Valentina Tereshkova
Early Life
Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova was born on March 6, 1937, in the village of Maslennikovo, Tutayevsky District, Yaroslavl Oblast, in central Russia. Her parents worked in collective farming. Tereshkova's father was a tractor driver and her mother worked in a textile plant. Her father was a war hero who died during the World War II when Tereshkova was two years old.
Education and Early Career
Tereshkova began school in 1945 at the age of eight, but left school in 1953 and continued her education through correspondence courses. She became interested in parachuting from a young age, and trained in skydiving at the local Aeroclub, making her first jump at the age of 22 in 1959. She also joined the local Komsomol (Young Communist League) and later the Communist Party, where she held various leadership positions.
Selection and Training for Spaceflight
In 1961, after the flight of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, the Soviet Union decided to send a woman into space. In February 1962, out of more than four hundred applicants, five women were selected to join the cosmonaut corps, among them Tereshkova. The group spent several months in intensive training, which included weightless flights, isolation tests, centrifuge tests, rocket theory, spacecraft engineering, 120 parachute jumps and pilot training in jet aircraft.
Vostok 6 Mission
On June 16, 1963, Tereshkova was launched aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft, becoming the first woman to travel to space. She orbited the Earth 48 times in her three days in space. Despite experiencing nausea and physical discomfort for much of the flight, Tereshkova orbited the earth 48 times and spent almost three days in space. With a single flight, she logged more flight time than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown before that date.
Post-Flight Career
After her flight, Tereshkova studied at the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy and graduated with distinction as a cosmonaut engineer. In 1966, she received a doctorate in engineering. Tereshkova went on to hold various political offices, becoming a prominent political figure in the Soviet Union. She remained politically active following the collapse of the Soviet Union and was re-elected to the State Duma in 2011.
Legacy
Tereshkova's space flight was a significant achievement in the history of space exploration. She became a national hero and a symbol of Soviet space glory. Her flight is still celebrated as a key moment in space history, and she remains a significant figure in the study of space and the history of women in science.