Since the first human spaceflight by the Soviet Union, citizens of 55 countries have flown in space. For each nationality, the launch date of the first mission is listed. The list is based on the nationality of the person at the time of the launch. Only eight of 55 countries have been represented by female "first flyers" (Helen Sharman for the United Kingdom in 1991, Anousheh Ansari for Iran in 2006, Yi So-yeon for South Korea in 2008, Sara Sabry for Egypt in 2022, Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers for Antigua and Barbuda in 2023, Namira Salim for Pakistan in 2023, Marina Vasilevskaya for Belarus in 2024, and Aisha Bowe for The Bahamas in 2025.) In 2026, female astronaut Lai Ka-ying became the first citizen of Hong Kong to fly to space; Hong Kong is a territory of China and Ka-ying is also a Chinese citizen. Only three nations (Soviet Union/Russia, U.S., China) have launched their own crewed spacecraft, with the Soviets/Russians and the American programs providing rides to other nations' astronauts. Twenty-eight "first flights" occurred on Soviet or Russian flights while the United States carried twenty-six.

Timeline Note: All dates given are UTC. Countries indicated in bold have achieved independent human spaceflight capability.

No. Country Name Flight Date (UTC) 1960s1Yuri Gagarin Vostok 112 April 19612Alan Shepard MR-35 May 19611970s3Vladimír Remek Soyuz 282 March 19784Mirosław Hermaszewski Soyuz 3027 June 19785Sigmund Jähn Soyuz 3126 August 19786Georgi Ivanov Soyuz 3310 April 19791980s7Bertalan Farkas Soyuz 3626 May 19808Phạm Tuân Soyuz 3723 July 19809Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez Soyuz 3818 September 198010Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa Soyuz 3922 March 198111Dumitru Prunariu Soyuz 4014 May 198112Jean-Loup Chrétien Soyuz T-624 June 198213Ulf Merbold STS-928 November 198314Rakesh Sharma Soyuz T-113 April 198415Marc Garneau STS-41-G5 October 198416Sultan al-Saud STS-51-G17 June 198517Wubbo Ockels STS-61-A30 October 198518Rodolfo Neri Vela STS-61-B26 November 198519Muhammed Faris Soyuz TM-322 July 198720Abdul Ahad Momand Soyuz TM-629 August 19881990s21Toyohiro Akiyama Soyuz TM-112 December 199022Helen Sharman Soyuz TM-1218 May 199123Franz Viehböck Soyuz TM-132 October 199124Aleksandr KaleriAleksandr Viktorenko Soyuz TM-1417 March 199225Dirk Frimout STS-4524 March 199226Franco Malerba STS-4631 July 1992Claude Nicollier28Leonid Kadenyuk STS-8719 November 199729Pedro Duque STS-9529 October 199830Ivan Bella Soyuz TM-2920 February 19992000s31Mark Shuttleworth Soyuz TM-3425 April 200232Ilan Ramon STS-10716 January 200333Yang Liwei Shenzhou 515 October 200334Marcos Pontes Soyuz TMA-830 March 200635Anousheh Ansari Soyuz TMA-918 September 200636Christer Fuglesang STS-11610 December 200637Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Soyuz TMA-1110 October 200738Yi So-yeon Soyuz TMA-128 April 20082010s39Andreas Mogensen Soyuz TMA-18M2 September 2015Aidyn Aimbetov41Hazza Al Mansouri Soyuz MS-1525 September 20192020s42Chris Boshuizen Blue Origin NS-1813 October 202143Mário Ferreira Blue Origin NS-224 August 2022Sara Sabry45 Keisha SchahaffAnastatia Mayers Galactic 0210 August 202346 Namira Salim Galactic 046 October 202347 TurkeyAlper Gezeravcı Axiom Mission 318 January 2024 NorwayMarcus Wandt49 Belarus Marina Vasilevskaya Soyuz MS-2523 March 202450 Chun Wang Fram21 April 202552Aisha Bowe Blue Origin NS-3114 April 202553Jaime Alemán Blue Origin NS-3231 May 2025Mark Rocket55Owolabi Salis Blue Origin NS-3329 June 202556Lai Ka-ying Shenzhou 23 24 May 2026

Notes

Other claims The above list uses the nationality at the time of launch updated in 2025. Lists with differing criteria might include the following people: Pavel Popovich, first launched 12 August 1962, was the first Ukrainian-born man in space. At the time, Ukraine was a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Michael Collins, first launched 18 July 1966 was born in Italy to American parents and was an American citizen when he went into space. William Anders, American citizen, first launched 21 December 1968, was the first Hong Kong-born man in space. Vladimir Shatalov, first launched 14 January 1969, was the first Kazakh-born man in space. At the time, Kazakhstan was a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Bill Pogue, first launched 16 November 1973, as an inductee to the 5 Civilized Tribes Hall of Fame can lay claim to being the first Native American in space. See John Herrington below regarding technicality of tribal registration. Pyotr Klimuk, first launched 18 December 1973, was the first Belarusian-born man in space. At the time, Belarus was a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Vladimir Dzhanibekov, first launched 16 March 1978, was the first Uzbek-born man in space. At the time, Uzbekistan was a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Paul D. Scully-Power, first launched 5 October 1984, was born in Australia, but was an American citizen when he went into space; Australian law at the time forbade dual-citizenship. Taylor Gun-Jin Wang, first launched 29 April 1985, was born in China to Chinese parents, but was an American citizen when he went into space. Lodewijk van den Berg, launched 29 April 1985, was born in the Netherlands, but was an American citizen when he went into space. Patrick Baudry, first launched 17 June 1985, was born in French Cameroun (now part of Cameroon), but was a French citizen when he went into space. Shannon Lucid, first launched 17 June 1985, was born in China to American parents of European descent, and was an American citizen when she went into space. Franklin Chang-Diaz, first launched 12 January 1986, was born in Costa Rica, but was an American citizen when he went into spaceMAN IN THE NEWS: FRANKLIN R. CHANG-DIAZ; A DREAMER IN SPACE, Malcolm W. Browne, The New York Times, January 13, 1986 Musa Manarov, first launched 21 December 1987, was the first Azerbaijan-born man in space. At the time, Azerbaijan was a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Anatoly Solovyev, first launched 7 June 1988, was the first Latvian-born man in space. At the time, Latvia was a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev and Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov became Russian rather than Soviet citizens while still in orbit aboard Mir, making them the first purely Russian citizens in space. James H. Newman, American citizen, first launched 12 September 1993, was born in the portion of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands that is now the Federated States of Micronesia. Talgat Musabayev, first launched 1 July 1994, was born in the Kazakh SSR and is known in Kazakhstan as the "first cosmonaut of independent Kazakhstan", but was a Russian citizen when he went into space. Frederick W. Leslie, American citizen, launched 20 October 1995, was born in Panama Canal Zone (now Panama). Andy Thomas, first launched 19 May 1996, was born in Australia but like Paul D. Scully-Power was an American citizen when he went to space; Australian law at the time forbade dual-citizenship. Carlos I. Noriega, first launched 15 May 1997, was born in Peru, but was an American citizen when he went into space. Bjarni Tryggvason, launched 7 August 1997, was born in Iceland, but was a Canadian citizen when he went into space. Salizhan Sharipov, first launched 22 January 1998, was born in Kyrgyzstan (then the Kirghiz SSR), but was a Russian citizen when he went into space. Sharipov is of Uzbek ancestry. Philippe Perrin, first launched 5 June 2002, was born in Morocco, but was a French citizen when he went into space. John Herrington, an American citizen first launched 24 November 2002, is the first tribal registered Native American in space (Chickasaw). See also Bill Pogue above. Fyodor Yurchikhin, first launched 7 October 2002, was born in Georgia (then the Georgian SSR). He was a Russian citizen at the time he went into space and is of Pontian Greek descent. Fernando Caldeiro, first launched January 2006, was born in Argentina, but worked under NASA as an American citizen. Joseph M. Acaba, first launched 15 March 2009, was born in the U.S. state of California to American parents of Puerto Rican descent. Aymette (Amy) Medina Jorge, first launched May 31, 2025, was the first person born in Puerto Rico to fly in space.

Gallery

References

External links Current Space Demographics, compiled by William Harwood, CBS News Space Consultant, and Rob Navias, NASA.