360Valentina Tereshkova
In 60 words
Valentina Tereshkova is a Soviet cosmonaut who became the first woman in space. On 16 June 1963, aged 26, she launched aboard Vostok 6 and orbited the Earth 48 times in almost three days. A former textile worker and amateur parachutist, she remains the only woman to have flown a space mission alone.
Tereshkova grew up in Yaroslavl region, left school to work in a textile factory, and took up parachuting at a local club. She was chosen for the women's cosmonaut group in 1962.
She later trained as an engineer, rose to the rank of major general, and became a public figure in her country.