National Content: Italy
Reaction of the city to the news
| Source | Alvaro Valsenti, 82 years old, witness |
| Event referred to | April 12th, 1961: Jury Gagarin the first man in space |
| Technological characteristics | Type of file: Video Extension: avi Characteristics: 320X240 Dimension of the file:1,90 mb Availability proposed: Downloadable |
| Description of the source | Kind of source: Interview Origin of the source: Interview with a witness Language: Italian Copyright issues: Downloadable (as agreed with the witness) |
| Contextualisation of the source | Point of view of a 37 year old man who lived with emotion the news about the historical event. |
| Interpretation of the source | It could be useful to understand the effort made by the city to give consideration to the event and make people understand its scientific, social and political meaning. |
| Original Contents | Fu nel 1961. Però il primo lancio nello spazio, mi ricordo, fu di una cagnetta che si chiamava Laika, perché prima di mandare l’uomo fece da cavia questa povera cagnetta, che però tornò sana e salva. Era il 1958, mi pare. Prima era già stato fatto un lancio senza nessuno, qualche mese prima, poi quello di Gagarin nel 1961. Certo, l’emozione fu fortissima in tutto il mondo, sapere che un uomo aveva girato attorno alla terra. Adesso, magari, è una cosa normale vedere queste navi spaziali che arrivano sulla terra, Saturno, Marte. Ma allora fu una cosa veramente eccezionale. Mi ricordo che anche noi a Terni facemmo un tabellone grande, che esponemmo a Corso Tacito, che disegnava la terra e questo razzo che girava attorno al nostro pianeta. Poi ci furono molte conferenze. I cittadini partecipavano in massa: ci spiegavano questo sistema del lancio, della propulsione, dei missili. |
| Original Contents (English Translation) | It was in 1961. But the first launch to space was that of a dog, Laika, because they wanted to use an animal as a guinea pig before sending a man. But she came back safe and sound in 1958. Then it was Gagarin’s turn. It sure impressed the world round to know that a man had toured around planet Earth! Perhaps today it seems normal to see a man landing on the Moon or on Mars. I remember that in Terni a billboard was posted in Corso Tacito, the center of town, depicting a shuttle going around our planet. There were several conferences about this event where people could join in. They would talk about the launch and the propulsion of the missiles. I remember a conference in particular, one led by a certain Caporella, an engineer. It took place a few days after the launch of this missile with a man on board: it was extraordinary. |