April 12 is celebrated in Ukraine as the Day of Workers of the Rocket and Space Industry of Ukraine, and in the world – the World Day of Aviation and Cosmonautics, the International Day of Human Space Flight, the World Day of Action in the Field of Military Spending and the International Day of Homeless Children. Events that left a mark in the cultural, political and technical history of Ukraine and the world also took place on this day.
Day of workers of the rocket and space industry of Ukraine
This is a professional celebration of those who are behind complex calculations, innovative developments and technological breakthroughs that allow Ukraine to remain a space state. This is a day of thanksgiving to engineers, designers, technicians, scientists and industrial workers who have dedicated their lives to space exploration and the development of the national aerospace potential.
The holiday was initiated by the decree of the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma on March 13, 1997. This initiative aimed to emphasize the importance of the domestic rocket and space industry as one of the defining directions of national science and industry. The choice of the date — April 12 — is not accidental: it was on this day in 1961 that the world’s first human flight into space took place – the flight of Yuri Gagarin on the Vostok-1 ship. Therefore, Ukraine, as one of the republics of the former USSR, took a direct part in the preparation of this historic breakthrough, in particular through the powerful school of rocket engineering in Dnipro.
After gaining independence, Ukraine managed to preserve and develop a number of technologies that allow it to remain among the countries with a full cycle of space technology production — from design to launch. National enterprises, in particular KB “Pivdenne” and “Pivdenmash” in Dnipro, continue to design and manufacture launch vehicles, satellites and other complex equipment. Ukrainian specialists participate in international space programs, in particular in NASA, ESA, Sea Launch, Antares, Vega projects.
Interesting facts
Ukraine is among the top 10 space nations of the world — countries capable of developing, manufacturing and launching space vehicles.
Space rockets “Zenit”, created in Dnipro, are considered one of the most reliable in the world. They were used as part of the international project “Sea Start” for launches from a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean.
Ukrainian-made engines are in service with the space agencies of the USA and Europe. In particular, the modules of the Antares launch vehicle for NASA were created with the participation of designers from the Pivdenne Design Bureau.
Ukraine has its own state space agency (SCAU) and implements long-term space programs, including the creation of national satellites for remote sensing of the Earth.
In 1997, when this holiday was founded, Leonid Kuchma was not just the president, but the former director of the Pivdenmash plant. That is, he deeply knew this industry from the inside. The first Ukrainian communication satellite “Lybid”, despite the delay, remains one of the main projects in the field of independent information provision of the country.
In Ukraine, there is a unique National Academy of Sciences with a department of physical and technical problems of energy and space, which supports fundamental research in the field of astronomy, gravitation, cosmology, and remote sensing.
World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day
Every year on April 12, mankind celebrates the World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day – the day when for the first time man overcame the gravity of the earth and went into space. This is not just a historical date, but a powerful symbol of an era that opened a new chapter in science, technology and man’s perception of the universe.
This holiday was established in 1968 by the General Conference of the International Aviation Federation, and in 2011 the UN General Assembly officially declared April 12 the International Day of Human Space Flight.
The reason for choosing this particular date was the historic flight of Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961 aboard the Vostok-1 ship, which flew around the Earth in 108 minutes and proved that a person is capable of being in weightlessness, orienting, controlling the apparatus and returning alive to the planet.
Gagarin’s flight was not only a technical breakthrough, but also a powerful political and humanitarian sign: it demonstrated humanity’s ability to conquer new horizons and sparked a wave of enthusiasm, inspiration and dreams around the world. This first mission was followed by dozens, hundreds of others — with the study of the Moon, Venus, Mars, with the launch of orbital stations, with exits into outer space, and the construction of the International Space Station.
Interesting facts
Yuri Gagarin did not fly Vostok manually, as Soviet engineers were afraid of the unpredictable reaction of the human brain in weightlessness. But there was an envelope in the cockpit with a code to unlock the controls — just in case.
Gagarin took off and landed not in a ship, but ejected at an altitude of several kilometers. This was not advertised, because according to international standards, a full flight was counted only when the pilot landed together with the aircraft.
Ukraine has a direct relationship with Gagarin’s flight, because the chief designer of the USSR’s space program, Serhii Korolev, was from the city of Zhytomyr. It was he who embodied the technical concept of the launch vehicle that launched Gagarin into space.
The first person to go into outer space was Oleksiy Leonov in 1965. During this exit, he almost had an accident: the suit inflated, and he could not return to the airlock without risk.
It is symbolic that on the same day, April 12, but in 1981, NASA made the first flight of the space shuttle “Columbia”. Thus, both flights — the Soviet one in 1961 and the American one in 1981 — took place on April 12 with an interval of 20 years.
Ukrainian Leonid Kadeniuk became the first and so far the only cosmonaut of independent Ukraine, flying in 1997 on the NASA shuttle Columbia as part of the STS-87 mission.
International Day of Human Space Flight
On April 12, the world celebrates the International Day of Human Space Flight, officially declared by the UN General Assembly in 2011. This holiday was established in honor of the first human flight into space, which was carried out by Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961 on the ship “Vostok-1”. It lasted 108 minutes and became a historical moment not only for the Soviet Union, but for all of humanity: for the first time, a person left the borders of the Earth and returned from space alive.
This is not just a celebration of a separate technical achievement, but the day when the world saw for the first time that the human mind, engineering thought and aspiration to the stars is not a utopia, but a reality. In 1961, millions of people around the world froze in front of radios and televisions, listening to the news that a man had gone into space.
The International Day of Human Spaceflight has a global resonance. It does not belong to any one country – it belongs to humanity as a species. That is why the UN General Assembly decided to celebrate this date as a symbol of scientific progress, technical breakthrough and international cooperation in the field of peaceful space exploration.
Interesting facts
“Let’s go!” – Gagarin’s first word at the start – became a symbol of the beginning of the space age. This saying is still used on launchpads, memes and posters.
The missile that took out Gagarin was a variant of the R-7 combat ballistic missile. The uniqueness lies in the fact that Soviet engineers adapted military technology to a peaceful mission.
The Vostok-1 ship did not have the possibility of a controlled landing. Gagarin ejected from it at an altitude of 7 km and landed separately – on a parachute.
After landing, Gagarin greeted local women in a village near the Saratov region, who were frightened by his appearance in a space suit. According to legend, he said: “I am my own, from the Union!”
It is symbolic that in 1981, on the same date – April 12 – the USA launched the first reusable space shuttle Columbia.
Ukrainian Leonid Kadenyuk made his space flight in 1997, becoming the first cosmonaut of independent Ukraine. His mission was devoted to biological research aboard the shuttle Columbia.
World Military Spending Action Day
It is an international initiative held annually in April (date variable) to draw the attention of the public, governments and international organizations to the problem of excessive military spending in the world. It was initiated by the International Peace Bureau and the International Peace Research Institute as a response to the growing militarization of state budgets.
The initiative started in 2011, when a global day of protest and actions was organized for the first time in more than 40 countries of the world. The main goal of GDAMS is to redirect part of military spending to solving urgent humanitarian, social and climate problems: poverty alleviation, development of health care, education, environmental protection.
Organizers choose a day that coincides with or is close to the publication date of SIPRI’s (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) annual report on global military spending. This allows you to bring the problem into the information space on the wave of public discussion.
GDAMS is not just a date on the calendar. This is a campaign with dozens of events around the world: flash mobs, speeches in parliaments, street actions, lectures, public discussions, student debates. The main slogan is “Cut Military Spending, Fund Human Needs!” (“Reduce military spending, finance people’s needs!”).
Despite the fact that security realities are changing in different regions of the world, the organizers insist that increasing the budget for weapons does not automatically lead to greater security. On the contrary, it often stimulates an arms race, lowers the level of trust between states, and takes resources away from areas that really create stability — health care, education, and the fight against hunger.
Interesting facts
According to SIPRI, global military spending will reach more than $2.2 trillion in 2023, an all-time high.
The US, China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia are consistently among the top five countries with the largest defense budgets.
According to GDAMS estimates, about $6 billion is spent on arms every day in the world, while about $330 million is needed every day to completely end hunger.
The GDAMS campaign is supported by hundreds of organizations in more than 35 countries, from environmental movements to anti-war coalitions and human rights activists.
The International Peace Bureau, a co-organizer of the campaign, is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. His position is that peaceful security is more important than military security.
In Ukraine, GDAMS does not yet have a wide representation, but in peacetime, a number of anti-war and human rights initiatives also drew attention to the topic of the militarization of the state budget.
International Day of Homeless Children
This event was launched in 2011 by the international coalition Consortium for Street Children – a global association of organizations, activists, lawyers and human rights defenders who fight for the rights of millions of children forced to live and survive on the streets of cities. The purpose of this day is to draw attention to the problem of children who live or work on the street, are deprived of basic rights and protection, are often excluded from the system of education, medicine, social services, are subject to violence, exploitation, and criminalization. All over the world there are tens of millions of such children, but their exact number is still impossible to record due to constant mobility and legal invisibility.
From the very beginning, the initiators of Homeless Children’s Day set the goal not only of informing, but also of lobbying for changes in legislation, policies and international law. In 2017, after several years of campaigning, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recognized the right of street children to special protection. This was a breakthrough: UN member states received specific recommendations on how to work with this vulnerable group.
Interesting facts
UNICEF estimates that in the early 2020s there were more than 150 million children living or working on the streets. Wars, poverty, domestic violence, orphanhood are the main reasons for their situation.
In Latin America and Africa, street children are often victims of police brutality or forced removals without due process.
In many countries, including Ukraine, street children are often criminalized instead of receiving social assistance — they are detained for begging, petty theft, or “disorderly conduct.”
International Day of Homeless Children is supported by Amnesty International, Save the Children, UNICEF, Red Nose Foundation, Railway Children and other global players in the field of children’s rights.
The slogan of the 2024 campaign – “Street children have a right to a place in the world” – emphasizes that they do not need to be “returned to society”, because they are part of it.
Historical events on this day
1204 – on this day, the participants of the Fourth Crusade stormed Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. This event not only marked the temporary liquidation of one of the oldest Christian states, but also symbolized a deep split between East and West in Christendom.
1633 – The Roman Inquisition officially opened the case against Galileo Galilei. His ideas about heliocentrism, based on observations, contradicted the teachings of the church, and the trial against him became a vivid example of the conflict between science and theology during the Renaissance.
1709 – the troops of the Swedish king Charles XII reached the outskirts of Poltava. It was the eve of the famous Battle of Poltava, which changed the course of the Northern War and began the decline of Swedish military hegemony.
1820 – Alexander Ypsilanti was officially declared the head of the secret Greek organization Filiki Eteria, which fought against the Ottoman yoke. This day became a symbol of the new wave of the liberation struggle of the Greeks for independence.
1908 – Ukrainian student Myroslav Sichynskyi killed Count Andrzej Pototskyi, the governor of Halychyna. He explained his act as a protest against Polish national oppression of Ukrainians in Galicia. This act resoundingly shook both Ukrainian and Polish society.
1912 – in Lviv, Ukrainian teenagers, members of the scout movement, took the Plast Oath for the first time. This is how “Plast” was born – a Ukrainian scouting organization that later educated dozens of generations of active youth.
1917 – Canadian troops won a strategic victory in the Battle of Vimee during the First World War. This success marked a turning point in Canada’s military history and contributed to the formation of its national identity.
1934 – on Mount Washington in the USA, a record gust of wind on the earth’s surface was recorded – 372 km/h. This phenomenon entered meteorological history as the most powerful natural wind in documented observation.
1945 – after the death of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman was sworn in and became the 33rd president of the United States. It was under his leadership that the Second World War ended and atomic bombs were dropped on Japan.
1955 – the world received hope for defeating polio: the vaccine developed by Jonas Salk was officially recognized as safe and effective. This was a revolutionary step in the medical fight against one of the most dangerous infections of the century.
1970 – The Orchestra of People’s Instruments of Ukraine performed for the first time on the stage of the National Opera. This event became the starting point for the development of folk instrumental art at the highest academic level.
1980 – there was a coup in Liberia, as a result of which Samuel Doe came to power. This put an end to the more than century-old tradition of democratic transfer of presidential power in the country.
1992 – EuroDisneyland opened in the suburbs of Paris – the first large Disney amusement park in Europe. Despite the controversy, its appearance marked the beginning of American popular culture in France.
1999 – US President Bill Clinton was found guilty of contempt of court for perjury in a sexual harassment case. It became one of the most high-profile political crises in modern American history.
2002 – in Venezuela, during the attempted military coup against Hugo Chavez, businessman Pedro Carmona declared himself interim president. But in a few days after mass protests, Chávez returned to power.
2014 – a Russian sabotage squad led by Igor “Strelkov” Girkin captured the Ministry of Internal Affairs office in Sloviansk. This episode marked the beginning of the armed phase of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which continues to this day.
