Evening star., 1961-04-13

cnalr, DuC eaSeQ mySelI llCO IT.
The entire flight, he asserted,
was work all the way and par
ticularly in that phase.
Even so, he said, he felt ex-
cellent during that period of
his 108-minute flight.
Moscow Set for Welcome
AS he waited in the Soviet
interior for a hero's welcome
in Moscow, the 27-year-old
astronaut told for the first
time about his experiences as
his 5-ton spaceship hurtled
around the earth. Premier
Khrushchev is expected to cut
short his vacation at the Black
Sea resort of Sochi to head the
welcoming committee when
Maj. Gagarin arrives at Mos
cows Vnukova Airport about
noon a am. EST.
When he became weightless,
Maj. Gagarin said, it became
easier to do everything.
This is quite natural" he
commented. zones legs, arms
weigh nothing, objects float in
the cabin. Neither did I my
self sit in the chair as I did
before that, but hung in mid
air. While in the state of
weightlessness, I ate and drank
and everything occurred Just
as it does here on earth.
Handwriting Unchanged
"I even worked in that con-
dition, wrote, jotting down my
observations. My. handwriting
did not change although the
hand does not weigh anything.
Only I had to hold the note
book, otherwise it would float
away. I maintained communi-
cations over different channels
and tapped the telegraph key"
AS to what he saw from
space, Maj Gagarin reported:
II did not see the moon.
The sun in outer space is tens
of times brighter than here on
earth. The stars are visible
very well. They are bright and
distinct. The entire picture OF
the armament is much more
contrasty than when seen from
the earth"
Farms Discernible
Mai. Gagarin said the side
of the earth lit by the sun was
quite plain and he could see
easily the shores of continents
: islands. great rivers, folds oi
, terrain, large bodies of water
Flying over the Soviet Union
he reported, he could see the
great squares of the collective
: farms. He could even tell cul-
: tivated from meadow land, he
said.
. Emphasizing he was no mere
passenger as his Spaceship
circled the earth at a maximum
altitude of 1873 miles, Mai
Gagarin said:
II was entirely concentrated
t on carrying out the flights
program. I wanted to carry
out every point of the assign
: ment and to do it as well as
r possible. There was a lot o1
work. The entire flight meant
= work"
4 While the Spaceship was under
ground control for the landing
: Maj. Gagarin helped with the
control phases, Soviet scientists
said when the flight was
announced yesterday,
Enough Space for ALP
Maj. Gagarin was quoted
earlier as challenging the
United States to catch up with
+, the Soviet Union in the space
race. But Tass said the astro-
: naut welcomed any "ac.
!, complishmentS of American
astronauts when they do fly
into space"
! There is enough space In
the cosmos for ALL" he said
Our party and government
J have raised the question of the
use of outer space for peace
, full purposes. This arena must
be used not for warlike, but
for peaceful purposes. Amer
lean cosmonauts will have to
) catch up with us. We shall
, welcome their success, but will
try to keep in front"
A pilot in the Soviet Ali
: Force, Maj. Gagarin said he
e never had been more than 1C
miles above the earth before.
Shape Of Earth Evident
: From the space ship I could
: see not as well as from a plane
= but still I could see very well
r During the flight, I succeed
/, I'd fo,. tho fret TINA i.a cnnir,n