Texas To Erect Monument To Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin

The mayor of Houston, Texas, said the city will put up a monument to Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space.

Mayor Annise Parker said she and NASA officials will attend the laying of the first stone of the pedestal for the monument on June 21 with the actual unveiling set for sometime in October.

The statue is part of a tribute to space exploration.

Sculptor Aleksei Leonov said the statue is completed and is already in Houston.

Gagarin made his flight into space in April 1961.

Based on reporting by RIA Novosti and ITAR-TASS