Hello Steemians!
Yesterday I wrote about the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, today I will introduce you to the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova!
Valentina Tereshkova
She was born Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova on March 6, 1937, in Maslennikovo in the Soviet Union, and is a Russian astronaut and politician.
She was interested in skydiving from an very early age, making her first skydive at the age of 22 with a local Aeroclub and it was the interest in skydiving that got her into the close selection for the first female astronaut.
In 1961, Tereshkova became the secretary of the local Young Communist League, " Komsomol" and soon also joined the Communist Party.
A Komsomol poster - 1933.
From about 500 applicants, the five selected were Tatyana Kuznetsova, Irina Solovyova, Zhanna Yorkina, Valentina Ponomaryova and Tereshkova.
They were trained in jet flights with a MiG-15, in spacecraft engineering, rocket theory and also were physically and mentally prepared for the mission.
Valentina Tereshkova Training
The initial plan was to put 2 women into space, with the choice fallen to Ponomaryova and Tereshkova, Ponomaryova in Vostok 5 and Tereshkova in Vostok 6.
The decision was changed in March 1963, when the Soviet Union decided to put the astronaut Valery Bykovsky on the flight of Vostok 5.
Valery Bykovsky
Two days after the Vostok 5 launch, Vostok 6 was launched.
On June 16, 1963,after the successful launch, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space!
Launch of Vostok 6
She orbited the earth 48 times and spent 2 days, 23hrs, and 12mins in space, that was more time spent in space with a single flight then all the American astronauts had combined up to that point.
Throughout the flight she reported nausea and physical pain, but despite she took photographs and kept a flight log.
Tereshkova in space
After the successful flight and landing, she was awarded multiple numerous medals from the Soviet Union and also international orders. The most significant ones are the Hero of the Soviet Union medal, the highest award of the Soviet Union, the United Nations Gold Medal of Peace and the Karl Marx Order.
Hero of the Soviet Union Medal
She began getting involved in politics, earning herself multiple positions in the Soviet Union, but also abroad, when she became a member of the World Peace Council in 1966.
In 1977, Tereshkova graduated from the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy with a doctorate in engineering.
Tereshkova in 1970
Tereshkova was selected as the carrier of the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics!
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the introduction of the first woman in space!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org
http://russiapedia.rt.com
http://www.spacefacts.de
http://www.warrelics.eu
http://siberiantimes.com/
http://spacerubble.blogspot.com
http://russiancouncil.ru
http://www.allwidewallpapers.com
http://rachelvalentinatereshkova.weebly.com/
https://www.youtube.com
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Very nice piece of text (and pictures), as usual.
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