Yuri Gagarin was a Soviet pilot who became the first human to journey into outer space. On April 12, 1961, Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth in his Vostok 1 capsule, spending a total of 108 minutes in space. Gagarin's historic spaceflight marked a major milestone in the Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States. On March 27, 1968, Gagarin died in a plane crash at the age of 34, while training as a military pilot.