Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (born January 29, 1942) was the first Cuban citizen and the first person from a country in the Western Hemisphere other than the United States to travel into earth orbit. As a member of the crew of Soyuz 38, he became the first Latin American and the first person of African ancestry in space; he was proclaimed at the time as the first black cosmonaut.

Tamayo, along with Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko, was launched into space aboard Soyuz 38 from Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 18, 1980, at 19:11 UTC. After docking with Salyut 6, Tamayo and Romanenko conducted experiments in an attempt to find what caused space adaptation syndrome (SAS), and perhaps even find a cure, and on the crystallisation of sucrose in microgravity, for the benefit of Cuba's sugar industry. The SAS experiment involved wearing special adjustable shoes for six hours every day that placed a load on the arch of the foot. After 124 orbits of the Earth (lasting 7 days, 20 hours and 43 minutes), Tamayo and Romanenko landed 180 km (110 mi) from Dzhezkazgan. The landing was risky, as it was during the night.

I agree with Rolando

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857 – 1935) Russian Scientist is the first who contributed to space travel. The German Hermann Oberth and the American Robert H. Goddard continued the principles and are responsible for what we see now in terms of space rocketry. He is also the first one to conceive the space elevators.

Let's not forget nor repeat fellow animals paving the way before any human: http://history.nasa.gov/animals.html

That is correct Kamal. There are many who contributed. It is also a fact that space race though started with Sputnik has actually allowed for a large amount of collaboration among nations which was really healthy.

Space race helped with technology development. Many new technologies were developed during the space program for common use:

LEDs, Solar cells, freeze drying, NASTRAN Structural analysis, scratch resistant lenses, artificial limbs, video enhancing, firefighting equipment, temper foam, infrared thermometers, space blanket to reflect infrared radiation, portable cordless vacuums, water purification, powdered lubricants, etc.

http://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2008/tech_benefits.html

I agree with you Nageswara that many new technologies were developed during the space program for common use.

As per my readings/knowledge Russians laid the way. Gagarin the first cosmonaut later they made trials with Laika, the dog. Since then started the tug of war between Super Powers overtaking things who is first, Neil Armstrong walked on moon.

Another example of collaboration in space exploration is the International Space Station (ISS) launched in 1998 where a number of scientists from a number of countries participated. US, Russia, Canada, Japan, Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Brazil, Malaysia, South Africa, South Korea, and Spain. NASA Space Shuttle and Russia’s Soyuz are the spacecrafts used for transporting people to ISS and Earth.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/partners.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_International_Space_Station_visitors

Quite interesting inputs! The most heart warming thing about human endeavour to conquer space is that all of us across the world feel proud of this fact. It is not Russia, USA or any particular country that we think of when we recall these great men who ventured beyond the blue skies. We feel that WE HUMANS have done this. Gagarin and Neil Armstrong are not merely national heroes; they represent the indomitable spirit that man possesses. The spirit that seeks the mysterious; the spirit that will not rest until it finds the end of its quests.

My mind is also drawn to a question that is not uncommon in developing world - what difference do these space odysseys make to the common man? The answer is not easy. There are thousands of technological inventions and innovations connected to space programs that have a direct application for improving flight safety and other aspects of human life. Take for example "Aerospace Medicine" that has contributed immensely to the world of aviation, indirectly affecting the way people travel by air. Another example would be "Nutrition and Dietetics" that have drawn huge corollaries from space programs. When we look at these aspects, we as humans should be doubly proud of our 'spirit' to conquer and innovate.

From Icarus to Gagarin, man has always wanted to explore the skies and beyond. The Indian epic, Ramayana, talks of a craft called "Pushpak" used by Lord Ram as well as his arch rival, Ravana to traverse the universe. Yet another Indian astronomical work (believed to be dating 400-300 BC) talks of Trigonometry, computation of celestial years and methods to measure the diameter of planets like Mercury, Saturn, etc. Two thousand years before this work estimated the dimensions of these planets so accurately that the present scientific calculation varies with them just by 1%. But Surya Siddantha’s real claim to astronomy is in its description of different types of vehicles that can be used to travel the skies! One of the vehicles that it details is piloted just by one’s will…[for brief details see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surya_Siddhanta and http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Origins#Technology_in_Shastra]

We also know that Mayan civilization built structures that hugely resemble cosmodromes. Whether alien ships landed there or the Mayans ventured into space is a question that will always remain buried in the sands of history. These historical, philosophical, literary and archaeological evidences suggest a simple answer to the first line of Sylantyev - who paved the way to the stars? - the answer is WE PAVED THE WAY.