It has been half a century since Yury Gagarin became the first man in space, blasting-off into the pages of history. But that pioneering achievement was the result of years of painstaking work. In top secrecy, a team of dedicated volunteers put the equipment needed through its paces, in the hope of one day propelling man to the stars. John Gridunov, a freelance explorer went through hell on Earth -- to put the first man in space. John, an unusual name for a Russian, was a volunteer who tested the equipment needed to reach orbit and it took him to the limits of human endurance. "No one in the world has ever experienced what I did -- 19G on the centrifuge. That means my weight increased 19-fold. Blood was oozing through my pores -- later I was forbidden to even mention it! Back then everything was a secret," says John. In 1959, when Gridunov became a test volunteer, no one knew just how humans would be affected by zero gravity, extreme stress or even the sense of endlessness. Space was the great unknown and too many questions needed answering.<br />RT on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RTnews <br />RT on Twitter: http://twitter.com/RT_com
