60th anniversary of the first woman in space

June 16 () –

This June 16 marks the 60th anniversary of the first flight into space carried out by a woman, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.

Selected among more than four hundred applicants and five finalists to pilot the Vostok 6, Tereshkova, at just 26 years old, piloted the Vostok-6 spacecraft for 70 hours and 50 minutes, achieving 48 laps around the Earth.

“As the rocket took you away from Earth, you felt more united and close to it,” recalled the astronaut when half a century of her feat was completed, who on her return to Earth received numerous honors. As an anecdote, it is said that, in a maneuver, Tereshkova hit her face with the helmet and landed with a conspicuous bruise.

That was the only flight into space that he made and the rest of his life She dedicated herself to being a specialist and astronaut trainerincluding Svetlana Savítskaya, who did not fly into space until 1982, followed by the American Sally Ride in 1983.