 The intensity of the Space Race increased further after Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.In 1964, Bulgarian Air Force commander-in-chief Lt. Gen. Zahari Zahariev discussed with Soviet defence minister Rodion Malinovsky the possibility to send four Bulgarian pilots, the Stamenkov brothers, in space.Malinovsky did not consider the request a serious one, especially given the lack of Soviet spacecraft that could carry all four of the brothers.