Which country sent the first human into space?
Quick answer
The Soviet Union was the first country to launch a human into space. Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited Earth once aboard Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961, in a flight lasting about 108 minutes. The United States followed less than a month later, when Alan Shepard made a short suborbital flight on May 5, 1961.
Key facts
- First human in space
- Yuri Gagarin, Soviet Union
- Spacecraft
- Vostok 1
- Date
- April 12, 1961
- Launch site
- Baikonur Cosmodrome, today in Kazakhstan
Gagarin’s flight
Gagarin, a 27-year-old air force pilot, launched from Baikonur, which is now in Kazakhstan; see the largest landlocked country. As the rocket lifted off, he called out “Poyekhali!” (“Let’s go!”).
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Orbits | One |
| Duration | About 108 minutes |
| Highest altitude | About 327 km |
| Landing | Ejected at about 7 km and parachuted down separately from his capsule |
Gagarin became a global celebrity. He died in a training jet crash in 1968, aged 34. April 12 is celebrated as Cosmonautics Day in Russia and as the International Day of Human Space Flight.
The Space Race
| Date | Milestone | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 1957 | First satellite, Sputnik 1; see the first artificial satellite | USSR |
| Apr 1961 | First human in space, Yuri Gagarin | USSR |
| May 1961 | First American in space, Alan Shepard (suborbital) | USA |
| Feb 1962 | First American to orbit Earth, John Glenn | USA |
| Jun 1963 | First woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova | USSR |
| Mar 1965 | First spacewalk, Alexei Leonov | USSR |
| Jul 1969 | First people on the Moon | USA |
The Moon landing is covered in who was the first person on the Moon.
Other countries in space
Only three countries have launched people into space on their own rockets: the Soviet Union/Russia (1961), the United States (1961) and China (2003, with Yang Liwei).
What happened to the USSR?
The Soviet Union broke apart in 1991; see when the Soviet Union dissolved.
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