Vladimir Beilin (Russian, 20th C.) "Vostok I in Orbit" Original Watercolor painting on Paper. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the Russia Vostok I stamp issued May 29, 1992. Piloted by space pioneer Yuri Gagarin, Vostok I blasted into the skies above the USSR's Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 12, 1961. Launched less than four years after the comparatively simple Sputnik I became the first artificial satellite, VostokI was incredibly advanced for its time. Burning liquid oxygen and kerosene, its main engines developed nearly a million pounds of thrust. (By comparison, the rocket that carried the first Americans into orbit was less than half as powerful.) Vostok I's manned module was automatically controlled from the ground, however it had emergency controls for Gagarin. Vostok I also included a TV camera to monitor the cosmonaut, complex life-support and monitoring systems, and even a food locker (though Gagarin's pioneering flight lasted less than two hours). Unlike most later American spacecraft, which splashed down at sea, Vostok I was designed to land on the ground. Gagarin was the only Vostok cosmonaut to remain in his spacecraft for this hard landing, which he found very punishing. Learning from his experience, subsequent Vostok cosmonauts ejected prior to landing, choosing to parachute to Earth from an altitude of more than four miles rather than endure a bone-jarring crash. Upon his return to Earth, Gagarin inspected the Vostok 1, which -- despite its hard landing -- he described as "in good enough shape to be used for another space flight." Image Size: 14 x 12 in. Overall Size: 17.75 x 14 in. Unframed. (B13804) See More