The Lost Cosmonauts: Did Humans Die in Space Before Gagarin?

The Lost Cosmonauts: Did Humans Die in Space Before Gagarin? By USA 360 | Space Mysteries & Cold War Secrets A pril 12, 1961. Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to journey into outer space and return safely. The Soviet Union celebrates a massive victory. But rumors have swirled for decades that Gagarin wasn't the first. The Lost Cosmonauts theory suggests that before Gagarin's success, the Soviets launched at least two other human pilots. However, these missions allegedly ended in disaster, with the cosmonauts either burning up on re-entry or drifting endlessly into the void. Because the Soviet Union was secretive, these failures were erased from history. The Brothers Who Listened to Space The strongest evidence comes from two Italian amateur radio operators, Achille and Giovanni Judica-Cordiglia. In the late 1950s, they set up a powerful listening station outside Turin. They successfully intercepted signals from Sputnik and even the heartbeat of Laika (the space dog). But in 1…