Tereshkova, Valentina

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Valentina Tereshkova

Born March 6, 1937 (Maslennikovo, Russia)

Russian cosmonaut

Valentina Tereshkova made history by becoming the first woman to fly in space. She accomplished this feat in 1963, at the height of the former Soviet Union's space program. In 1957 the Soviets had launched Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite (an object that orbits in space), and in 1961 cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (1934–1968; see entry) had made the first successful orbit of Earth onboard the spacecraft Vostok 1. These triumphs took place during the Cold War (1945–91), a period of hostile relations between the Soviet Union and the United States. Since World War II (1939–45) the two super-powers had been engaged in an arms race for military superiority. Now the competition included a space race, and the Soviets were winning. The United States had sent its first astronaut, Alan Shepard (1923–1998; see box in John Glenn [1921–] entry), into orbit, but this was the only real U.S. space accomplishment so far. Tereshkova's flight therefore had added significance because it represented yet another Soviet victory.

"I'm trying to memorize, fix all the feelings, the peculiarities of this descending, to tell those, who will be conquering space after me."

Tereshkova did not participate in any other space missions, but she became an instant celebrity throughout the world. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, however,

there was minimal publicity about her outside of Russia. At the turn of the twenty-first century, attention was once again focused on the first woman in space, who celebrated the fortieth anniversary of her flight in 2003. That year the American journal Quest: The History of Spaceflight published the English translation of Tereshkova's memoir, originally titled "Stars Are Calling," which she wrote in 1963.

Applies to cosmonaut program

Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova was born on March 6, 1937, in the small village of Maslennikovo near the Russian city of Yaroslavl. Her father, Vladimir Tereshkova, was a tractor driver on a collective farm and her mother, Elena Fyodorovna Tereshkova, worked at the Krasny Perekop cotton mill. Vladimir was killed while serving with the Soviet army in World War II, leaving Elena to raise two-year-old Valentina and two other children—a daughter, Ludmilla, and a son, Vladimir. Valentina was not able to attend school until she was ten because she stayed at home to help her mother. Eventually Elena moved the family to Yaroslavl, where she found work in a textile factory.

At age sixteen Valentina was an apprentice (a person being trained for a skill) in the Yaroslavl tire factory, and in 1955 she took a job as a loom operator at the Red Canal Cotton Mill. In the meantime she graduated from the Light Industry Technical School after taking correspondence courses. She was also politically active, first joining the Komsomol (Young Communist League) and then advancing to membership in the Communist Party (the political organization that controlled the Soviet Union). In 1959 she joined the Yaroslavl Air Sports Club and became a skilled amateur parachutist, making 126 successful jumps. Recalling her first parachute jump in the article published in Quest, she wrote, "I came home later than usual. Perhaps there was something unusual in my appearance, because mom asked, 'Has anything happened? You are so strange today.' To tell her that I joined the parachute club was too hard for me. I didn't want to trouble her; besides, I was not completely sure about the success of my new adventure."

Following the Soviet Union's first successful unmanned space launch in May 1960, Tereshkova became interested in the idea of space flight. After Gagarin made the first manned space flight, she was so enthusiastic that she wrote a letter to the Soviet Space Commission asking to be considered for cosmonaut training. The Space Commission filed her letter along with several thousand others it had received. In early 1962, however, Sergei Korolev (1907–1966; see entry), head of the Soviet Space commission, came up with the idea that the Soviet Union could score an important public relations coup against the United States by sending a woman into space. (The United States did not accept women for astronaut training for another twenty years; see Sally Ride [1951–] entry.)

Trains as cosmonaut

Although Korolev had originated the idea of sending a woman into space, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) made the final decision. He wanted the choice to be an ordinary Russian worker, so he was not interested in applicants who were highly skilled scientists or airplane pilots. On February 16, 1962, Tereshkova and four other women were chosen for cosmonaut training. Tereshkova was instructed not to tell her friends or family what she would be doing. Instead she told them that she was training for a women's precision skydiving team. All five candidates participated in an intensive, eighteen-month training program at the Baikonur space center. They worked in a centrifuge and an isolation chamber, underwent tests in weightless conditions, and made 120 parachute jumps in spacesuits. They were also given jet pilot training. Since Tereshkova had no scientific background, she had difficulty with rocket theory and spacecraft engineering. Nevertheless, she reportedly applied herself to the course and mastered it.

Makes historic flight

At 12:30 p.m. on June 16, 1963, Junior Lieutenant Tereshkova became the first woman to be launched into space. Her radio call sign, Chaika (Seagull), would become the nickname by which Russians know her even today. Tereshkova reported the view from space, remarking on the beauty of Earth and the universe. She was later seen smiling on Soviet and European television, pencil and logbook floating weightlessly before her face. Vostok 6 made forty–eight orbits (1.2 million miles; 1.93 million kilometers) in 70 hours, 50 minutes, coming within 3.1 miles (4.98 kilometers) of Vostok 5. The Vostok 5 had been launched on June 14 in a separate orbit and was piloted by Valery Bykovsky (1934–). A dual female flight had been planned, but Bykovsky, a male cosmonaut, had been substituted at the last minute (see box on page 184).

While in space the two cosmonauts conversed through radio contact and sent television pictures back to Earth. Tereshkova carried out a series of physiological tests to learn about the effects of weightlessness and space travel on humans. To return to Earth she fired the retro-engine to brake the rocket. As the space capsule reentered Earth's atmosphere, flames surrounded the capsule. In her memoir Tereshkova described this moment: "Again the pressure pushes me in the chair, shuts my eyes. I notice the dark red tongues of flame outside the windows. I'm trying to memorize, fix all the feelings, the peculiarities of this descending, to tell those who will be conquering space after me." The spacecraft stabilized under a small parachute, and Tereshkova was ejected through the side hatch. She landed with the aid of a regular parachute. Her flight confirmed Soviet test results that women had the same resistance as men to the physical and psychological stresses of space.

Plan for Dual Female Flight Canceled

While the first women cosmonauts underwent training, Soviet officials were having intense discussions behind the scenes. When Sergei Korolev suggested sending a woman into space, officials had conceived an even more dramatic idea—a dual female flight, with women pilots for both the Vostok 5 and the Vostok 6. The two spacecraft would be launched a day apart and fly for three days in March and April 1963. There was a problem with the plan, however. Tereshkova was an acceptable choice for Vostok 5, but some officials were concerned about the candidate for Vostok 6.

The candidate was Valentina Leonidovna Ponomaryova (1933–), a Ukranian who had scored the best test results. But officials considered her to be too aggressive and not sufficiently loyal to the Soviet cause. In response to the question "What do you want from life?" she said in Encyclopedia Astronautica, "I want to take everything it can offer." This answer proved that she was promoting herself and not committed to glorifying the Communist Party. Ponomaryova also traveled without a male escort, which was regarded as unseemly behavior for a woman. The idea for a dual female flight was finally discarded at the last minute. It was decided that Tereshkova would pilot Vostok 6 and a male cosmonaut, Valery Bykovsky (1934–), would pilot Vostok 5. The flights were delayed two months, until June.

Ponomaryova and the three other women cosmonauts never flew in space. A civilian pilot and a member of the Academy of Sciences, Ponomaryova left space service in 1969. She works in orbital mechanics at the spaceflight training center. Ponomaryova is married to cosmonaut Yuri Ponomaryov (1932–), with whom she has two children.

Becomes world celebrity

After their return, Tereshkova and Bykovsky were hailed in Moscow's Red Square. On June 22, at the Kremlin,

Tereshkova was named a Hero of the Soviet Union and was decorated by Presidium Chairman Leonid Brezhnev (1906–1982) with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal. A symbol of emancipated Soviet women, she toured the world as a goodwill ambassador promoting the equality of the sexes in the Soviet Union. She received a standing ovation at the United Nations. With Gagarin, she traveled to Cuba in October as a guest of the Cuban Women's Federation, and then went to the International Aeronautical Federation Conference in Mexico.

On November 3, 1963, Tereshkova married Soviet cosmonaut Colonel Andrian Nikolayev (1929–), who had orbited Earth sixty-four times in 1962 onboard the Vostok 3. Their daughter Yelena Adrianovna Nikolayeva was born on June 8, 1964, and was carefully studied by doctors, who were fearful that her parents' space exposure may have damaged her. No ill effects were found. After the flight, Tereshkova continued as an aerospace engineer in the space program, while at the same time becoming active in Soviet politics, feminism, and culture. She was a deputy to the Supreme Soviet (1966–89), a People's Deputy (1989–91), and a member of the Supreme Soviet Presidium (1974–89). She also served on the Soviet Women's Committee (1968–87), becoming its head in 1977. Tereshkova led the USSR's International Cultural and Friendship Union (1987–91) and chaired the Russian Association of International Cooperation. In 2003 she held the rank of general and headed the Russian Centre for International Science and Cultural Cooperation.

Tereshkova summarized her views on women and science in "Women in Space," an article published in the American journal Impact of Science on Society: "I believe a woman should always remain a woman and nothing feminine should be alien to her," Tereshkova wrote. "At the same time I strongly feel that no work done by a woman in the field of science or culture or whatever, however vigorous or demanding, can enter into conflict with her ancient 'wonderful mission'—to love, to be loved—and with her craving for the bliss of motherhood. On the contrary, these two aspects of her life can complement each other perfectly."