From patriotic songs blaring on the metro to parties on the International Space Station, Russia proudly celebrated on Tuesday 50 years since rocketing Yuri Gagarin into the first human orbit。
In a video link with space, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told astronauts aboard the orbital station that space exploration remained Russia's "priority"。
"In those 50 years, we absolutely can't imagine life without space, without your flights," Medvedev told the crew from Russia's Mission Control Centre, named after the legendary father of the Soviet space programme Sergei Korolyov。
"Space is our priority."
Space station Commander Dmitry Kondratyev said his current six-person US, Russian and European crew would celebrate the holiday from the "front lines" in weightlessness。
"This flight stirred the whole world and showed what humanity was capable of," said veteran Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, 76, who completed the first space walk in 1965.
"He invited us all into space," Leonov told at Kremlin hall filled with some of the world's most well-loved space icons, citing a tribute from the first man on the moon, US astronaut Neil Armstrong, to Gagarin。
Since Gagarin's epic journey into the unknown 50 years ago, some 500 people have followed him into space。
"If Yuri Gagarin had not made this flight I would not have flown to the moon," said US astronaut Thomas Stafford, commander on the first US lunar landing in 1969.
俄罗斯本周二高调庆祝人类历史上首位宇航员尤里?加加林太空飞行50周年。地铁中响起爱国歌曲，国际空间站也举办派对庆祝。
俄罗斯总统米特里?梅德韦杰夫在与国际空间站视频连线时告诉轨道空间站的宇航员，太空探索仍是俄罗斯的“重中之重”。
梅德韦杰夫告诉俄罗斯宇航控制中心的工作人员：“在过去50年里，我们完全无法设想没有太空探索、没有你们的航天飞行的生活。”这座宇航控制中心是以前苏联载人航天开创者谢尔盖?帕夫洛维奇的名字命名的。
梅德韦杰夫说：“我们要优先发展航天事业。”
空间站指挥官米特里?康德拉特耶夫称，分别来自美国、俄罗斯和欧洲的六位航天员将在无重的“最前线”庆祝这一天。
前苏联宇航员阿列克谢?列昂诺夫说：“加加里的首次太空飞行震惊了全球，展示出人类的巨大能量。”列昂诺夫在1965年首次完成了太空行走，现年76岁，已经退休。
列昂诺夫引述登月第一人、美国宇航员尼尔˙阿姆斯特朗称赞加加林的话说：“他把人类领进了太空。”当时列昂诺夫正坐在克林姆林宫的大厅里，大厅中挂满了世界上最可爱的太空图标。
自从加加林50年前历史性的太空之旅后，已有大约500名宇航员进行过太空探索。
1969年美国登月计划指挥官、美国宇航员托马斯?斯塔福德说：“如果尤里?加加林没有进行首次太空飞行，我可能也没有飞去过月球。”