Gherman Titov was the first human to sleep, vomit, and orbit Earth multiple times.

History · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: While Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, Gherman Titov proved we could actually live there. During his 1961 Vostok 2 mission, the 25-year-old cosmonaut spent over 25 hours in orbit, enduring space sickness and becoming the first person to sleep in the weightlessness of the cosmos.

Launched on August 6, 1961, Titov’s Vostok 2 mission was a landmark in human spaceflight. While Gagarin’s earlier flight was a single orbit, Titov completed 17 orbits, proving that humans could survive and function in space for more than a day. His radio call sign, 'Eagle,' became famous worldwide as he broadcast his experiences from orbit. Despite his success, the mission was not without physical challenges; Titov became the first human to experience space sickness, a form of motion sickness caused by zero gravity.

Titov’s flight also provided critical data on human physiology in space. He was the first person to sleep in orbit, discovering that his arms would float in the air due to the lack of gravity until he secured them under a belt. He also captured the first human-taken photographs of Earth and filmed the planet using a professional movie camera. Upon his return, he was named a Hero of the Soviet Union, a testament to the immense value the Soviet state placed on his pioneering endurance.

In May 1962, Titov visited the United States on a goodwill tour, where he was hosted by American astronaut John H. Glenn. The two men toured Washington, D.C., and attended scientific meetings, though the visit was marked by the strict secrecy of the Soviet space program. Reporters and even Glenn found Titov evasive when asked about his rocket and spacecraft. The tour was also a strategic intelligence-gathering opportunity for the Soviets, who incorrectly inferred from American activities that the U.S. was planning to launch a female astronaut, prompting them to accelerate their own plans for Valentina Tereshkova’s flight.

Titov continued his career in the Soviet space program, training as a test pilot for the Spiral orbital spaceplane until the death of Gagarin in 1968 led the government to ground him for his own safety. He later served as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet and was elected to the Russian Duma in 1995. He died in 2000 at age 65, leaving behind a legacy as the youngest person to ever fly in Earth orbit.

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