June 16, 2016

The whole world celebrates Cosmonautics Day on April 12, but a few know what a significant date June 16 is for the history of space exploration. On June 16, 1963, the first woman-cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova performed her spaceflight onboard Vostok-6 spacecraft.

Valentina Tereshkova was born in Yaroslavl region on March 6, 1937. In 1954 at the age of 17 after graduating from secondary school she started working at the plant to support her family in hard after-war period. At the same time she was attending evening classes at working youth school. Then Valentina entered technical school. At that time she was also attending local aeroclub and performed 163 parachute jumps and showed very good results.

On March 12, 1962, she was enlisted to the first women-cosmonaut corps and started training.

“The trainings of women-cosmonauts’ group were even more difficult and severe than those of men-cosmonauts”, – remembers Valentina Tereshkova but “everyone of us was willing to pass all the tests and trainings by all means and go to space”.

On June 14, 1963, Vostok-5 spacecraft with Valery Bykovsky onboard was launched from Baikonur spaceport, Vostok-6 piloted by Valentina Tereshkova two days later.

Her flight lasted two days 22 hours and 50 minutes and was a real challenge but Chaika (her call sign in the flight) coped with the tasks and became a legend, the first woman in human history who conquered the space.

More from this category:
September 4, 2014

Russian woman-cosmonaut Anna Kikina may go to space in several years, – GCTC Head Yuri Lonchakov reported. “Anna Kikina passed all necessary trainings. Her team…

full story
November 27, 2024

Now aerospace industry enterprises are actively working on the creation of the Russian Orbital Station (ROS). Its transportation and technical support is planned to be…

full story
October 20, 2021

During the space flight of filming crew in the framework of Challenge movie project one-person operation of Soyuz spacecraft was successfully tested. In the future…

full story
March 11, 2019

Today, on March 11, representatives of the technical management and the state commission at the Baikonur cosmodrome issued a decision on the readiness of the…

full story
August 3, 2015

Roscosmos cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Korniyenko will perform a spacewalk scheduled for August. The cosmonauts will polish several windows of Zvezda service module from…

full story
July 23, 2014

ISS performed space debris avoidance maneuver, – Roscosmos representative reported. “Unscheduled orbit adjustment maneuver was accomplished to form safe flight course of the station. According…

full story
April 15, 2015

Today, on April 15, 2015, 43 ISS mission flight engineer Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Korniyenko celebrates his 55th Birthday! His first flight Mikhail Korniyenko performed as…

full story
June 6, 2014

Russian Soyuz-ST boosters with European satellites will be launched from equatorial Kourou spaceport in French Guiana in June and July 2014. The launch of Soyuz-ST…

full story