Man-In-Space Firsts:
Many Peoples In Space
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Continents:

First European: Yuri Gagarin of the USSR flew to space April 12, 1961.

First North American: Alan Shepard of the United States flew to space May 5, 1961.

First Latin American: Cuban Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez was launched in 1980 to the Salyut 6 station.

First Asian: Pham Tuan of Vietnam was launched to the Salyut 6 space station in 1980.

First African: Mark Shuttleworth flew April 25, 2002, in a Russian Soyuz capsule bound for the International Space Station.

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Countries:

First Afghan: Abdul Ahad Mohmand flew to Mir in 1988.

First Australian: Andy Thomas flew in May 1996 on shuttle Endeavour flight STS-77.

First Briton: Helen Sharman of Great Britain spent a week at the Mir space station in 1991.

First Bulgarian: Georgi Ivanov flew to Salyut 6 in 1979. Later, Bulgarian Alexander Alexandrov flew to Mir in 1988.

First Canadian: Marc Garneau flew for eight days in 1984 in shuttle Challenger.

First Canadian woman: Roberta L. Bondar, M.D., flew in shuttle Atlantis in 1991.

First Czech: Vladimir Remek, son of the Czechoslovakian defense minister, was the first non-USSR/non-U.S. person to go to space. He flew in 1978 for eight days at Salyut 6.

First Cuban: Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez was launched in 1980 in Soyuz 38 for an eight-day visit to the Salyut 6 station. The second non-Warsaw Pact and second third-world cosmonaut, he grew organic monocrystals in space from Cuban sugar.

First Dutchman: Lodewijk van den Berg of the Netherlands flew in April-May 1985 in shuttle Challenger. Shortly thereafter, Wubbo Ockels of the European Space Agency flew in October-November 1985 in shuttle Challenger.

First Frenchman: Jean-Loup Chrétien visited the Soviet Union's Salyut-7 space station in 1982.

First French woman: Claudie André-Deshays flew aboard a Russian Soyuz flight in 1996.

First East German: Sigmund Jahn flew to Salyut 6 in 1978.

First West German: West German Ulf Merbold flew ten days in 1983 in shuttle Columbia.

First Hungarian: Bertalan Farkas flew to Salyut 6 in 1980.

First Indian: Rakesh Sharma from India flew to space for eight days in 1984, visiting Salyut 7 station. He used yoga to combat effects of weightlessness.

First Mexican: Rodolfo Neri flew six days in 1985 in shuttle Atlantis.

First Mongolian: Jugderdemidiyn Gurragcha flew to Salyut 6 in 1981.

First Moroccan: Philippe Perrin of France's CNES space agency was born in Morocco. He flew to the International Space Station aboard the U.S. shuttle flight STS-111 in 2002.

First Pole: Miroslaw Hermaszewski of Poland flew to Salyut 6 in 1978.

First Romanian: Dumitru Prunariu flew to Salyut 6 in 1981.

First Saudi: Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan Salman Abdel Aziz Al-Saud flew in 1985 in shuttle Discovery.

First U.S. man: Alan Shepard of the United States flew to space May 5, 1961.

First U.S. woman: Sally K. Ride rode in shuttle Challenger on June 18, 1983.

First USSR Man: Yuri Gagarin of the USSR flew to space April 12, 1961.

First USSR Woman: Valentina Tereshkova spent 71 hours orbiting Earth 48 times in 1963.

First Vietnamese: Pham Tuan of Vietnam was launched in 1980 to Salyut 6 space station.

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Gender and Ethnic Groups:

First Man: Yuri Gagarin of the USSR flew to space April 12, 1961.

First Woman: Valentina Tereshkova spent 71 hours orbiting Earth 48 times in 1963.

First black cosmonaut: Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez, a Cuban of African descent who flew in 1980 for an eight-day visit to the USSR's Salyut 6 space station.

First black astronaut: Astronaut Guion S. Bluford Jr., an African-American who flew for six days in 1983 in the U.S. shuttle Challenger.

First black woman: Mae C. Jemison, M.D., was the science mission specialist aboard shuttle Endeavour's eight-day flight STS-47 Spacelab-J in 1992, a cooperative mission between the United States and Japan.

First Hispanic man: Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez was launched in 1980 in Soyuz 38 for an eight-day visit to the Salyut 6 station. The second non-Warsaw Pact and second third-world cosmonaut, he grew organic monocrystals in space from Cuban sugar.

First Hispanic woman: Ellen Ochoa flew for nine days aboard shuttle Discovery flght STS-56 in 1993. Later, she was payload commander aboard shuttle flight STS-66 in 1994. Then she flew to the International Space Station aboard shuttle Discovery flight STS-96 in 1999. Later, she flew aboard shuttle Atlantis flight STS-110 to the International Space Station in 2002.

First Arab: Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan Salman Abdel Aziz Al-Saud flew in space for seven days in 1985 in shuttle Discovery. The second Arab was Syrian cosmonaut Mohammed Faris who spent eight days in 1987 at Mir station.

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Other Categories:

First from the Third-World: Pham Tuan of Vietnam was launched in 1980 to Salyut 6 space station.

First oceanographer: Paul D. Scully-Power flew for eight days in 1984 in shuttle Challenger, the first oceanographer to observe the oceans from space.

First school teacher: Before she could get to space, Christa McAuliffe was killed in the Challenger lift-off explosion January 28, 1986.

First non-USA/non-USSR person: Vladimir Remek, son of the Czechoslovakian defense minister, was the first non-USSR/non-U.S. person to go to space. He flew in 1978 for eight days at Salyut 6.

First Westerner in Soviet space: French cosmonaut Jean-Loup Chretien was the first from a Western industrial democracy at a USSR space station. He flew in 1982 for eight days at the Salyut 7 station.

First nation with both cosmonauts and astronauts: France's astronaut Patrick Baudry of CNES, the French space agency, flew seven days in 1985 in U.S. shuttle Discovery after France's cosmonaut Jean-Loup Chretien flew for eight days in 1982 at Salyut 7.

First non-American to fly in a U.S. craft: West German Ulf Merbold flew ten days in 1983 in shuttle Columbia.

First Ordinary Person in Space: Valentina Tereshkova was the first ordinary person in space. She was a textile mill worker who enjoyed the hobby of parachute jumping when she was picked for a class of women to train for spaceflight. USSR Premier Nikita Khrushchev wanted a spectacular, so, by age 25, Tereshkova was a cosmonaut. She spent 71 hours orbiting Earth 48 times in June 1963 in her capsule Sea Gull. She had made 126 parachute jumps, but her brief spaceflight training didn't prepare her for high-G re-entry. After landing, she was reported in "pitiful condition," but recovered quickly. Khrushchev boasted, "It is our girl who is first in space."

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