Valentina Tereshkova - wikipedia Valentina Tereshkova `` Tereshkova '' redirects here. For the Kazakh sprinter, see Olga Tereshkova. For the lunar crater, see Tereshkova ( crater ). This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs ; the patronymic is Vladimirovna and the family name is Tereshkova. Valentina Tereshkova Tereshkova in 1969 Soviet cosmonaut Nationality Soviet Russian ( 1937 - 03 - 06 ) 6 March 1937 ( age 81 ) Bolshoye Maslennikovo, Tutayevsky District, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union Other names Valentina Nikolayeva Tereshkova Other occupation Pilot Rank MajGen, Soviet AF Time in space 2 days, 23 hrs, and 12 mins Selection Female group Missions Vostok 6 Awards Hero of the Soviet Union Order `` For Merit to the Fatherland '' Order of Lenin ( 2 ) Order of the October Revolution Order of Alexander Nevsky Order of Honour Order of Friendship Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova ( Russian : Валенти́на Влади́мировна Терешко́ва, IPA : ( vɐljɪnjˈtjinə vlɐˈdjimjɪrəvnə tjɪrjɪʂˈkovə ) ( listen ) ; born 6 March 1937 ) is a retired Russian cosmonaut, engineer, and politician. She is the first woman to have flown in space, having been selected from more than 400 applicants and five finalists to pilot Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963. In order to join the Cosmonaut Corps, Tereshkova was honorarily inducted into the Soviet Air Force and thus she also became the first civilian to fly in space. Before her recruitment as a cosmonaut, Tereshkova was a textile - factory assembly worker and an amateur skydiver. After the dissolution of the first group of female cosmonauts in 1969, she became a prominent member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, holding various political offices. She remained politically active following the collapse of the Soviet Union and is regarded as a hero in post-Soviet Russia and much of the world. Having orbited Earth 48 times, Tereshkova remains the only woman ever to have been on a solo space mission. In 2013, she offered to go on a one - way trip to Mars if the opportunity arose. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career in the Soviet space program 3 Education 4 Soviet political career 5 Post-Soviet political career 6 Personal life 7 Honours and awards 8 In popular culture 9 See also 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links Early life Tereshkova was born in the village of Maslennikovo in Tutayevsky District, Yaroslavl Oblast, in central Russia. Her parents had migrated from Belarus. Tereshkova 's father was a tractor driver and her mother worked in a textile plant. Tereshkova went to school in 1945 at the age 8 ; however, she left school in 1953 at 16 and continued her education by correspondence courses. She became interested in parachuting from a young age, and trained in skydiving at the local Aeroclub, making her first jump at age 22 on 21 May 1959 ; at the time, she was employed as a textile worker in a local factory. It was her expertise in skydiving that led to her selection as a cosmonaut. In 1961, she became Secretary of the local Komsomol ( Young Communist League ) and later joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Career in the Soviet space Program Cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova and Valery Bykovsky among children After the flight of Yuri Gagarin in 1961, Sergey Korolyov, the chief Soviet rocket engineer, came up with the idea of putting a woman in space. On 16 February 1962, Valentina Tereshkova was selected to join the female cosmonaut corps. Out of more than 400 applicants, five were selected : Tatyana Kuznetsova, Irina Solovyova, Zhanna Yorkina, Valentina Ponomaryova, and Tereshkova. Qualifications included that they be parachutists under 30 years of age, under 170 cm ( 5 ft 7 in ) tall, and under 70 kg ( 154 lb ) in weight. Tereshkova was considered a particularly worthy candidate, partly due to her `` proletarian '' background, and because her father, tank leader sergeant Vladimir Tereshkov, was a war hero. He died in the Finnish Winter War during World War II in the Lemetti area in Finnish Karelia when Tereshkova was two years old. After her mission, she was asked how the Soviet Union should thank her for her service to the country. Tereshkova asked that the government search for, and publish, the location where her father was killed in action. This was done, and a monument now stands at the site in Lemetti -- now on the Russian side of the border. Tereshkova has since visited Finland several times. Training included weightless flights, isolation tests, centrifuge tests, rocket theory, spacecraft engineering, 120 parachute jumps and pilot training in MiG - 15UTI jet fighters. The group spent several months in intensive training, concluding with examinations in November 1962, after which four remaining candidates were commissioned Junior Lieutenants in the Soviet Air Force. Tereshkova, Solovyova and Ponomaryova were the leading candidates, and a joint mission profile was developed that would see two women launched into space, on solo Vostok flights on consecutive days in March or April 1963. Originally it was intended that Tereshkova would launch first in Vostok 5 while Ponomaryova would follow her into orbit in Vostok 6. However, this flight plan was altered in March 1963. Vostok 5 would now carry a male cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky flying the joint mission with a woman aboard Vostok 6 in June 1963. The State Space Commission nominated Tereshkova to pilot Vostok 6 at their meeting on 21 May and this was confirmed by Nikita Khrushchev himself. Tereshkova was exactly ten years younger than the youngest Mercury Seven astronaut, Gordon Cooper. After watching the successful launch of Vostok 5 on 14 June, Tereshkova began final preparations for her own flight. She was 26 at the time. On the morning of 16 June 1963, Tereshkova and her backup Solovyova were both dressed in spacesuits and taken to the launch pad by bus. After completing her communication and life support checks, she was sealed inside the Vostok. After a two - hour countdown, Vostok 6 launched faultlessly, and Tereshkova became the first woman in space. Her call sign in this flight was Chaika ( English : Seagull ; Russian : Ча́йка ), later commemorated as the name of an asteroid, 1671 Chaika. From left to right : Yuri Gagarin, Pavel Popovich, Valentina Tereshkova, and Nikita Khrushchev at the Lenin Mausoleum, during a celebration honoring the Soviet cosmonauts, 1963 Although Tereshkova experienced nausea and physical discomfort for much of the flight, she orbited the earth 48 times and spent almost three days in space. With a single flight, she logged more flight time than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown before that date. Tereshkova also maintained a flight log and took photographs of the horizon, which were later used to identify aerosol layers within the atmosphere. Vostok 6 was the final Vostok flight and was launched two days after Vostok 5 which carried Valery Bykovsky into a similar orbit for five days, landing three hours after Tereshkova. The two vessels approached each other within 5 km ( 3.1 mi ) at one point, and Tereshkova communicated with Bykovsky and with Khrushchev by radio. Even though there were plans for further flights by women, it took 19 years until the second woman, Svetlana Savitskaya, flew into space. None of the other four in Tereshkova 's early group flew, and, in October 1969, the pioneering female cosmonaut group was dissolved. In September 1963, Tereshkova donated a silver cup at the women 's 1963 European Rowing Championships held in Khimki near Moscow for the most successful nation, which went to the team from the Soviet Union as they won gold in all five boat classes. Education Tereshkova, skiing, 1964 After her flight, Tereshkova studied at the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy and graduated with distinction as a cosmonaut engineer. In 1977 she earned a doctorate in engineering. Soviet political career Due to her prominence, Tereshkova was chosen for several political positions : from 1966 to 1974 she was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, from 1974 to 1989 a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, and from 1969 to 1991 she was in the Central Committee of the Communist Party. In 1997, she was retired from the Russian Air Force and the cosmonaut corps by presidential order. Beyond her recognized political offices within the Soviet Union, Tereshkova also became a well - known representative of the Soviet Union abroad. She was made a member of the World Peace Council in 1966, a member of the Yaroslavl Soviet in 1967. She was also the Soviet representative to the UN Conference for the International Women 's Year in Mexico City in 1975. She also led the Soviet delegation to the World Conference on Women in Copenhagen and played a critical role in shaping the socialist women 's global agenda for peace. She attained the rank of deputy to the Supreme Soviet, membership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Central Committee, Vice President of the International Woman 's Democratic Federation and President of the Soviet - Algerian Friendship Society. She was decorated with the Hero of the Soviet Union medal, the USSR 's highest award. She was also awarded the Order of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, numerous other medals, and foreign orders including the Karl Marx Order, United Nations Gold Medal of Peace and the Simba International Women 's Movement Award. She was also bestowed a title of the Hero of Socialist Labor of Czechoslovakia, Hero of Labor of Vietnam, and Hero of Mongolia. In 1990 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. Tereshkova crater on the far side of the Moon was named after her. Tereshkova in 1970 Post-Soviet political career After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tereshkova lost her political office but none of her prestige. To this day, she is revered as a hero, and to some her importance in Russian space history is only surpassed by Yuri Gagarin and Alexey Leonov. She was elected to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian legislature, in 2011 as a member of United Russia where she continues to serve. Tereshkova 's life and spaceflight were first written of in the West in the 1975 book : It Is I, Sea Gull ; Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space by Mitchel R. Sharpe and then again in greater detail of her life and spaceflight in the 2007 book Into That Silent Sea by Colin Burgess and Francis French, including interviews with Tereshkova and her colleagues. Tereshkova was invited to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin 's residence in Novo - Ogaryovo for the celebration of her 70th birthday. While there she said that she would like to fly to Mars, even if it meant that it was a one - way trip. On 5 April 2008, she was a torchbearer of the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She received the Eduard Rhein Ring of Honor from the German Eduard Rhein Foundation in 2007. Personal life The wedding ceremony of pilot - cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova and Andriyan Nikolayev, 3 November 1963. Tereschkova married Andriyan Nikolayev on 3 November 1963 at the Moscow Wedding Palace with Khrushchev presiding at the wedding party together with top government and space programme leaders. On 8 June 1964, nearly one year after her space flight, she gave birth to their daughter Elena Andrianovna Nikolaeva - Tereshkova, who became a doctor and was the first person to have both a mother and father who had travelled into space. She and Nikolayev divorced in 1982. Her second husband, the orthopaedist Yuliy G. Shaposhnikov, died in 1999. Honours and awards This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. ( June 2017 ) Valentina Tereshkova and Neil Armstrong, 1970 Tereshkova visiting the Lviv confectionery, 1967 Valentina Tereshkova among delegates at the 24th Congress of the CPSU, 1971. Tereshkova at the Heureka science centre, in Finland, 2002 Valentina Tereshkova and NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in December 2010. Russian Order of Merit for the Fatherland ; 2nd class ( 6 March 2007 ) -- for outstanding contribution to the development of domestic space 3rd class ( 6 March 1997 ) -- for services to the state and the great personal contribution to the development of domestic space Order of Alexander Nevsky ( 2013 ) Order of Honour ( 10 June 2003 ) -- for outstanding contribution to the development and strengthening of international scientific, cultural and social ties Order of Friendship ( 12 April 2011 ) -- for outstanding contribution to the development of national manned space flight and long - term fruitful public activity Russian Federation State Prize for outstanding achievements in the field of humanitarian action in 2008 ( 4 June 2009 ) Certificates of appreciation from the Government of the Russian Federation ; 16 June 2008, -- for long - term fruitful state and public activities, considerable personal contribution to the development of manned space flight and in connection with the 45th anniversary of spaceflight 12 June 2003, -- for large contribution to the development of manned space flight 3 March 1997, -- for the contribution to the development of space, the strengthening of international scientific and cultural ties and years of diligent work Soviet Honoured Master of Sport ( 19 June 1963 ) Hero of the Soviet Union ( 22 June 1963 ) Order of Lenin ( 22 June 1963 ; 6 May 1981 ) -- for making progress on the development and strengthening of ties with the progressive community and peace - loving forces of foreign countries Order of the October Revolution ( 1 December 1971 ) Order of the Red Banner of Labour ( 5 March 1987 ) -- for social activities Order of the Friendship of Peoples Pilot - Cosmonaut of the Soviet Union Other awards -- Warsaw Pact `` Gold Star '' Hero of Socialist Labour ( Czechoslovakia ) ( August 1963 ) `` Gold Star '' Hero of Socialist Labour ( Bulgaria ) ( Bulgaria, 9 September 1963 ) Order of Georgi Dimitrov ( Bulgaria, 9 September 1963 ) Order of Karl Marx ( October 1963, East Germany ) Medal of Becker ( October 1963, East Germany ) Cross of Grunwald, 1st class ( October 1963, Poland ) Order of the National Flag with diamonds ( Hungary, April 1965 ) Order `` For Achievements in Science '' ( Romania, 17 November 1973 ) Medal `` For Strengthening Brotherhood in Arms '' ( Bulgaria, 1976 ) Order of Klement Gottwald ( Czechoslovakia ) Other awards Order of Tri Shakti Patta, 1st class ( Nepal, November 1963 ) Star of the Republic of Indonesia, 2nd class ( November 1963 ) Order of the Volta ( Ghana, January 1964 ) `` Gold Soyombo '' Hero of Labour ( Mongolia ) Order of Sukhbaatar ( Mongolia, May 1965 ) Order of the Enlightenment ( Afghanistan, August 1969 ) Order of Planets ( Jordan, December 1969 ) Order of the Nile ( Egypt, January 1971 ) `` Gold Star '' Hero of Labour ( Vietnam ) ( October 1971 ) Order of Bernardo O'Higgins ( Chile, March 1972 ) Order of the Yugoslav Flag with sash ( November 1972 ) Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun ( Peru, 1974 ) Order of Playa Girón ( Cuba, 1974 ) Order of Ana Betancourt ( Cuba, 1974 ) Order of Duke Branimir, with sash ( Croatia, 17 February 2003 ) Scientific, social and religious organizations Gold Medal, Tsiolkovsky Academy of Sciences of the USSR Gold Medal of the British Society for interplanetary communications `` For achievements in space exploration '' ( February 1964 ) Gold Medal of the `` Cosmos '' ( FAI ) Award Galambera Astronautics Gold Medal of Peace Joliot - Curie ( France, 1964 ) Order `` Wind Rose '' International Committee of the National Aeronautics and Space Missions `` Golden mimosa '' of the Italian Union of Women ( 1963 ) Sign of the Komsomol `` For active in the League '' ( 1963 ) Gold Medal Exhibition of Economic Achievements ( 28 June 1963 ) Honour of DOSAAF ( 1 July 1963 ) Order of St. Euphrosyne, Grand Duchess of Moscow, 2nd class ( 2008 ) Honorary citizenships Kaluga, Yaroslavl ( Russia ), Karaganda, Baikonur ( Leninsk, Kazakhstan, 1977 ), Gyumri ( Leninakan, Armenia, 1965 ), Vitebsk ( Belarus, 1975 ), Montreux ( Switzerland ), Drancy ( France ), Montgomery ( UK ), Polizzi Generosa ( Italy ), Darkhan ( Mongolia, 1965 ), Sofia, Burgas, Petrich, Stara Zagora, Pleven, Varna ( Bulgaria, 1963 ), Bratislava ( Slovakia, 1963 ) Recognition Various locations and monuments have been named after Valentina Tereshkova : A lunar crater, Tereshkova A minor planet 1671 Chaika Yalta embankment Many streets in Vitebsk, Volokolamsk, Grodno, Irkutsk, Ishimbay, Kemerovo, Klin, Korolyov, Lipetsk, Mytishchi, Ardatov, Novosibirsk ( Akademgorodok ), Novocheboksarsk, Odessa, Orenburg, Yaroslavl, Krasnoyarsk, Penza, Gudermes ( Chechen Republic ) A square in Tver School number 32 in Yaroslavl, where she studied Museum of Tereshkova `` Cosmos '' near her native village Monument in Bayevsky District of Altai Territory, Siberia, close to her landing place of 53 ° N, 80 ° E. `` Greatest woman of 20th century '' Cosmonaut monument in Moscow Monument planned at Tereshkova 's birthplace in Yaroslavl Yaroslavl Planetarium ( 7 April 2011 ) In popular culture In 1997, London - based electronic pop group Komputer released a song entitled `` Valentina '' which gives a more - or-less direct account of her career as a cosmonaut. It was released as a single and appears on their album The World of Tomorrow. The band Public Service Broadcasting has a song entitled `` Valentina '' on their 2015 album The Race for Space in tribute to her. In the same year, Findlay Napier 's album VIP : Very Interesting Persons included a song `` Valentina '', written in her honour by Napier and Boo Hewerdine. In season three of Orange is the New Black, Red describes Tereshkova as her hero, and notes her focus in wanting to travel to Mars, despite being in her seventies. In 2015, a short film entitled Valentina 's Dream was released by Meat Bingo Productions. The film stars Rebecca Front as Tereshkova and is based on an interview by the former cosmonaut where she expressed a desire to journey to Mars. The 2007 video game Mass Effect included a fictional star system named for Tereshkova. Streets in Ukraine that bore Tereshkova 's name have been renamed due to the country 's 2015 decommunization law. The 2015 space flight simulator Kerbal Space Program features a pilot Kerbal named Valentina in her honor. The 2017 mobile RPG Alliance : Heroes of the Spire has a hero named `` Valentina, the Star Pioneer '' in honor of Tereshkova. The BBC drama ' ' Call the Midwife ' ' ( Season 7, Episode 4 ; broadcast 11 February 2018 ) used the space flight of Tereshkova as an example of heroism by a woman. See also List of female astronauts List of female Heroes of the Soviet Union Astronaut - politician References Jump up ^ `` Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova ''. Yaroslavl Region. 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` 8 surprising facts about stellar career of Valentina Tereshkova, the 1st woman in space ''. rt.com. Jump up ^ Dejevsky, Mary ( 29 March 2017 ). `` The first woman in space : ' People should n't waste money on wars ' ''. the Guardian. Jump up ^ `` First female astronaut Valentina Tereshkova wants one - way Mars ticket ''. News.com.au. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` Першая жанчына ‐ касманаўт ў дзяцінстве гаварыла па ‐ беларуску '' ( The first woman in space spoke Belarusian as a child ). Nasha Niva ( in Belarusian ). 24 April 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` Valentina Tereshkova ''. StarChild : NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` President Vladimir Putin of Russia Congratulates Valentina Tereshkova, First Woman In Space on 80th Birthday ''. YouTube.com. Russia Today. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017. Jump up ^ Ghosh, Pallab ( 17 September 2015 ). `` Valentina Tereshkova : USSR was ' worried ' about women in space ''. BBC News. Retrieved 3 April 2016. ^ Jump up to : Sever, Megan ( June 2014 ). `` June 16, 1963 & June 18, 1983 : Valentina Tereshkova and Sally Ride Become First and Third Women in Space ''. Earth. 59 ( 6 ) : 60 -- 61. Retrieved 3 April 2016. Jump up ^ Burgis, Colin ; Vis, Bert ( 2015 ). Interkosmos : The Eastern Bloc 's Early Space Program. Springer Paxis Books. ISBN 978 - 3319241616. Jump up ^ Knapton, Sarah ( 17 September 2015 ). `` Russia forgot to send toothbrush with first woman in space ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 April 2016. Jump up ^ Knight, Kelly ( June 2003 ). `` Earth calling Seagull ''. Astronomy. 31 ( 6 ) : 30. Jump up ^ `` Валентина Терешкова : чьей воле покорялась женщина, покорившая космос '' ( Valentina Tereshkova : the Woman who Conquered Space ). RIA Novosti ( in Russian ). 16 June 2006. Retrieved 3 April 2016. Jump up ^ Kennedy, Maev ( 17 September 2015 ). `` First woman in space recalls mission 's teething troubles ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2016. Jump up ^ Tereshkova, Valentina ( 4 January 1964 ). `` Three days in outer space ''. The Saturday Evening Post. 237 ( 1 ) : 62 -- 63. Jump up ^ `` Fünf Europatitel für UdSSR - Ruderinnen ''. Neues Deutschland ( in German ). 18 ( 247 ). 9 September 1963. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2018. ( Registration required ( help ) ). Jump up ^ Ghodsee, Kristen ( Winter 2012 ). `` Rethinking State Socialist Mass Women 's Organizations : The Committee of the Bulgarian Women 's Movement and the United Nations Decade for Women, 1975 - 1985 ''. Journal of Women 's History. Johns Hopkins University Press. 24 ( 4 ) : 49 -- 73. doi : 10.1353 / jowh. 2012.0044. Jump up ^ `` Терешкова Валентина Владимировна '' ( Tereshkova, Valentina Vladimirovna ). The State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016. Jump up ^ Sharpe, Mitchell R. ( 1975 ). `` It is I, Sea gull ; '' : Valentina Tereshkova, first woman in space. Crowell. ISBN 978 - 0 - 690 - 00646 - 9. Jump up ^ `` First woman in space dreams of flying to Mars ''. Reuters. 6 March 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2008. Jump up ^ `` Олимпийский огонь понесут Друзь, Фрейндлих и Плющенко ''. Komsomolskaya Pravda ( in Russian ). 16 October 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` The Eduard Rhein Ring of Honor Recipients ''. Eduard Rhein Foundation. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011. Jump up ^ `` Ring of Honor 2007 -- Dr. techn. Dr. h.c. mult. Valentina V. Tereschkova ''. Eduard Rhein Foundation ( in German ). Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011. Jump up ^ Eidelman, Tamara ( 2013 ). `` A Cosmic Wedding ''. Russian Life. 56 ( 6 ) : 22 -- 25. Jump up ^ Feldman, Heather ( 2003 ). Valentina Tereshkova : The First Woman in Space. Rosen Publishing Group. ISBN 0 - 8239 - 6246 - 6. Jump up ^ `` The Japan News ''. the-japan-news.com. Jump up ^ Rosen, Rebecca J. ( 16 June 2013 ). `` The Remote Siberian Monument to the First Woman in Space, Who Launched 50 Years Ago Today ''. The Atlantic. Retrieved 3 April 2016. Jump up ^ Cris Converse ( 3 March 2016 ). Mass Effect Game Guide. Booksmango. pp. 60 -- 61. ISBN 978 - 1 - 63323 - 677 - 6. Jump up ^ ( in Ukrainian ) Muscovite renamed all the streets Valentina Tereshkova, Ukrayinska Pravda ( 12 April 2016 ) Jump up ^ `` The scandal with the renaming in Odessa : the city Council gave the answer ''. z - news. link. Jump up ^ Kerbal Space Program ( @ KerbalSpaceP ) ( 24 February 2015 ). `` @ xZise She 's named after Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space '' ( Tweet ) -- via Twitter. Further reading Bill O'Neil, `` Whatever became of Valentina Tereshkova ? '' New Scientist 8 / 14 / 93, Vol. 139, Issue 1886p. 21. A. Lothian, Valentina : The First Woman in Space, The Pentland Press, 1993, ISBN 978 - 1858210643. Tamara Eidelman, `` The First Woman in Space, '' Russian Life. May / Jun 2008, Vol. 51, Issue 3, p. 19 - 21. Tamara Eidelman, `` The Extraordinary Destiny of an ' Ordinary ' Woman, '' Russian Life. May / June 2003, Vol. 46, Issue 3, p. 19. Daniel Gauthier, `` Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova. '' Ad Astra. Jul / Aug 1991, Vol. 3, Issue 6, p. 29. Robert Griswold, `` '' Russian Blonde in Space `` : Soviet Women in the American Imagination, 1950 - 1965. '' Journal of Social History. Summer 2012, Vol. 45, Issue 4, p. 881 - 907. Laira Woodmansee, `` Two who dared, '' Ad Astra. Summer 2005, Vol. 17, Issue 2, p. 48 - 48. `` First woman in space '' at History.com Valentina Tereshkova, The First Lady of Space : In Her Own Words, spacebusiness.com, October 2015 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Valentina Tereshkova. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Commons : RIA Novosti / Tereshkova. BBC : Tereshkova received the Greatest Woman of the Century Award RSC Energia Biography of Tereschkova including a comprehensive list of awards and honors. Biography of Tereshkova Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova : The First Woman in Space Concept album inspired by Tereshkova 's pioneering achievements, by Kurt Swinghammer `` Testing of rocket and space technology - the business of my life '' Events and facts - A.I. Ostashev, Korolyov, 2001. ( 1 ) ; `` Bank of the Universe '' - edited by Boltenko A.C., Kiev, 2014., publishing house `` Phoenix '', ISBN 978 - 966 - 136 - 169 - 9 A.I. Ostashev, Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov - The Genius of the 20th Century -- 2010 M. of Public Educational Institution of Higher Professional Training MGUL ISBN 978 - 5 - 8135 - 0510 - 2. `` S.P. Korolev. Encyclopedia of life and creativity '' - edited by C.A. Lopota, RSC Energia. S.P. Korolev, 2014 ISBN 978 - 5 - 906674 - 04 - 3 The official website of the city administration Baikonur - Honorary citizens of Baikonur VIAF : 84569101 LCCN : n94025495 ISNI : 0000 0000 7835 6307 GND : 119207710 SUDOC : 099275856 BNF : cb12890135m ( data ) MusicBrainz : c2c9d67d - 581a - 4b96 - 9673 - 70e8d1050017 BNE : XX1135142 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Valentina_Tereshkova&oldid=837079838 '' Categories : 1937 births 1963 in spaceflight Valentina Tereshkova Astronaut - politicians Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru Heroes of Socialist Labour Heroes of the Soviet Union Honorary citizens of Baikonur Living people Members of the State Duma ( Russian Federation ) People from Tutayevsky District Recipients of the Order `` For Merit to the Fatherland '', 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Friendship Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Georgi Dimitrov Recipients of the Order of Honour ( Russia ) Recipients of the Order of Karl Marx Recipients of the Order of Klement Gottwald Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of Sukhbaatar Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Nile State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates Russian cosmonauts Russian people of Belarusian descent Russian women in politics Skydivers Soviet Air Force generals Soviet cosmonauts Soviet major generals Soviet politicians Soviet women in politics 20th - century women politicians Textile workers Women astronauts Recipients of the Order of the Volta 21st - century Russian politicians Recipients of the Order of Civil Merit ( Syria ) 21st - century women politicians Female air force generals and air marshals Women air force personnel of the Soviet Union Hidden categories : CS1 Belarusian - language sources ( be ) CS1 Russian - language sources ( ru ) Pages with login required references or sources CS1 German - language sources ( de ) Articles with Ukrainian - language external links Articles containing Russian - language text Articles with hAudio microformats BLP articles lacking sources from June 2017 All BLP articles lacking sources Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Aragonés Azərbaycanca বাংলা Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Bikol Central Български Brezhoneg Буряад Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Gàidhlig Galego 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ქართული Kiswahili Кыргызча Лезги لۊری شومالی Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Magyar मैथिली Македонски Malagasy മലയാളം मराठी მარგალური مصرى Bahasa Melayu Монгол Nederlands नेपाली 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan ଓଡ଼ିଆ Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча پنجابی Polski Português Română Русский Саха тыла Scots Shqip Sicilianu සිංහල Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska Tagalog தமிழ் Татарча / tatarça తెలుగు ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Vepsän kel ' Tiếng Việt 粵語 中文 80 more Edit links This page was last edited on 18 April 2018, at 15 : 58. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who was the first woman to be sent into space
Answer: Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova