Original typescript "Report of pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR major GAGARIN Yury Alexeevich of flight on Spaceship-Sputnik "Vostok" on April 12, 1961", signed [Gagarin] in Moscow on April 15, 1961. In Russian, on three paper leaves, 8.1x11.7" (210x297 mm).
Yury Gagarin's original account of one of the most important events in history - man's first flight in space - issued by Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) as the Records File of the First Space Flight, by USSR Citizen Yury Alexeyevich Gagarin, Made on April 12, 1961, on Spaceship-Sputnik "Vostok" Moscow, April, 1961.
Brief summary of the report *
This official report describes the spaceflight of Gagarin without touching upon the problems that arose during its implementation. It is clear from the official tone of the report that it was intended to be seen as a triumph of Soviet people. The report starts with a careful statement of Gargarin's preparation for the flight and both his and colleagues complete confidence in the mission's ulimate success.
"Before the flight I received appropriate training... designed by our scientists. I studied the technology well and was well prepared for spaceflight. The technology, was perfect and very reliable; and neither my colleagues, nor the scientists, engineers, and technicians, nor I myself, ever doubted that the spaceflight would be a success."
Gagarin goes on to discuss in general terms the ease at which he was able to perform under the most unusual conditions imaginable at the time: "...the effect of overloads, vibration, and other stresses had no depressing effects on my condition; and I was able to operate efficiently according to my flight program."
He concludes the chronology of his experience simply, with only a brief mention of the landing site. (In fact there was no landing as such, Gagarin parachuted away from the ship contrary to FAI rules.) "After the ship reached orbit... weightlessness set in. Initially... an unusual sensation... the effect of weightlessness does not affect the body's ability to work or perform physiological functions." "...the command was given to land. The braking engine was activated and the speed was set that was necessary for the ship to land... I was happy to meet our friendly Soviet people on the ground".
It is not until the end that the reader gets a suggestion of the event that must have affected the cosmonaut most profoundly, looking back towards Earth from Space, the sight which he was the first of humankind to enjoy.
"I would like to say a few words about the observations I conducted while in space. The Earth from an altitude of 175-327 kilometers can be seen quite well... Large mountain ranges, big rivers, large forest tracts, shorelines, and islands... One can see the shadow of... clouds on the Earth… The Earth has a very characteristic, very beautiful blue halo,... a smooth color transition from tender blue, to blue, to dark blue and purple, and then to the completely black color of the sky… The ship enters the Earth's shadow very quickly. All of a sudden it is dark, and you can see nothing.... The stars can be seen quite well. The emergence from the Earth's shadow is also very sharp and quick.
Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR Major Y. A. Gagarin 15 April 1961."
The origin of the item
The first manned flight into space was carried out by Yury Gagarin on April 12, 1961. Having made one orbit around the Earth, the cosmonaut landed 108 minutes after the launch from the cosmodrome Baikonur in Kazakhstan. Despite the abnormal situations during the flight, the official report of Gagarin did not mention them. As the early Soviet space program participants recall in their memoirs, the text of the report has been compiled by General Kamanin from Gagarin's written version and typed in several copies, which were signed by Yuri Gagarin on April 15, 1961. Then these originally signed typescripts of the report and their carbon copies were passed to the leaders of the space program, officials and mass media. One of the carbon copies was sent to the FAI in order to officially document the achievements of the first space flight.
The present original typescript of Gagarin's report was given to the First Sputnik's designer Gleb Maximov, who later was appointed to lead projects for the exploration of the Moon, Mars and Venus. Being involved in the Soviet space program as one of the leading engineers, he saved many important documents. After Maximov's death in 2001, his documentary heritage was passed on to museums, colleagues and friends of the scientist. Some paper materials were presented at the auctions. One of the new owners of the documents from Maximov's collection became his friend who worked in the 1960s at the cosmodrome Baikonur, where they met. This copy of Gagarin's report was handed over to him among some other significant documents. After the collector's death in 2011, the report has been kept by his family until nowadays, and then, at the request of the family, it was submitted for sale without sharing the name of the last owner.
Comparison with identical report sold at Christie's
A very similar report signed [Gagarin] was sold on May 9, 2001 at Christie's in New York for $171,000, in a fabric folder along with five photographs of Gagarin (see the auction results for lot 227).
The cover of Christie's catalog
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Lot 227 on page 65 of the catalog
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Lot 227 on page 66 of the catalog
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Lot 227 on page 67 of the catalog
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If we compare the present report by Gagarin with the report that was sold at Christie's, they look identical, but not exactly the same. The both reports were printed on three leaves of paper, but the paper quality is different. The font looks about the same. Words are placed the same, but in the present report spacing appears before commas, unlike the report from Christie's where the spacing appears after them. It looks like several copies of this report have been typed from dictation or retyped from a handwritten version by different typists on different typewriters, as they differ slightly in technical details. In addition, the present report comes without folder and photographs, unlike the report that was sold at Christie's. But the most important thing is that the signature [Gagarin] looks almost the same, as if it was handwritten by the same person, with the same pen, at the same time. It's needless to be an expert to speak about the same origin of the signatures on these reports. Here are the signatures on the both reports side-by-side for a careful examination.
The signature [Gagarin] on the present report
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The signature [Gagarin] on the report sold at Christie's
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CONDITION
Handsigned typescript, not a carbon copy. Well readable despite its age and some corrections through the text. The paper edges of the last page are a little shabby.
 Unique collectible from the early Soviet space program about the very first manned spaceflight in humankind history!
* The brief summary of the report has been compiled using the text from Christies catalog
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