Expert Says The Soviets Left An Astronaut In Space After A Disaster—Then Covered It Up For Decades

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin is celebrated as the first human to ever make it into orbit. But what if we told you that not everyone is convinced that his feat was, in fact, the first of its kind? A large and growing contingency of people believe that the history of human space exploration actually got off to a far darker start — with an ill-fated first mission that was carefully concealed by Russian authorities. According to the chilling theory, the devastating fate of the man that came before Yuri has been covered up for decades.

Gaining the edge

Gagarin became a role model in the USSR after his epic journey to the stars. But that’s hardly a surprise given the sheer gravity of his achievement. By making it into orbit, this 27-year-old cosmonaut helped the Soviets to gain an edge over America in the so-called Space Race.

Rumors and hearsay

Right from the off, though, some people were unconvinced that Gagarin was the first human to orbit our planet. Rumors circulated claiming someone else had achieved the feat mere days before Gagarin. This person had apparently entered orbit and successfully returned to Earth again, although he wasn’t in the best health.

Paranoid times

Given the broader paranoia of the Cold War era, it’s no surprise that stories about the Space Race were greeted by suspicion and rumor. After all, the Soviets really did keep certain aspects of their space program under wraps. Given all the secrecy, it’s quite conceivable that a tale like this may have been suppressed.

Big questions

Over the decades, conspiracies about the Soviet space program have persisted and evolved. Some believe one particular theory where the Soviets sent humans to space — only to never return. But does that frightening theory hold any weight? Could it be possible that men died in space before Gagarin ever made it up there?