World Space Week: Which Countries Have Sent Humans to Space?

Sixty-nine years ago, on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first satellite to orbit Earth, opening the Space Age and igniting a race with the United States. Ten years later, on October 10, 1967, the Outer Space Treaty came into force. In 1999, the United Nations began designating October 4-10 each year as World Space Week to honor the contributions of space technology to humanity. Schools, space agencies, museums and astronomy clubs around the world mark the occasion with star-gazing nights, science classes, exhibitions and talks with astronauts and scientists.

To date, more than 80 countries have placed satellites in orbit, and people from more than 50 of them have flown to space. This article reviews the countries that have sent humans into space, the share of women among them, and the future of human spaceflight.

The first human in space – Yuri Gagarin

On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly into space. Aboard Vostok 1, he completed one orbit around Earth at roughly 27,400 km/h on a 108-minute flight, then ejected from the capsule and landed by parachute. The mission proved that humans could survive launch, weightlessness and re-entry, handing the Soviet Union a major early victory in the Cold War Space Race.

Six years later, on October 10, 1967, the Outer Space Treaty entered into force. Signed by the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union, it affirmed that space must be explored and used for peaceful purposes and that no nation could claim sovereignty over it. Less than two years afterward, NASA's Apollo 11 mission put humans on the Moon for the first time. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the lunar surface.

Where does space begin?

There is no universally agreed boundary for the start of space: most international organizations use the Karman line at 100 km above the ground, while the U.S. military, NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration count anyone who flies above 80 km. Either way, the distance is far shorter than it feels: if Earth were the size of an apple, space would begin roughly the thickness of the apple's skin above the surface.

Which countries have sent humans to space?

By the Karman line standard, at least 746 people from 52 countries have flown to space, including both professional astronauts and paying tourists. Some hold dual citizenship, while others flew for countries that no longer exist, such as the Soviet Union.

Two countries still dominate the list. The United States has sent 369 people to space, while the Soviet Union and Russia together account for 138. China, the third country to launch people on its own rockets, has sent 29.

One in seven space travelers is a woman

Space remains a field dominated by men. Science fiction may be full of female captains commanding starships, but of the 746 people who have flown to space, only 112, or 15 percent, are women – about one in seven. Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in June 1963. It took the United States another 20 years to follow suit, when Sally Ride flew in June 1983.

The share of women is rising, largely thanks to commercial flights. More than half of the women who have flown since 2020 were paying passengers or guests on Blue Origin suborbital rockets.

The median age of a space traveler is 40

Most people who have flown to space were in their 30s or 40s on their first flight, accounting for 85 percent of the total. The median age is 40. Commercial flights have widened that age range. The youngest, Oliver Daemen, was 18 when he flew in 2021. The oldest, Ed Dwight, was 90 years and 8 months old when he flew in 2024, about two months older than William Shatner was on his flight three years earlier.

The future of human spaceflight

In April 2026, the Artemis II crew flew around the Moon and reached roughly 406,771 km from Earth, breaking the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. Next comes Artemis III in 2027, an Earth-orbit rehearsal to test docking with a lunar lander built by SpaceX and Blue Origin. NASA is targeting 2028 for Artemis IV, aiming to land astronauts near the Moon's south pole – the first crewed landing since 1972.

India plans its first crewed Gaganyaan flight in 2027, which would make it the fourth country to launch people on its own rockets. China aims to put astronauts on the Moon around 2030.