NEW YORK, NY.- Today at Sotheby’s, 50 years after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel into outer space, the Vostok 3KA-2 Space Capsule that paved the way for his historic mission sold for $2,882,500 to Evgeny Yurchenko, chairman of the investment fund AS Popov. Mr. Yurchenko purchased the icon of space history with the intention of returning it to his homeland, Russia. “The Vostok 3KA-2 space capsule is a historic artifact of the Soviet space program,” said Mr. Yurchenko in a statement. “Its successful return to Earth from space gave the green light for Gagarin’s spectacular achievement. Until now, the Vostok 3KA-2 space capsule was the only one of its kind outside of Russia, and with the support and participation of Sotheby’s I will be able to bring it home. It was especially meaningful to do so on April 12, 2011, the 50th anniversary