Informal Speech Outline

First Man in Space Topic: Yuri Gagarin General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about first man who escaped Earth’s gravity and appeared in space. Thesis: Gagarin was to be the very first man being in space. Introduction Attention Getter: What would you think if I ask who was the first man in space? First idea is Neil Armstrong? Isn’t it? But what if I say that there was cosmonaut from Soviet Union who traveled in space one year earlier? Significance of Topic: Sounds not familiar?

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made history on April 12, 1961 when he became both the first person in the world to enter space and the first person to orbit the Earth. Establishment of Ethos: Since childhood, this man was a hero of mine that’s why I decided to investigate his biography more detailed. Thesis: Gagarin was to be the very first man being in space. Preview Statement: So today we will go on tour to the spacecraft and take a look at Yuri Gagarin’s life background, his road in becoming a cosmonaut, and the historic flight itself. (Transition: So let’s start our trip by finding out Yuri Gagarin’s life background. Body I. According to article “Life and Death of Yuri Gagarin” published in Engineering and Technology magazine on April 2011, Yuri Gagarin was born in March 9, 1934 in a small village west of Moscow in Russia (then known as the Soviet Union). Yuri was the third of four children and spent his childhood on a collective farm where his father, Alexey Gagarin, worked as a carpenter and bricklayer and his mother, Anna Gagarina, worked as a milkmaid. A. Like millions of people in the Soviet Union, the Gagarin family suffered during Nazi occupation in World War II. After a German officer took over their ouse, the family constructed a small mud hut where they spent a year and nine months until the end of the occupation. 1. Life was difficult during the war and the Gagarins were kicked out of their home and moved to another city. B. When Yuri was fifteen he entered a vocational trail and learned to be a metalworker. 1. In two years as the best student he was sent to continue his study to Saratov high technical school. a. While studying there, he joined the Aero Club where he trained to fly an aircraft. b. This hobby predetermined his future charge; Gagarin decided to devote his life to aviation.

C. In 1955 he enrolled into the Russian Air Force and two years afterwards graduated with honors from the Soviet Air Force Academy. 1. However, while Gagarin enjoyed being a fighter pilot, what he really wanted to do was to go to space. a. Since he had been following the Soviet Union’s progress in space flight, he was confident that soon they would be sending a man into space. b. He wanted to be that man. (Transition: Now that we know life background of Yuri Gagarin, lets move to a how Yuri became a cosmonaut. ) II. His desire was so strong that in 1960 he applied to be a cosmonaut. A.

According to “First man in space” published in About. com on May 5,2010, Yuri Gagarin was just one of 3,000 applicants to be the first Soviet cosmonaut. 1. Out of this large amount of applicants, just 20 were chosen and Gagarin was one of the 20. B. During the extensive physical and psychological testing required of the chosen cosmonaut trainees, Gagarin excelled at the tests while maintaining a calm behavior as well as his sense of humor and readiness to the upcoming flight. 1. Later, Gagarin would be chosen to be the first man into space because of these skills. (Transition: Now lets take a look at the historic flight itself) III.

So on April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin boarded Vostok 1 (the name of the spaceship) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome located in Kazakhstan. A. Although he was fully trained for the mission, but no one knew if it was going to be a success or a failure. Gagarin was to be the very first human being in space, truly going where no man had gone before. B. Gagarin was rocketed into space, using an automated system. 1. Gagarin was not given the control to the spacecraft during his mission because scientists were worried about the psychological effects of being in space; it wasn’t discovered by that time. C.

After entering space, Gagarin completed a single orbit around Earth. The spaceship’s top speed reached 17,600 miles per hour. At the end of the orbit, spaceship reentered the Earth’s atmosphere. 1. Gagarin was in space exactly 108 minutes circled the entire globe. 2. Right before he landed, a farmer and her daughter spotted Gagarin floating down with his parachute. a. Once on the ground, Gagarin, dressed in an orange spacesuit and wearing a large white helmet, Gagarin terrified two women and it took him a few minutes to convince them that he is a human, not an alien and to direct him to the nearest phone.

D. For this accomplishment Gagarin was awarded medal and title hero of Soviet Union. 1. Yuri Gagarin’s successful flight into space paved the way for all future space exploration. Conclusion Summary Statement: So, now you know a life background of Yuri Gagarin, his road in becoming a cosmonaut and his historic flight. References Bizony, Piers, (April, 2011). Life and Death of Yuri Gagarin. Engineering & Technology. 31 (2), pp. 35-37 Rosenberg, Jennifer (May 5, 2010). The First Man in Space. Available at: http://history1900s. about. com/od/1960s/a/yurigagarin. htm. Last Accessed March 15, 2013.