Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova, a Russian cosmonaut, was the first woman to travel in space. Valentina was born on March 6, 1937, in Maslennikova, Russia, U.S.S.R. She worked in a tire factory after leaving school. She became interested in parachuting and became an accomplished parachutist.
In 1961 she volunteered for the cosmonaut program, and in 1962, she and four other women were chosen for the program. Her experience as a parachutist helped her obtain her goal. On June 16, 1963, aboard the spacecraft Vostok 6, she became the first woman and first civilian to travel into space. The spacecraft made 48 orbits of Earth. She spent approximately three days in space and returned to Earth on June 19. None of the other four women in her group ever went into space, and it would be 19 years before another Russian woman would fly in a spacecraft.
After her flight, she attended the Zhukovski Air Force Academy and became a cosmonaut engineer in 1969. She became a member of the Supreme Soviet and also the Central Committee of the Communist Party. She married a fellow cosmonaut, Andrian Nikolayev, in 1963, and they had a daughter. They divorced in 1982. She has received many awards including Hero of the Soviet Union, the USSR’s highest award.
Movie of Valentina in Space
"Anyone who has spent any time in space will love it for the rest of their lives. I achieved my childhood dream of the sky."
