On May 5 , 1961 which astronaut became the first American in space aboard " Freedom 7 " , launched by a Redstone booster on a 15 - minute ballistic ( suborbital ) flight ?
Citizens of other nations flew in space , beginning with the flight of Vladimir Remek , a Czech , on a Soviet spacecraft on 2 March 1978 . , citizens from 38 nations ( including space tourists ) have flown in space aboard Soviet , American , Russian , and Chinese spacecraft .