... Space Flight . ... Yuri Gagarin essentially stepped into what was described as a tin can on top of a bomb! ... Little do the small inhabitants know that a child, born to collective farm workers on this day, will make their village famous as he will be the first man to be sent into space! ... Yuri's rocket: This is a full-scale repica of Gagarin's R7 launch vehicle, however the real article was painted dark grey. ... Reply . ... Hi, I was 12 years old when Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. ...