10 facts about the first woman in space (PHOTOS)
Why was Valentina Tereshkova chosen for the space flight? What planet did she always dream of visiting? Who fired on her spacecraft in 1969 and why? We've compiled some of the most interesting facts about the first woman in space and her famous flight.
1. Valentina Tereshkova's historic flight began on June 16, 1963, and lasted two days, 22 hours and 50 minutes. During this time, her ‘Vostok 6’ spacecraft completed 48 orbits of the Earth, covering a total distance of 1,971,000 km.
2. Tereshkova was picked for the role of the first woman in space out of 800 candidates, some of whom were more experienced than her. However, her proletarian background, active social stance and charisma all counted in her favor.
3. A special spacesuit, the ‘SK-2’, was designed for Tereshkova, taking into account her body type. It featured an emblem consisting of the letters ‘USSR’ and a white dove carrying an olive branch with 15 rays radiating from it, symbolizing all the republics of the Soviet Union.
4. The newsreel footage of a happy Tereshkova landing is fake. She was not in the best condition at the time and had to be rushed to hospital. The “positive” footage was filmed the following day.
5. Tereshkova's call sign in space was "Chaika" (“Seagull”). It was under this name that the Uglich Watch Factory released a watch in 1963 that went on to be produced for another 46 years.
6. On January 22, 1969, Junior Lieutenant Viktor Ilyin fired a gun at the car carrying Tereshkova and other cosmonauts in Moscow. He wanted to shoot Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, but confused the cars. The driver was fatally injured, but the passengers were unharmed.
7. Tereshkova's favorite planet is Mars. At a press conference in honor of the 50th anniversary of her space flight, she admitted that she dreamed of visiting it and declared herself ready to go there even "one way".
8. She has approximately 30 Soviet, Russian and foreign awards, including the title ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’. Among the most unusual are the ‘Order of Volta’ from Ghana, the Nepalese ‘Trishakti Patta Order’ and the Egyptian ‘Order of the Necklace of the Nile’.
9. Despite the success of Tereshkova's mission, Sergei Korolev, head of the Soviet space program, declared that women had no place in space. The next time a woman was sent there would be 19 years later, in 1982. That woman was Svetlana Savitskaya.
10. She remains the only woman in history to have flown solo in space. After her, all flights have been carried out with crews of at least two people.
