Born in 1937 in Yaroslavl Oblast

Valentina Tereshkova was the Soviet cosmonaut who on June 16, 1963, became the first woman to fly in space. Born on March 6, 1937, in a village in Yaroslavl Oblast, she grew up in hardship. Her father died in the Winter War, and her mother raised three children while working in a textile mill. Tereshkova herself began factory work at sixteen, continuing her education at night school.

In 1959 she joined a local skydiving club and completed over 126 jumps. This parachute expertise proved decisive: Vostok cosmonauts ejected from the capsule during reentry and landed by parachute, making jump skill essential. In 1962 the Soviet Union launched a female cosmonaut program, selecting five women from over four hundred applicants. Tereshkova was chosen despite having no military pilot background, on the strength of her parachute record, working-class origin, and mental toughness.

After eighteen months of intensive training she launched aboard Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963. Her callsign was Chaika, meaning seagull. She orbited Earth forty-eight times over nearly three days, exceeding the combined flight time of all American astronauts to that date. She flew simultaneously with Vostok 5, piloted by Bykovsky, achieving the first dual crewed spaceflight. Despite severe space sickness she completed all assigned tasks including photography and biological experiments.

After landing Tereshkova became a national hero. Yet no Soviet woman flew again for nineteen years, suggesting the flight served propaganda more than policy. She earned an engineering degree, entered politics, and served in the Supreme Soviet and later the Russian State Duma for decades. She remains alive and publicly active, still expressing willingness to fly to Mars.