Yuri Gagarin
At 28, Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. The son of Russian peasants, Gagarin suffered
during Nazi occupation in World War II, living in a hut his family made out of mud for 2 years after the Germans
confiscated his house. Although only 5 foot 2 inches, Gagarin trained as an air force pilot and found his stature
an advantage when he was selected for the space program as the cockpit of his spaceship was only two meters wide.
Also, the Vostok 1 was not equipped with thrusters to help slow it down as it reentered the atmosphere, so Gagarin had
to eject 4 miles above the earth - winning him the title of man with the biggest balls in history.
