Today, April 12, is Cosmonautics Day, celebrated around the world, to honor the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin. President Putin and President Lukashenko visited the new space launch facility in Vostochny in Russia’s Far East today. At a press conference, President Putin said that there would be a Belarussian cosmonaut next year. Lukashenko was asked if he wanted to be the first Belarus cosmonaut. “I would like to,” he said. “But I personally have someone to send. Therefore, I will think about this issue.”
Putin said that despite the difficulties, Russia will “consistently and persistently” carry out its plans in the space sector, including the implementation of the lunar program “We are talking about the launch of the Luna-25 apparatus, which should be launched from Vostochny at the end of August 2022,” Putin stated.
“In this, Moscow will cooperate with Minsk in the near future,” Putin said. A law will be adopted that will allow citizens and companies of Belarus to work in the closed city of Tsiolkovsky (located next to Vostochny), and the first flight of a Belarusian cosmonaut into orbit may take place next year.”
Putin also reminisced a bit about his experience with April 12, 1961, the day of Gagarin’s flight. “Surprisingly, I remember that. I was a child, nine years old at that time. Frankly speaking, I did not understand what was happening in full but I saw that something grandiose and unusual had taken place when unfamiliar people hugged and kissed each other. This looked like Victory Day,” he recalled.
