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A human spaceflight is a Spaceflight with a Human Crew , and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike Robotic Space Probe s or remotely-controlled Satellite s. Human spaceflight is sometimes called '''manned spaceflight''', a term now deprecated by major space agencies in favor of its Gender-neutral alternative. HISTORY The first human spaceflight was undertaken by the Soviet Union on April 12 , 1961 , when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made one orbit around the Earth aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft. Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on board Vostok 6 on June 16 , 1963 . Both spacecraft were launched by Vostok 3KA launch vehicles. Alexei Leonov made the first Spacewalk when he left the Voskhod 2 on March 8 1965 . Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to do so on July 25 , 1984 . The first human spaceflight undertaken by the United States was the suborbital flight of Alan Shepard aboard '' Freedom 7 '', carried out as part of Project Mercury . The spacecraft was launched on May 5 , 1961 on a Redstone Rocket . The first U.S. orbital flight was that of John Glenn aboard '' Friendship 7 '', which was launched February 20 , 1962 on an Atlas Rocket . Since April 12 , 1981 the U.S. has conducted all its human spaceflight missions with reusable Space Shuttle s. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983. Eileen Collins was the first female Shuttle pilot, and with Shuttle mission STS-93 in July of 1999 she became the first woman to command a U.S. spacecraft. The furthest destination for a human spaceflight mission has been the Moon , and As Of 2007 the only missions to the Moon have been those conducted by NASA as part of the Apollo Program . The first such mission, Apollo 8 , orbited the Moon but did not land. The first Moon landing mission was Apollo 11 , during which -- on July 20 , 1969 -- Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the Moon. Six missions landed in total, numbered Apollo 11–17, excluding Apollo 13 . Altogether twelve men reached the Moon's surface, the only humans to have been on an extraterrestrial body. The Soviet program for lunar orbiting and landing of human spaceflight missions was abandoned after years of development, due to the Soviet Union's loss in the '' Moon Race '' and several failed launches of the N-1 Rocket . The longest single human spaceflight is that of Valeriy Polyakov , who left earth on January 8, 1994, and didn't return until March 22, 1995. Sergei Krikalyov has spent the most time of anyone in space, 803 days, 9 hours, and 39 seconds altogether. Humans have had a presence in space for as long as 3,644 days in a row, eight days short of 10 years, spanning the launch of Soyuz TM-8 on September 5 , 1989 to the landing of Soyuz TM-29 on August 28 , 1999 . For many years beginning in 1961 , only two countries, the USSR (later Russia ) and United States, had their own astronauts. Later, cosmonauts and astronauts from other nations flew in space, beginning with the flight of Vladimir Remek , a Czech , on a Soviet spacecraft on March 2 1978 . As of 2007 , citizens from 33 nations (including Space Tourists ) have flown in space aboard Soviet, American, Russian, and Chinese spacecraft. Yang Liwei of The People's Republic Of China became the first Astronaut launched into space on a Chinese-made vehicle, the Shenzhou 5 , on October 15 , 2003 . This flight made China the third nation capable of launching its own manned spacecraft using its own launcher. Previous European ( Hermes ) and Japanese ( HOPE-X ) domestic manned programs were abandoned after years of development, as was the first Chinese attempt, the Shuguang Spacecraft . In 1989 , Iraq declared its intent to develop manned space facilities, but these plans were soon abandoned. SAFETY CONCERNS Planners of human spaceflight missions face a number of safety concerns. Life support The immediate needs for breathable air and drinkable water are addressed by the Life Support System of the spacecraft. Adverse effects of radiation NASA is using the International Space Station (ISS) to investigate questions like, "What happens to food and medicine exposed to six-plus months of space travel?" 1 Even in its Low-Earth Orbit , where the ISS is largely protected from the Solar Wind by the Earth's Magnetic Field , researchers suspect reduced nutritional value of foods and reduced potency of medicines, "Could be a sign of radiation at work." Adverse effects of the microgravity environment Medical data from ISS astronauts show several adverse effects of a microgravity environment: loss of bone density, decreased muscle strength and endurance, postural instability, and reductions in aerobic capacity. Over time these deconditioning effects can impair astronauts’ performance or increase their risk of injury. 2 Launch safety Reentry safety Reliability SPACE PROGRAMS As of 2007 , human spaceflight missions have been conducted by the Soviet Union , the United States , Russia , the People's Republic Of China and by the private spaceflight company Scaled Composites . Several other countries and space agencies have announced and begun human spaceflight programs by their own technology, including Japan ( JAXA ), India ( ISRO ), Iran ( ISA ), Malaysia ( MNSA ), Turkey . Currently the following Spacecraft (and Spaceport s) are used for human spaceflight:
Historically, the following Spacecraft (and Spaceport s) have also been used for human spaceflight:
3 (two internationally recognized suborbotal flights in program)
Numerous private companies attempted human spaceflight programs in an effort to win the $10 million Ansari X Prize . The first private human spaceflight took place on June 21 , 2004 , when SpaceShipOne conducted a suborbital flight. With its second flight within one week, SpaceShipOne captured the prize on October 4 , 2004 . Most of the time, the only humans in space are those aboard the ISS, whose crew of three spends up to six months at a time in Low Earth Orbit . NASA and ESA now use the term "human spaceflight" to refer to their programs of launching people into space. Traditionally, these endeavors have been referred to as "manned space missions". NATIONAL SPACEFARING ATTEMPTS REFERENCES SEE ALSO
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