is technically diving soviet-chad

          • barrbaric [he/him]
            hexbear
            15
            24 days ago

            You know what they say, orbiting is just falling without landing. He never landed. #GagarinTruther

          • dannoffs [he/him]
            hexbear
            24
            24 days ago

            I think you mean Columbia. I don't think anyone would argue challenger counts.

        • Des [she/her, they/them]
          hexbear
          20
          24 days ago

          i love the kerbal-ass way they had to eject before landing. if it works it works

    • HexBroke [any, comrade/them]
      hexbear
      52
      24 days ago

      The American mission didn't travel very far at all either

      Show

      Compared to Gagarin's orbit

      Show

      • Droplet [comrade/them]
        hexagon
        hexbear
        41
        24 days ago

        It wasn’t even orbital. It was a 15-minute suborbital flight which is even more embarrassing.

        • HexBroke [any, comrade/them]
          hexbear
          38
          24 days ago

          And it took the Americans almost another year to achieve an orbital flight

          But they did learn some things

          In addition, due to the lessons learnt from the previous two manned flights, MA-6 was the first American spaceflight to include a dedicated urine collection device

        • buckykat [none/use name]
          hexbear
          24
          24 days ago

          First person in orbit: Yuri Gagarin

          Second person in orbit: Gherman Titov

          Amerikkka took third place in a one on one race

  • pooh [she/her, any]
    hexbear
    73
    24 days ago

    I'm half awake from a nap and typed "Yuri" into the search bar not thinking 😑

  • GalaxyBrain [they/them]
    hexbear
    52
    24 days ago

    Yuri Gagarin's name will one day be remembered on other planets. Alan Sheppard will be remembered as Tom Cruise.