 Cosmonauts and astronauts from other nations have flown in space, beginning with the flight of Vladimir Remek, a Czech, on a Soviet spacecraft on March 2, 1978. , a total of 536 people from 38 countries have gone into space according to the FAI guideline.India, Taiwan and Japan are increasingly capable of competing in space research and activity.These nations, along with China, form the main players in the Asian space race.