YURI GAGARIN

Original hand-signed biography
Road to Cosmos
Hardcover edition
21 × 14 cm

Certificate:
Letter of authenticity from PSA/DNA Authentication Services, Newport Beach, CA, August 29, 2011

Yuri Alexejewitsch Gagarin, born on 19 March 1934, was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first man in space. After working in a steel foundry, while still a teenager he joined the ‘Aero Club’ & learned to fly light aircraft. In 1955 he entered flight training at the Orenburg Military Pilots’ school. In 1957 he became a lieutenant in the Soviet Air Force. Gagarin, working with the elite training group known as the ‘Sochi Six’, became part of the team of the first cosmonauts, who had to undergo extremely rigorous physical and psychological training. He and Gherman Titov were selected for the first launch because of their performance in training as well as for their physical characteristics – space was at a minimum in the small Vostok cockpit and both men were of small stature. In 1961 Gagarin became the first human to travel into space. After the flight he became a global celebrity, touring widely to promote the Soviet achievement. In 1968 Gagarin died in a plane crash.

The book contains an original signature from the cosmonaut Gagarin on the first page, the authenticity of which has been confirmed by Joe Orlando on behalf of the PSA/DNA Autograph Authentication Team.