Cradle of Aviation Unveils Bust of First Man in Space

The first man in space was honored in Garden City over the weekend.

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had his bronze bust unveiled at the Cradle of Aviation Museum Saturday afternoon, according to Newsday [paid link].

Collaborating with the Glen Head-based Sunflower Education Center, Russian businessman Ruslan Bayramov donated the bust. He said through an interpreter that the sculpture commemorates cooperation between the American and Russian space programs in the post-Cold War era.

According to NASA, on April 12, 1961, at the age of 27, Gagarin became the first human in space, making a 108-minute orbital flight in his Vostok 1 spacecraft.

Gagarin died in a plane crash just seven years after his historic flight.