{"id":46546,"date":"2023-06-16T07:32:25","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T07:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=119400"},"modified":"2023-06-16T07:32:25","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T07:32:25","slug":"60-years-ago-today-valentina-tereshkova-became-the-first-woman-to-fly-in-space","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/60-years-ago-today-valentina-tereshkova-became-the-first-woman-to-fly-in-space\/","title":{"rendered":"60 years ago today, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to fly in space"},"content":{"rendered":"

The story of the cosmonaut who paved the way for women in space. <\/p>

By Ezzy Pearson\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 16 June 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

On 16 June 1963, a Soviet factory worker with a passion for parachuting became the first woman to fly in space.<\/p>\n

Born on 6 March 1937, Valentina Tereshkova was the daughter of a tractor driver who died during World War II.<\/p>\n

Upon reaching adulthood, Tereshkova worked in a textile factory, continuing to study in her spare time.<\/p>\n

Unlike most future astronauts, she did not spend her childhood dreaming of space. Instead, it was a different passion that decided her path \u2013 parachuting.<\/p>\n

She began the hobby in 1959 after seeing an advertisement for a local club, and by the early \u201960s she was jumping competitively.<\/p>\n

\""Soviet\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, pictured in the capsule of his Vostok 1 spacecraft, 12 April 1961. Credit: Sovfoto\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The Space Race<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At the time, the Soviet Union dominated the Space Race<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It had successfully put the first man, Yuri Gagarin<\/a>, into space, but there were concerns that the US might launch a female astronaut just so that they could claim that \u2018first\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot allow that the first woman in space will be American,\u201d Nikolai Kamanin, director of cosmonaut training, wrote in his diary, and soon began seeking out potential candidates.<\/p>\n

Previous cosmonauts had been drawn from the air force, but with no female pilots, Kamanin instead looked for experienced parachutists.<\/span><\/p>\n

They would need to be under 30, as well as under 5 foot 7 inches (1.7m) in order to fit into the single-person Vostok crew capsules.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tereshkova was one of five women who fitted the criteria and underwent cosmonaut training.<\/span><\/p>\n

The women were put through tests to ensure their bodies could cope with the physical demands of spaceflight, were taught to fly MiG jets and instructed on the workings of their spacecraft.<\/span><\/p>\n

\""Valentina\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Valentina Tereshkova prepares for her famous Vostok 6 flight, during which she would become the first woman in space, 16 June 1963. Credit: Sovfoto\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Selecting Tereshkova<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Once training was complete, the question became which of the five women would fly.<\/p>\n

As it had been with Gagarin before her, it was Tereshkova\u2019s origin story that gained her her seat on Vostok 6.<\/p>\n

She was the embodiment of the Communist ideal: the daughter of a farmer who had died for his nation, who had educated herself, proving anyone \u2013 man or woman \u2013 could rise through hard graft.<\/p>\n

It was for this that Kamanin referred to Tereshkova as \u201cGagarin in a skirt\u201d.<\/p>\n

Her flight launched on 16 June 1963 with the exuberant yell of \u201cHey sky, take off your hat. I\u2019m\non my way!\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of her mission was to look out of the window and take photos of the atmosphere, which would be used to study particles in the upper stratosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see the horizon,\u201d she said looking out from the cockpit. \u201cA light blue, a beautiful band. This is the Earth. How beautiful it is! All goes well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite her upbeat words, the cramped Vostok capsule meant Tereshkova was uncomfortable for most of the flight.<\/p>\n

A combination of zero gravity and unpalatable food meant she often felt ill.<\/p>\n

Then, after she vomited she found out that the ground crew had forgotten to include toothpaste with the toothbrush they\u2019d packed for her.<\/p>\n

Despite this, Tereshkova handled the craft well.<\/p>\n

\""Cosmonaut\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova outside the Vostok 6 space capsule after landing, June 1963. Photo by Sovfoto\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Tereshkova orbits the Earth<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On her first orbit, Tereshkova passed within five kilometres of Vostok 5, which had launched just two days before her, the manoeuvre testing several procedures that would allow future spacecraft to dock together.<\/p>\n

She returned to Earth three days and 48 orbits later, narrowly avoiding disaster when she noticed that\nthe Vostok\u2019s guidance programme was set to ascend from orbit, rather than descend.<\/p>\n

As with all Vostok missions, she ejected before impact and parachuted to the ground, ending her space journey using the very skill that had got her there.<\/p>\n

In the weeks and months that followed, Tereshkova became a celebrity, with several parades in her honour.<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, though, there was a very different sentiment.<\/p>\n

While there had been plans for the other female cosmonauts to fly, the nation\u2019s lead spacecraft designer Sergei Korolev<\/a> put a stop to them, citing the fact that one of the candidates already had a family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey forbade me from flying, despite all my protests and arguments,\u201d Tereshkova said years later. \u201cAfter being once in space, I was keen to go back there. But it didn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though the female cosmonauts disagreed with the decision, and wrote to the central party committee, their opinions were ignored.<\/p>\n

The Soviets had claimed their \u2018first\u2019.<\/p>\n

\""Cosmonaut\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova during an event at the London Science Museum on 15 March 2017. Photo by Leon Neal\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Cosmonaut women<\/strong><\/h2>\n

After the flight, Tereshkova\u2019s career became centred around touring the globe, and she was the most frequently requested cosmonaut of the entire Soviet spaceflight programme.<\/p>\n

However, her success meant she never flew again. When Gagarin died in 1968 in a plane crash, the Soviet Union realised it couldn\u2019t risk losing another celebrity, and she was grounded.<\/p>\n

In 1963, she married fellow astronaut Andriyan Nikolayev.<\/p>\n

Their daughter, Elena, was the subject of much curiosity, as she was the first person born to two people who had been in space. They divorced in 1982.<\/p>\n

By the time NASA advertised for the 1978 astronaut class, the first intake to include women, the Soviets had yet to put another woman in space.<\/p>\n

\""Left\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Left to right: NASA astronaut candidates Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathryn Sullivan and Rhea Seddon in Florida in 1978. Credit: NASA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Not wanting to be outdone again after Apollo\u2019s triumph, the next class of cosmonauts included nine women along with four men.<\/p>\n

Tereshkova herself was allowed to requalify as a cosmonaut.<\/p>\n

In August 1982, fellow class member Svetlana Savitskaya travelled to the Salyut 7 space station, just beating Sally Ride to be the second woman in space.<\/p>\n

However, she was the only woman from the class to fly in space and, to date, in total only five of Russia\u2019s cosmonauts have been women.<\/p>\n

Politically active throughout her life, Tereshkova has held many offices since retiring from spaceflight and currently sits in the Russian parliament, the Duma.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in the June 2023 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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