360Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space
On 16 June 1963, the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova launched aboard Vostok 6 and orbited the Earth 48 times in almost three days. A former textile factory worker and amateur parachutist, she was 26. Her call sign was 'Chaika', meaning seagull. She remains the only woman to have flown a space mission alone.
After Yuri Gagarin's flight in 1961, the Soviet space programme decided to send a woman into space. It chose from women with parachuting experience, because cosmonauts then ejected from their capsules and landed by parachute.
Valentina Tereshkova, who had worked in a textile factory and made parachute jumps at a local club, was selected in 1962 and trained for more than a year.
On 16 June 1963, she launched in Vostok 6. During nearly three days in orbit, she spent more time in space than all American astronauts up to then combined.
She landed safely by parachute in Kazakhstan. The next woman in space, Svetlana Savitskaya, flew in 1982, and the first American woman, Sally Ride, in 1983.
- 12 April 1961
- Gagarin's first human spaceflight
- 16 June 1963
- Tereshkova launches on Vostok 6
- 1983
- Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space
Sources: European Space Agency · NASA · Britannica.