Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova[a][b] (born 6 March 1937) is a Russian engineer, member of theState Duma, and former Sovietcosmonaut. She was the firstwoman in space, having flown a solo mission onVostok 6 on 16 June 1963. She orbited the Earth 48 times, spent almost three days in space, is the only woman to have been on a solo space mission and is the last survivingVostok programme cosmonaut. Twenty-six years old at the time of her spaceflight, she remains the youngest woman to have flown in space under the international definition of 100 km altitude, and the youngest woman to fly in Earth orbit.
Before her selection for theSoviet space programme, Tereshkova was a textile factory worker and an amateurskydiver. She joined theAir Force as part of the Cosmonaut Corps and was commissioned as an officer after completing her training. After the dissolution of the first group of female cosmonauts in 1969, Tereshkova remained in the space programme as a cosmonaut instructor. She later graduated from theZhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy and re-qualified for spaceflight, but never went to space again. She retired from the Air Force in 1997 having attained the rank ofmajor general.
Valentina Tereshkova was born on 6 March 1937 in theBolshoye Maslennikovo, a village on theVolga River[2] 270 kilometres (170 mi) northeast of Moscow and part of theYaroslavl Oblast in central Russia.[3] Her parents had migrated from Belarus.[4] Her father, Vladimir Tereshkov,[5] was a former tractor driver and asergeant in command of a tank in theSoviet Army. He died in the FinnishWinter War when Tereshkova was two years of age.[2] He and her mother Elena Fyodorovna Tereshkova had three children.[5] After her father's death, her mother moved the family toYaroslavl, seeking better employment opportunity,[6][5] and became employed at the Krasny Perekop cotton mill.[2]
Tereshkova was first enrolled in school at 8 years old and graduated at 16.[2] She began working at a tire factory, and later at a textile mill, but continued her education by taking correspondence courses and graduated from the Light Industry Technical School in 1960.[2][6][7] Tereshkova also became interested from a young age in parachuting, and trained inskydiving at the local Aeroclub, making her first jump at age 22, on 21 May 1959. While still employed as a textile worker, she trained as a competitiveparachutist, keeping this a secret from her family.[3] Tereshkova also joined the localKomsomol (Communist Youth League) in Yaroslavl, serving as the secretary of the organisation in 1960 and 1961. She became a member of the Communist Party in 1962.
Tereshkova had not expressed any particular desire to go into space before being recruited.[8] Rather, her experience at skydiving contributed to her selection as a cosmonaut.[9][10] After the flight ofYuri Gagarin in 1961,Nikolai Kamanin, director of cosmonaut training, read in the American media that female pilots were training to be astronauts as part ofMercury 13. In his diary, he wrote, "We cannot allow that the first woman in space will be American. This would be an insult to the patriotic feelings of Soviet women."[11] Approval was granted to place five female cosmonauts in the next group, which would begin training in 1963. To increase the odds of sending a Soviet woman into space first, the women cosmonauts began their training before the men.[11] The rules required that the potential cosmonaut be a parachutist under 30 years of age, less than 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) in height, and no more than 70 kg (154 lb) in weight.[3] By January 1962, the All-Union Voluntary Society for Assistance to the Army, Air Force and Navy (DOSAAF) had selected 400 candidates for consideration. After the initial screening, 58 of those candidates met the requirements, which Kamanin reduced to 23. On 16 February 1962, Tereshkova was selected, along with four other candidates, to join the female cosmonaut corps.[12][13][14]
Since they had no military experience, they started with the rank ofprivate in theSoviet Air Forces.[15] Training included isolation tests, centrifuge tests, thermo-chamber tests, decompression chamber testing, and pilot training inMiG-15UTI jet fighters.[16] Tereshkova underwent water recovery training at sea, as part of which several motorboats were used to agitate the water, in order to simulate the rough conditions of space travel.[17] She also began studying at theZhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy and graduated a few years after her flight.[18] The group spent several months in basic training[16] and, after they finished their training and passed an examination, Kamanin offered them the option to be commissioned as regular Air Force officers. With advice from the male cosmonauts, they chose to accept Kamanin's offer, as it would make it harder for the programme to get rid of them after the first flight. All five women becamejunior lieutenants in the Air Force in December 1962.[19][20]Tatyana Kuznetsova became ineligible for the first flight due to illness, andZhanna Yorkina was performing poorly in training, leaving Tereshkova,Irina Solovyova, andValentina Ponomaryova as the leading candidates.[21]
Tereshkova andValery Bykovsky a few weeks before their mission
Originally, a joint mission profile was developed that would involve launching two women into space, on solo Vostok flights, on consecutive days in March or April 1963.[22] It was intended that Tereshkova would launch first, inVostok 5, while Ponomaryova would follow her into orbit inVostok 6. However, this flight plan was altered in March 1963. Vostok 5 would now carry a male cosmonaut,Valery Bykovsky, flying alongside a woman aboard Vostok 6, both to be launched in June 1963. The State Space Commission, at their meeting on 21 May, nominated Tereshkova to pilot Vostok 6. Kamanin called her "Gagarin in a skirt."[23]Soviet PremierNikita Khrushchev was happy with the propaganda potential of her selection, since she was the daughter of a collective farm worker who had died in the Winter War; he confirmed her selection.[23] Solovyova was appointed as her first backup.[24] Tereshkova was promoted to lieutenant before her flight and tocaptain mid-flight.[25]
After the successful launch of Vostok 5 on 14 June, Tereshkova began final preparations for her own flight. On the morning of 16 June 1963, Tereshkova and her backup Solovyova were both dressed in spacesuits and taken to thelaunch pad by bus. Following the tradition set by Gagarin, Tereshkova also urinated on the bus tire, becoming the first woman to do so.[26] 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;[27] she remains the only woman to have flown into space solo, and, at 26 years of age, the youngest.[28][29][c] Her call sign on this flight wasChaika (Russian:Чайка,lit. 'Seagull'); in commemoration, this name was later bestowed on an asteroid,1671 Chaika.[31] After her launch, she radioed down:[32]
It is I, Seagull! Everything is fine. I see the horizon; it's a sky blue with a dark strip. How beautiful the Earth is ... everything is going well.
Vostok 6 was the final Vostok flight[33] and was launched two days after Vostok 5 which carried Bykovsky into a five-day mission.[34] The two vessels spent three days in orbital planes 30° apart and, during Tereshkova's first orbit, approached each other to within 5 km (3.1 mi).[34][32] Although they were able to communicate by radio, neither could be sure if they saw each other.[32][33] Cameras placed inside both the spacecraft transmitted live footage that was broadcast onSoviet state television.[35][36] Tereshkova also maintained a flight log and took photographs of the horizon, which were later used to identifyaerosol layers within theatmosphere.[37]
In this single flight, she logged more flight time than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown before that date.[32] Her mission was used to continue the medical studies on humans in spaceflight and offered comparative data about the effects of space travel on women.[38] Although Tereshkova experiencednausea and physical discomfort for much of the flight,[39] she orbited the earth 48 times and spent 2 days, 22 hours, and 50 minutes in space.[40]
As planned in all Vostok missions, Tereshkova ejected from the capsule during its descent at about four miles above the Earth[35] and made a parachute landing 620 km (385 mi) north-east ofKaraganda, Kazakhstan at 8:20 amUTC on 19 June.[32] Bykovsky landed three hours after her.[41]
Tereshkova later disclosed that she encountered challenges in managing her parachute due to violent gusts of wind.[42] However, she landed safely but received a bruise on her nose, then she had dinner with some local villagers in theAltai Krai who helped her to get out of her spacesuit.[43]
According to the Russian newspaperPravda, one million flowers were brought in to celebrate the success of the dual flights and greet the cosmonauts in Moscow.[44] On 22 June 1963, Khrushchev greeted Bykovsky dressed in his uniform who saluted while Khrushchev hugged and kissed Tereshkova who was dressed in civilian attire. In front of the thousands in attendance, the Premier also announced that both the cosmonauts were awarded theHero of the Soviet Union medal. All three made speeches from atopLenin's Tomb on theRed Square; Tereshkova said, "my father perished defending our country and my mother brought up her three children. We know the bitterness of that war. We don't need war," referring to the anniversary of theGerman invasion of Russia that began 22 years ago that day.[45] Sometime after her mission, she was reportedly asked how the Soviet Union should thank her for her service to the country; Tereshkova requested that the government search for and publish the location of where her father waskilled in action. This was done, and a monument was erected at the site in theLemetti,Karelia—now on the Russian side of the border.[2] The evening of 22 June, a reception was held inthe Kremlin in which both Bykovsky and Tereshkova were awarded theOrder of Lenin.[45]
Less than a week after her return from space, Moscow hosted the International Women's Congress on 24 June where Tereshkova and Bykovsky were greeted by a gathering of about 2,000 women from 119 countries.[46] Of all the Russian cosmonauts, Tereshkova received the most requests to visit foreign nations.[47] Her trips in particular required approval from theMinistry of Foreign Affairs, theMinistry of Defense, and theKGB and were ultimately authorized by the Presidium of theCentral Committee of the Communist Party, the highest political bureau in the Soviet Union.[48]
All the Vostok cosmonauts toured extensively, but Tereshkova most of all; she made 42 trips abroad between 1963 and 1970.[49] On 1 October 1963, Tereshkova arrived inHavana, Cuba, and metFidel Castro. She toured the country which at the time was dealing with the effects ofHurricane Flora.[50] The following month she presented a silver cup, which went to the team from the Soviet Union who won gold in all five boat classes, at the women's1963 European Rowing Championships held inKhimki near Moscow.[51] By February 1964, Tereshkova was pregnant when she visitedElizabeth II of the United Kingdom who was also pregnant at the time.[52] Except for a few-months break that year, Tereshkova went on a continuous and exhausting world tour, returning to her public duties only two months after the birth of her daughter.[47]
After her spaceflight, Tereshkova became a national and international role model. She received "congratulatory telegrams and letters... from around the world."[27] These telegrams express the impact that Tereshkova had on other countries, outside the Soviet Union. Women were particularly excited about her flight. For example, in New Delhi, Tereshkova was a "feminist standard bearer bringing a message of hope for 'enslaved' Indian womanhood."[53]
Tereshkova was a well-known representative of the Soviet Union abroad. She became a member of theWorld Peace Council in 1966 and a member of theYaroslavl Soviet in 1967. She was also the Soviet representative to the UN Conference for theInternational Women's Year inMexico City in 1975. She led the Soviet delegation to the World Conference on Women in Copenhagen and was "interested insocialist internationalism and women's roles in guaranteeing world peace".[54] Tereshkova was also chosen for several political positions; she was a member of theSupreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (1966–1974), a member of theCentral Committee of the Communist Party (1969–1991), and a member of thePresidium of the Supreme Soviet (1974–1989).[55] She was appointed vice president of the International Woman's Democratic Federation and president of the Soviet-Algerian Friendship Society.[55]
Although she desired to continue pursuing a career as a cosmonaut and engineer, her superiors had a different plan for her in politics.[56] Following Gagarin's death, the Soviet space program was not willing to risk losing another hero.[57] Against her wishes, she was appointed as the leader of the Committee for Soviet Women in 1968.[56] A few months after she graduated with honours from the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy in October 1969,[58] the team of women cosmonauts was disbanded and a woman would not go to space again untilSvetlana Savitskaya in 1982, after a gap of 19 years.[56]
By 1976, Tereshkova was acolonel in the Soviet Air Forces.[58] In April 1977, she earned a doctorate inaeronautical engineering[59] and underwent the medical examinations to qualify for spaceflight when a selection of a new class of women cosmonauts was announced in 1978.[57] Although she did not go to space again, she remained an instructor at theYuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.[60]
She remained politically active following thecollapse of the Soviet Union but lost elections to the nationalState Duma during 1995.[61] In the year 1995, Tereshkova was promoted to an honorary rank ofmajor general. On 28 April 1997, she left theRussian Air Force due to reaching the age ofcompulsory retirement at 60 years old.[58] In 2003, Tereshkova ran again for a seat in the State Duma.[61] In 2007, Tereshkova was invited to Prime MinisterVladimir Putin's residence inNovo-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.[62][63] She was later elected during 2008 to herregional parliament, theYaroslavl Oblast Duma.[61]
On 18 September 2016, Tereshkova was re-elected to the7th State Duma.[72] She serves as deputy chairperson of the Committee on the Federal Structure and Local Government.[65]
Valentina married cosmonautAndriyan 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.[80] The marriage was encouraged by the Soviet space authorities as a "fairy-tale message to the country".[81] General Kamanin, head of the space programme, described it as "probably useful for politics and science".[82] On 8 June 1964, nearly one year after her space flight, she gave birth to their daughter Elena Andrianovna Nikolaeva-Tereshkova,[3] the first person whose parents had both travelled into space.[83]
Later in their marriage, the couple grew apart and refused to even stand next to each other in photographs. Tereshkova told the biographerAntonella Kerr that the marriage ended in 1977;[58] she and Nikolayev divorced in 1982 and Tereshkova married Yuli Shaposhnikov, a surgeon she had met during her medical examinations to re-qualify as a cosmonaut.[57][81][d] They remained married until Shaposhnikov's death in 1999.[81]
Certificates of appreciation from the Government of the Russian Federation;
3 March 1997 – for the contribution to the development of space, the strengthening of international scientific and cultural ties and years of diligent work[90]
12 June 2003 – for large contribution to the development of crewed space flight[91]
16 June 2008 – for long-term fruitful state and public activities, considerable personal contribution to the development of crewed space flight and in connection with the 45th anniversary of spaceflight[92]
Fashion designerPierre Cardin was inspired to create his famous Space Age styles after visiting theSoviet Union in 1963 and seeing photos of Tereshkova in her spacesuit and helmet.[113]
None of the other four in Tereshkova's early group flew and, in October 1969, the pioneering female cosmonaut group was dissolved. Even though there were plans for further flights by women, it took 19 years until the second woman,Svetlana Savitskaya, flew into space.[22][38]
In 1997, London-based electronic pop groupKomputer released a song entitled "Valentina" which gives a more-or-less direct account of her career as a cosmonaut.[114][115] It was released as a single and appears on their albumThe World of Tomorrow.[116][117] The 2000 albumVostok 6 byKurt Swinghammer is a concept album about Tereshkova.[118] The 2015 albumThe Race for Space byPublic Service Broadcasting also has a song featuring theSmoke Fairies entitled "Valentina".[119][120] In the same year,Findlay Napier's albumVIP: Very Interesting Persons included a song "Valentina", written in her honour by Napier andBoo Hewerdine.[121] In 2015, a short film entitledValentina's Dream was released by Meat Bingo Productions. The film starsRebecca Front as Tereshkova and is based on an interview by the former cosmonaut where she expressed a desire to journey to Mars.[122]
The Cosmos Museum was opened 25 January 1975 near Yaroslavl. Among its exhibits is a replica of her childhood home.[123] The city library was named after her in 2013.[124] The school she attended as a child was renamed for her.[125] A planetarium in Yaroslavl was built and named for her in 2011.[126][127] The International Women of the Year association named her as the "greatest woman achiever of the 20th century".[128][129] Tereshkova was a torchbearer of the2008 Summer Olympics torch relay inSaint Petersburg[130] and the2014 Winter Olympics torch relay inSochi.[131]
Streets in Ukraine that bore Tereshkova's name have been renamed due to her support ofRussia's military actions against Ukraine and in accordance with the country's2015 decommunisation law.[132][133] A proposal was also brought forward in 2015 to move a monument to Tereshkova inLviv, Ukraine to the Territory of Communist Terror Memorial Museum. Monuments of communist leaders are removed from the public and placed in the museum as part of decommunization efforts.[134] In January 2021, 24 Ukrainian streets were still named after Tereshkova; including a street inBusk, located inthe same province as Lviv.[135] As of 2023, these streets have acquired new names, and there are no more objects named after Tereshkova in Ukraine.[136] The monument to Tereshkova in Lviv was dismantled in November 2023 and transferred to the Museum of Totalitarian Regimes.[137]
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^ab"Inductee Profile". International Space Hall of Fame :: New Mexico Museum of Space History. Retrieved2 July 2019.
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^Randall, Margaret (1975). ""We Need a Government of Men and Women ...!" Notes on the Second National Congress of the Federacion de Mujeres Cubanos, November 25–29, 1974".Latin American Perspectives.2 (4): 114, 117.doi:10.1177/0094582X7500200408.ISSN0094-582X.JSTOR2633222.S2CID145264572.
^Kuprina, Nadya (30 December 2020)."How Pierre Cardin Fell in Love with Soviet Russia".Russia Beyond. Retrieved6 June 2025.His first trip was in...1963, as part of a delegation of cultural workers....He openly admitted that his revolutionary female outfits resembling spacesuits were conceived in his mind from photographs of Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space. His Space collection...became emblematic of his work and the development of 1960s fashion as a whole.
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