Timeline of space travel by nationality: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|None}}

[[File:Astronaut Nationalities.svg|thumb|260px|Map of countries (and successor states) whose citizens have flown in space as of January 2024. Countries represented only by suborbital space flyers are shaded. <br> Note: citizens from the now-defunct East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Soviet Union have also flown in space.]]

Since the first [[human spaceflight]] by the [[Soviet Union]], citizens of 47 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 7of48 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, and [[Keisha Schahaff]] and [[Anastatia Mayers]] for Antigua and Barbuda in 2023, [[Namira Salim]] for Pakistan in 2023, [[Marina Vasilevskaya]] for Belarus in 2024). 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 eighteen.

<!--Note: Names are not added to this list until after their flight lifts off. -->

{{Import style|sticky}}

{| class="wikitable nowraplinks" cellpadding="5"

|- style="background:#efefef;" class="is-sticky"

! No.

| colspan="5" style="background:#ffdead; text-align:center;"| 1960s

|'''1'''||'''{{flag|Soviet Union|1955}}{{efn|name=SovietUnion1}}'''||[[Yuri Gagarin]]||{{flagicon|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Vostok 1]]||12 April 1961

||'''2'''|||'''{{flag|United States}}{{efn|name=UnitedStates}}'''||[[Alan Shepard]] ||{{flagicon|United States}} [[Mercury-Redstone 3|MR-3]]||5 May 1961

| colspan="5" style="background:#ffdead; text-align:center;"|1970s

|3||{{flagcountry|Czechoslovak Socialist Republic}}||[[Vladimír Remek]]||{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[Soyuz 28]]||2 March 1978

|4||{{flagcountry|Polish People's Republic}}||[[Mirosław Hermaszewski]]||{{flagicon|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Soyuz 30]]||27 June 1978

|5||{{flag|East Germany}}{{efn|name=Germany}}||[[Sigmund Jähn]]||{{flagicon|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Soyuz 31]]||26 August 1978

|6||{{flagcountry|People's Republic of Bulgaria}}||[[Georgi Ivanov (cosmonaut)|Georgi Ivanov]]||{{flagicon|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Soyuz 33]]||10 April 1979

| colspan="5" style="background:#ffdead; text-align:center;"|1980s

|7||{{flagcountry|Hungarian People's Republic}}||[[Bertalan Farkas]]||{{flagicon|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Soyuz 36]]||26 May 1980

|10||{{flagcountry|Mongolian People's Republic}}||[[Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa]]||{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[Soyuz 39]]||22 March 1981

|11||{{flagcountry|Socialist Republic of Romania}}||[[Dumitru Prunariu]]||{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[Soyuz 40]]||14 May 1981

|13||{{flag|West Germany}}{{efn|name=Germany}}||[[Ulf Merbold]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[STS-9]]||28 November 1983

|16||{{flag|Saudi Arabia}}||[[Sultan bin Salman Al Saud|Sultan al-Saud]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[STS-51-G]]||17 June 1985

|20||{{flagcountry|Democratic Republic of Afghanistan}}||[[Abdul Ahad Momand]]||{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[Soyuz TM-6]]||29 August 1988

| colspan="5" style="background:#ffdead; text-align:center;"|1990s

|21||{{flag|Japan}}||[[Toyohiro Akiyama]]{{efn|name=SpaceTourists}}<ref name="tourist">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/329522.stm|title=BBC News - Sci/Tech - Expensive ticket to ride|website=News.bbc.co.uk|access-date=11 August 2017}}</ref>||{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[Soyuz TM-11]]||2 December 1990

|22||{{flag|United Kingdom}}||[[Helen Sharman]]{{efn|name=SpaceTourists}}<ref name="tourist"/>||{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[Soyuz TM-12]]||18 May 1991

|23||{{flag|Austria}}||[[Franz Viehböck]]||{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[Soyuz TM-13]]||2 October 1991

|'''24'''||'''{{flag|Russia|1991}}{{efn|name=SovietUnion1}}'''||[[Aleksandr Kaleri]]<br>[[Aleksandr Viktorenko]]||{{flagicon|Russia|1991}} [[Soyuz TM-14]]||17 March 1992

|26||{{flag|Italy}}||[[Franco Malerba]]||rowspan=2|{{flagicon|United States}} [[STS-46]]||rowspan=2|31 July 1992

|27||{{flag|Switzerland}}||[[Claude Nicollier]]

|28||{{flag|Ukraine}}{{efn|name=SovietUnion1}}||[[Leonid Kadenyuk]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[STS-87]]||19 November 1997

|29||{{flag|Spain}}||[[Pedro Duque]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[STS-95]]||29 October 1998

|30||{{flag|Slovakia}}{{efn|name=Czechoslovakia}}||[[Ivan Bella]]||{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Soyuz TM-29]]||20 February 1999

| colspan="5" style="background:#ffdead; text-align:center;"|2000s

|31||{{flag|South Africa}}||[[Mark Shuttleworth]]{{efn|name=SpaceTourists}}<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1945950.stm|title=BBC News - SCI/TECH - Space tourist lifts off|website=News.bbc.co.uk|access-date=11 August 2017}}</ref>||{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Soyuz TM-34]]||25 April 2002

|32||{{flag|Israel}}{{efn|name=Israel}}||[[Ilan Ramon]]||{{flagicon|United States}} [[STS-107]]||16 January 2003

|'''33'''||'''{{flag|China}}'''||[[Yang Liwei]]||{{flagicon|China}} [[Shenzhou 5]]||15 October 2003

|34||{{flag|Brazil}}||[[Marcos Pontes]]||{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Soyuz TMA-8]]||30 March 2006

|35||{{flag|Iran}}{{efn|name=Ansari}}||[[Anousheh Ansari]]{{efn|name=SpaceTourists}}<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5355022.stm|title=BBC NEWS - Science/Nature - Lift-off for woman space tourist|website=News.bbc.co.uk|access-date=11 August 2017}}</ref>||{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Soyuz TMA-9]]||18 September 2006

|-

| colspan="5" style="background:#ffdead; text-align:center;"|2010s

|-

|39||{{flag|Denmark}}||[[Andreas Mogensen]]||rowspan=2|{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Soyuz TMA-18M]]||rowspan=2|2 September 2015

|-

|40||{{flag|Kazakhstan}}{{efn|name=SovietUnion1}}||[[Aidyn Aimbetov]]

|-

|41||{{flag|United Arab Emirates}}||[[Hazza Al Mansouri]]||{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Soyuz MS-15]]||25 September 2019

|-

| colspan="5" style="background:#ffdead; text-align:center;"|2020s

|-

|42||{{flag|Australia}}{{efn|name=Suborbital}}||Chris Boshuizen{{efn|name=SpaceTourists}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/it-s-not-tourism-for-me-meet-australia-s-next-space-traveller-20210927-p58v0r.html|title='It's not tourism for me': Meet Australia's next space traveller|website=smh.com.au|access-date=20 June 2022}}</ref>||{{flagicon|USA}} [[Blue Origin NS-18]]||13 October 2021

|-

|43||{{flag|Portugal}}{{efn|name=Suborbital}}||[[Mário Ferreira]]{{efn|name=SpaceTourists}}||rowspan=2|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Blue Origin NS-22]]||rowspan=2|4 August 2022

|-

|44||{{flag|Egypt}}{{efn|name=Suborbital}}||[[Sara Sabry]]{{efn|name=SpaceTourists}}

|-

|45||{{Flag|Antigua and Barbuda}}{{efn|name=Suborbital}}|| [[Keisha Schahaff]]{{efn|name=SpaceTourists}}<br>[[Anastatia Mayers]]{{efn|name=SpaceTourists}}||{{flagicon|USA}} [[Galactic 02]]{{efn|name=SpaceShipTwo}}||10 August 2023

|-

|46||{{Flag|Pakistan}}{{efn|name=Suborbital}}|| [[Namira Salim]]{{efn|name=SpaceTourists}}||{{flagicon|USA}} [[Galactic 04]]{{efn|name=SpaceShipTwo}}||6 October 2023

|-

|47

|{{flagicon|TR}} [[Turkey]]

|[[Alper Gezeravcı]]

|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Axiom Mission 3]]

|18 January 2024

|-

|48

|{{Flagicon|Belarus}} [[Belarus]]{{efn|name=SovietUnion1}}

|[[Marina Vasilevskaya]]

|{{Flagicon|Russia}} [[Soyuz MS-25]]

|23 March 2024

{{notelist|

{{efn|name=SovietUnion1|The first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, held [[citizenship]] in both the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[Russian SFSR]], according to the applicable provisions of the [[Constitution of the Soviet Union]]. On 26 December 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved, and was replaced by [[Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Belarus]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Moldova]], [[Russia]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Ukraine]], and [[Uzbekistan]]; [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]] restored their independence. At the time of the dissolution, [[Sergei Krikalev]] and [[Alexander Alexandrovich Volkov (cosmonaut)|Alexander Volkov]] were orbiting [[Earth]] on [[Mir]], having been launched into orbit as [[Soviet people|Soviet citizens]], and having returned to the Earth as [[Russian citizenship|Russian citizens]]. Aleksandr Kaleri and Aleksandr Viktorenko were the first Russians to be launched into orbit as Russian citizens only, their launch having occurred subsequent to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.}}

{{efn|name=UnitedStates|Shepard's spaceflight was suborbital. The first [[United States|American]] to be launched into Earth orbit was [[John Glenn]], on 20 February 1962.}}

{{efn|name=Czechoslovakia|In 1993, [[Czechoslovakia]] dissolved and was replaced by the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Slovakia]].}}

{{efn|name=Germany|In 1978, both Jähn himself and the [[German Democratic Republic]] pronounced him the "first [[Germans|German]] in space", rather than the first "citizen of the German Democratic Republic in space". In 1990, the states of the former East Germany acceded to the [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]]. On 22 January 1992, Ulf Merbold again traveled into space, now representing the [[German reunification|reunited Germany within the Federal Republic of Germany]]. Jähn is, nevertheless, still considered the first German in space, even in the states of the Federal Republic of Germany that comprised the former West Germany.}}

{{efn|name=SpaceTourists|This person flew as a commercial, non-governmental space traveller. Apart from Akiyama and Sharman, these space travellers are known as [[space tourist]]s.}}

{{efn|name=Israel|Ilan Ramon was the first Israeli to go into space, but Ramon died during reentry during the [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster]]. His close friend and colleague, [[Eytan Stibbe]], would later become the first Israeli to return from space alive, with the conclusion of [[Axiom Mission 1|Axiom-1]] in 2022.}}

{{efn|name=Ansari|Although recognized as an Iranian citizen by Iranian law, Ansari is also an American citizen and was prohibited from wearing Iranian state symbols by both the United States and Russian governments.}}

{{efn|name=Suborbital|This flight was suborbital.}}

{{efn|name=SpaceShipTwo|This was a suborbital flight aboard a SpaceShipTwo vehicle. SpaceShipTwo flights surpass the U.S. definition of spaceflight (50 mi (80.47 km)), but fall short of the Kármán line (100 km (62.14 mi)), the FAI definition used for most space recordkeeping.}}

}}

* [[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]].

* [[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.

* [[Lodewijk van den Berg]], launched 29 April 1985, was born in the [[Netherlands]], but was an American citizen when he 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 space<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/13/us/man-in-the-news-franklin-r-chang-diaz-a-dreamer-in-space.html MAN IN THE NEWS: FRANKLIN R. CHANG-DIAZ; A DREAMER IN SPACE], Malcolm W. Browne, ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 13, 1986</ref>

* [[Talgat Musabayev]], first launched 1 July 1994, was born in the [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakh SSR]] and is known in Kazakhstan as the "first cosmonaut of independent Kazakhstan",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kazcosmos.gov.kz/ru/ob-agenstve/rukovodstvo/musabaev-talgat-amangeldievich.html |title=КАЗКОСМОС &#124; Мусабаев Талгат Амангельдиевич |access-date=2015-08-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429004207/http://kazcosmos.gov.kz/ru/ob-agenstve/rukovodstvo/musabaev-talgat-amangeldievich.html |archive-date=2015-04-29 }}</ref> but was a Russian citizen when he went into space.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jun/20/news/adfg-space20|title=Kazakhstan Gets a Bigger Say in Space Launch Site|first=Bagila|last=Bukharbayeva|date=20 June 2004|website=Articles.latimes.com|access-date=11 August 2017}}</ref>

* [[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.

* [[Bjarni Tryggvason]], launched 7 August 1997, was born in [[Iceland]], but was a Canadian citizen when he went into space.

* [[Philippe Perrin]], first launched 5 June 2002, was born in [[Morocco]], but was a French citizen when he went into space.

* [[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 Rico|Puerto Rican]] descent.

==Gallery==

<gallery class="center">

File:Gagarin in Sweden.jpg|The Soviet Union's [[Yuri Gagarin]], the first person in space (1961)

File:Alan B. Shepard 1970 cropped.jpg|[[Alan Shepard]] from the United States of America, the second nation to send a person into space (1961)

File:VladimirRemek.jpg|[[Vladimír Remek]] of [[Czechoslovakia]], the first Czechoslovak national in space (1978)

File:Miroslaw H.jpg|Mirosław Hermaszewski of [[Poland]], the first Polish national in space (1978)

File:Sigmund Jahn cropped.jpg|Sigmund Jähn of [[East Germany]], the first German in space (1978)

File:Rakesh_sharma.jpg|[[Rakesh Sharma]], the first Indian in space (1984)

File:Dr._Helen_Sharman.jpg|[[Helen Sharman]], the first person from the United Kingdom in space (1991)

File:Yang Liwei.jpg|[[Yang Liwei]] of [[China]], the third nation to launch a person into space (2003)

File:Marcos Pontes2.jpg|[[Marcos Pontes]], of [[Brazil]], the first South American and the first [[lusophone]] in space (2006)

</gallery>

{{Reflist}}

* [http://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/democurrent.html Current Space Demographics], compiled by William Harwood, CBS News Space Consultant, and Rob Navias, NASA.

[[Category:Lists of astronauts by nationality|*]]

[[Category:Lists of firsts in outer space]]

[[Category:Spaceflight timelines|*]]