Monument to Yuri Gagarin, Space exploration monument in Gagarinsky District, Moscow, Russia.
The monument to Yuri Gagarin is a 30-meter titanium structure in the Gagarinsky District of Moscow. The figure shows the cosmonaut with extended arms on a tall base and consists of 238 cast segments bolted together.
The memorial opened on July 4, 1980, to mark the first human spaceflight on April 12, 1961. Gagarin orbited Earth in the Vostok 1 capsule and returned after 108 minutes.
A bronze plaque at the base carries biographical details about the cosmonaut and his achievements, which visitors can read while walking around the monument. The structure stands along the route Gagarin followed when returning from the airport after his mission, where crowds gathered to greet him.
The site sits along a major avenue in the southwestern part of the city and can be viewed from several angles. Visitors can see the monument at any time from the sidewalk, as it stands outdoors without enclosure.
This monument was the first large titanium casting in the world and posed special technical challenges during production. The face of the cosmonaut proved to be the hardest part in the entire casting process.
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