Yuri Gagarin T shirt



Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first manned space flight with one of our Gagarin t shirts.

The Vostok Capsule was essentially a 2.5m diameter sphere. The Vostok Rocket that it sat on was fuelled by very powerful but seriously noxious propellants: ammonium perchlorate, aluminium powder, and a polymer of butadiene as well as liquid oxygen and kerosene. A bomb by any other measure. Although Gagarin is on record as saying in his brief report that he had complete faith in Russian engineers and scientists this strikes me as the equivalent of Tony Blair saying he was a straight/regular guy just after receiving what Bernie Eccelstone might have referred to as a “good drink”: about £1million or so for the Labour Party in exchange for extending the deadline for the ban on tobacco advertising/sponsorship of motor sport. If Gagarin really trusted the technology why did he mention it? Bear in mind Gagarin is likely to have been driven to the rocket in a Russian truck, the vast majority of which did not have opening windows, or perhaps a Lada. He must have been very familiar with the quality of Russian production engineering of the day. No one can say he was not brave.

Gagarin’s written report of the mission – there are thought to have only been one original and four carbon copies of the report – describes the view he was the first human to see: that of the Earth from space. Since then only about 500 human beings have witnessed similar views. Fewer than you might guess.

In his short report Gagarin remarks on the speed of the switch from light to the complete shade of the earth and the switch back again as well as the extraordinary detail of the shadows of clouds and the the geological features of the ground he was passing over. Stunning and momentous stuff for everyone at the time.

Perhaps more incredible is that fact that eight short years later Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon. A demonstration of the power of competition.

Celebrate a life changing event and a brave human being wear our Yuri Gagarin and Vostok Rocket or Capsule t shirts.




Account Manager Kate for exclusives and offers