Space Conference Censors Name of First Human in Space Because He Was Russian – Futurism

Whipping themselves into a Freedom Fries-esque fit of censoriousness, a space industry conference has removed the name of celebrated Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human to travel into space, from an event.

The nonprofit Space Foundation announced in a now-deleted note that in light of current world events it would be changing the name of a fundraiser from Yuris Night to A Celebration of Space: Discover Whats Next at its Space Symposium conference.

The focus of this fundraising event remains the same to celebrate human achievements in space while inspiring the next generation to reach for the stars, the deleted update notes.

Its a rather dubious show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people, especially considering that Gagarin worked for the USSR, a completely different country from modern day Russia. And the icing on the cake? Ukraine actually appears to be rather fond of Gagarin and his monumental achievement.

Erasing the name of the first person to ever fly to space while supposedly celebrating human achievements in space is bad enough.

But doing so in line with the milquetoast trend of disavowing all things Russian, including famous composers and food products, amid the countrys current invasion of Ukraine is just outrageous.

For instance, a 2011 Ukraine stamp commemorated the 50th anniversary of his pioneering space flight. And the recently-bombed Chernihiv Stadium was renamed by the Soviets as the Yuri Gagarin Stadium back in the 1960s, and is also still referred to as such by fans despite a new official name.

In a post published last year about Gagarins often-overlooked relationship with Ukraine, the countrys Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute noted that during his first and only visit to the capitol city in 1966, the cosmonaut had kind words to say about the countrys capital, which was part of the USSR at the time.

My friend Pavel Popovich told me a lot about the beauty of Kyiv, Gagarin reportedly said when visiting school children at a youth center, but what Ive seen with my eyes is incomparable to what Ive heard!

Its far from the first time on-Earth geopolitics have affected the world of spaceflight hell,NASA likely wouldnt have made it to the Moon as soon as it did if it hadnt been for the Cold War.

Space cooperation between the United States and Russia has led to decades of remarkable international unity and scientific research, even as politics have, on occasion, strained that delicate alliance.

Censoring Yuri Gagarins name will not help a single Ukrainian fend off Russias invasion, but it does serve as yet another reminder that fair weather activism often flies in the face of reality.

More on US-Russia space cooperation:NASA Says Its Astronaut Is Definitely Still Carpooling Back to Earth On A Russian Spacecraft

More bizarre Russia news:Elon Musk Threatens Vladimir Putin With Flamethrower

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Space Conference Censors Name of First Human in Space Because He Was Russian - Futurism