On March 6, the world's first female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, celebrates her birthday. She turns 87 years old.
Valentina Vladimirovna made her legendary flight into space on June 16, 1963 on the “Vostok-6” spacecraft, becoming the 10th cosmonaut in the world and forever inscribing her name in history. The call sign “Chaika” was invented for Valentina Tereshkova by Yuri Gagarin.
“Is it scary to be first? I thought about it. The flight was prepared by a huge number of specialists. It was important not to let them down”, - says Tereshkova.
Tereshkova's triumphant flight lasted 70 hours and 50 minutes, becoming a significant page in the history of space exploration. It not only demonstrated the advanced positions of the USSR, but also proved that women are capable of conquering outer space on an equal basis with men.
Valentina Tereshkova is not just the first female cosmonaut, but also the only one to make a solo flight. She heroically coped with the responsibility entrusted to her, paving the way for other representatives of the “weaker gender” who later flew as part of the crews.
Source: gctc.ru
