Valentina Tereshkova: First Woman in Space

After cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space in 1961, director of cosmonaut training Nikolai Kamanin read in an American media source that female pilots in the U.S. were training to become astronauts.

As a result, Kamanin gained approval for an all-female cosmonaut program, which began training in 1963. Born on March the 6th, 1937, textile worker Valentina Tereshkova had no previous desire to fly in space, however, her love of skydiving made her an excellent candidate for the Soviet Space Program. Training included isolation tests, centrifuge g-force tests, thermo-chamber tests, decompression chamber tests and pilot training in the MiG-15 fighter jets.

The First Woman in Space

On June 16, 1963, Tereshkova reached outer space in her Vostok 6 rocket after a flawless liftoff. Although she experienced nausea and physical discomfort for most of the flight, she orbited the earth 48 times in just under of three days, making her the first and only woman to solo in space. As was the protocol in all Vostok missions, Tereshkova ejected from her capsule during its descent at about four miles above the earth, parachuting to ground in Kazakhstan on June 19th, 1963.

After the dissolution of the first group of female cosmonauts in 1969, Tereshkova stayed on at the Soviet Space Program as an instructor, graduating from the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy and retiring from the Air Force in 1997, having attained the rank of major general. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tereshkova was elected in 2011 to the national State Duma, much like the American House of Representatives, as a member of the United Russia party, re-elected for a second term in 2016.