Tereshkova Valentina - biography, facts from life, photographs, background information. Biography of Valentina Tereshkova: the path to a brilliant career, personal life Biography of astronaut Tereshkova briefly

Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova inscribed her name in golden letters in the history of astronautics. Indeed, human flight space- by no means an ordinary event that can impress the whole world. Especially if this cosmonaut is a fragile woman, such a step in the eyes of the public looks like a feat!

Childhood and parents

The future world celebrity was born in the village of Maslennikovo, Tutaevsky district Yaroslavl region March 6, 1937 Her family was completely absorbed in working in the field Agriculture. Valya's father, Vladimir Aksenovich Tereshkov, realized himself in the difficult work of a tractor driver. Mother worked on a collective farm, at a textile factory.

In young age

Tereshkova's childhood was quite difficult, as it fell on the war years, when misfortune, devastation and despair reigned around. And given the fact that in 1939 her father died at the front during the Soviet-Finnish military conflict, indeed, the future celebrity experienced a very difficult period of life then.

Little Valyusha went to school for the first time in 1945, just after the victorious completion of the Great Patriotic War. But taking into account the rather difficult financial situation in her family, she was forced in 1955, immediately after finishing the seventh grade, to leave her studies and get a job at a tire factory located in the city of Yaroslavl.

However, the girl nevertheless graduated from high school, enrolling in the evening department, the general program of which at that time comprehended the majority of Soviet people.

Career

It already happened, perhaps even by the will of fate, that at the age of 17, Tereshkova signed up and went willingly to the Yaroslavl flying club. Skydiving, which was often practiced there, she liked. IN total Valentina Vladimirovna performed 163 jumps from an airplane, which is a very solid indicator, especially for a woman. Tereshkova even received a sports category for success in parachuting.

Parachuting managed to attract the attention of Valentina Vladimirovna so much that she could no longer stop doing it. And it was thanks to this hobby that her difficult and rather thorny path to the astronaut team began.

After successfully graduating from the evening school, Valentina enters the correspondence department of the technical school of light industry. Here the learning process lasted 5 years, from 1955 to 1960.
Entering the Krasny Perekop enterprise in 1960, Tereshkova immediately became a secretary Komsomol organization. I was able to successfully work in this position for two years.

Back in 1962, the famous rocket and space technology designer Sergei Korolev first voiced the idea of ​​sending a woman to conquer space. This idea was approved at the level of senior management of the then ruling communist party.

After that, a thorough search for the most suitable candidate for translating this bold idea into reality has already begun.

However, the process of choosing a female astronaut was quite difficult. The main requirements were presented to all the participants: the candidate had to go in for parachuting without fail, her height should be up to 170 centimeters, and her weight should not exceed 70 kilograms.

Among the main candidates for astronauts, 5 girls were initially selected, among whom was Tereshkova. All the girls started daily grueling workouts, during which it became clear that Valentina Tereshkova was the most suitable candidate for space flight.

And then came June 16, 1963 - a significant day for Tereshkova. That's when she's on board spaceship"Vostok-6" launched towards the unknown and mysterious space distances. The flight took more than two days and all this time Valentina was in a state of weightlessness, having made 48 turns around the planet Earth!

At the end of the program, the Vostok-6 spacecraft landed in the Baevsky district of the Altai Territory. For such a high achievement in the field of astronautics, as well as for the persistence and perseverance shown to the whole world in achieving the intended goal, Tereshkova received honorary title"Hero Soviet Union". In addition, the first female cosmonaut in history was awarded the Order of Lenin, as well as the Gold Star medal.

Until the last moment, the relatives of Valentina Vladimirovna could not imagine that she would be able to conquer space! News about Tereshkova's grandiose flight that excited the whole public, they could hear only on the radio!

The astronaut tried to hide her true intentions from them, saying at the same time that she was going to parachute jumping competitions. As the astronaut herself later admitted, the motive for her actions was dictated by the fact that she was afraid of the experiences of her relatives, and therefore tried to protect them from these emotions.

In the history of world cosmonautics, Tereshkova's flight was the only time when a woman alone was able to carry out such an extraordinary act!

After her famous flight, Tereshkova works as an instructor in the field of astronautics, is a tester of spacecraft. In 1964 she entered the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy, in 1969 she graduated with honors, which included the profession "pilot-cosmonaut-engineer".

During her studies, Valentina Vladimirovna was able to write more than 50 scientific papers in her specialization.

However, since 1966, Tereshkova has been actively immersed in social work. Thanks to her, the cosmonaut was able to receive a huge number of various awards, was awarded many recognitions both in the Soviet Union and far beyond its borders.

In the period from 1968 to 1987, Valentina Vladimirovna worked in the high position of chairman of the Committee of Soviet Women. After that, Tereshkova takes the post of head of the Presidium of the Union Soviet society friendship and culture of connection with foreign countries where she worked until 1992.

Since 1992, Tereshkova has been the main presidium Russian Association international cooperation, and already in 1995 - Valentina Vladimirovna becomes the chairman of the Interdepartmental Council for the coordination of activities Russian centers Sciences.

But since 1997, Tereshkova has been working at the Cosmonaut Training Center, where she holds the position of senior researcher.

Since 2008, Tereshkova has been a member of the State Duma of Russia.

Personal life and children of Valentina Tereshkova

Living ordinary earthly life, Tereshkova in 1963 marries Andriyan Grigoryevich Nikolaev, at that time also a well-known cosmonaut. Soon, in 1964, they have a daughter, Elena. However, 1974 became a separation year for Valentina Vladimirovna and Nikolaev, the family broke up, the couple divorced. She already remarried Yuli Shaposhnikov, who died in 1999.>

With Andrian Nikolaev and daughter Alena. 1967

Valentina Tereshkova was born on March 6, 1937 into a peasant family in the village of Bolshoe Maslennikovo, Yaroslavl Region. Her father was a tractor driver, her mother was a textile factory worker. Drafted into the Red Army in 1939, Tereshkova's father died in the Soviet-Finnish war.

In 1945, the girl entered secondary school number 32 in the city of Yaroslavl, seven classes of which she graduated in 1953. To help the family, in 1954 Tereshkova went to work at a tire factory, at the same time enrolling in evening classes at a school for working youth. Continuing to work at a textile mill, from 1955 to 1960 she passed distance learning at the College of Light Industry.

In March 1962, Tereshkova joined the CPSU.

While still working and studying at a technical school, the future first female cosmonaut became interested in the sky - while studying at a local flying club, she made 163 parachute jumps. However, the girl wanted to fly - and she achieved admission to the first female cosmonaut squad, where, in particular, she was taught to fly an airplane. Tereshkova was enrolled in the cosmonaut corps on March 12, 1962 and remained in it until April 28, 1997.

"The load of the women's group of five people was greater than that of the men," Tereshkova recalled, specifying that in general the training system in those years was excessively rigid. But everyone "had one crazy idea - by all means, irreproachably undergo training and fly off."

Tereshkova's flight on the Vostok-6 spacecraft in near-Earth orbit, together with the Vostok-5 spacecraft piloted by Valery Bykovsky, lasted two days 22 hours and 50 minutes.

Colonel Nikolai Kamanin, who was involved in the selection and training of cosmonauts, described Tereshkova's launch in his book Hidden Space.

“The preparation of the rocket, the ship and all maintenance operations were exceptionally clear. Tereshkova’s launch reminded me of Gagarin’s launch in terms of the clarity and coherence of the work of all services and systems. As on April 12, 1961, on June 16, 1963, the flight was prepared and started perfectly. During the preparation of the launch and launch of the ship into orbit, those who listened to her reports on the radio were unanimously declared to Tereshkov: "She launched better than Popovich and Nikolaev." Yes, I am very glad that I was not mistaken in choosing the first female cosmonaut, "notes Kamanin.

Her name was Chaika. It was her call sign in space. And on Earth, on the roof of her house, there is a weather vane in the form of this bird. Her mansion is located next to Star City. At one time, she was able to make a space flight alone. She is Valentina Tereshkova. Read the details of the flight into space of this fragile woman in the article.

Difficult military childhood

The biography of Valentina Tereshkova began in the spring of 1937 in one of the villages of the Yaroslavl province. Her parents were from Belarus. The mother of the astronaut worked at a textile enterprise, and her father was a tractor driver. Unfortunately, her dad died during the Soviet-Finnish conflict. Accordingly, the entire household and the upbringing of three children fell on the shoulders of the mother. Moreover, the Great Patriotic War soon began.

Undoubtedly, the childhood of little Valya turned out to be very difficult. Devastation and despair reigned in the country.

When this terrible war ended, the future astronaut went to first grade. She studied quite well. In addition, she had a good ear for music. That is why she began to learn to play the domra.

However, when she finished the seventh grade, she had to go to night school. She was forced to help her mother and earn money. Thus, young Valentina moved to Yaroslavl and got a job there at a tire factory.

When she graduated from high school, she entered the technical school of light industry. Of course, within these walls she comprehended science in absentia, like most young people in those days.

Aeroclub in Yaroslavl

Becoming a student, on the weekends Valentina began to visit the city flying club. Skydiving was practiced in this institution. And she really liked these lessons.

In general, the future cosmonaut completed more than 160 jumps. By and large, this was a solid indicator, especially for the fairer sex. Valentina was even assigned a sports category.

In fact, she could no longer imagine herself without parachuting. And thanks to this hobby, he began to join the team of space explorers.

In the cosmonaut corps

After graduating from a technical school, and this happened in 1960, Valentina got a job at a factory called Krasny Perekop. In addition to the direct working process, she headed the Komsomol organization there.

In a word, her life and career seemed to develop according to the standard scenario for a Soviet person. However, chance intervened in this story. The fact is that in 1962, Academician Sergei Korolev intended to send a woman into space. Of course, this idea was also approved by the members Central Committee first Soviet state, including General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev.

To implement a bold plan, the project leaders began to look for a suitable candidate. We note right away that there were a lot of people who wanted to go into space. Space industry workers had to search for applicants from hundreds of possible ones.

At the same time, strict requirements were imposed on all participants in the selection. Representatives of the weaker sex should weigh no more than 70 kg, height - 170 cm. In addition, these girls should have a decent amount of skydiving in their assets.

There was another important factor as well. When choosing, leaders took into account a number of aspects of ideological and political literacy. They also considered the candidates' ability to public activities. As a parachuting sportswoman and head of the factory Komsomol organization, Tereshkova, in principle, was an ideal contender. She fit all criteria. In a word, she was considered an ideologically reliable person.

As a result, five girls were chosen for a woman-managed flight into space. Of course, Tereshkova was one of them. All of them were officially called up for military service. They became privates and began to train hard. And the conditions in the classroom were quite tough. Let's say they had to spend ten whole days in a sound chamber.

They say that the project leaders chose Tatyana Morozycheva as a result. By the way, Valentina worked with her at the Yaroslavl club. And she made more parachute jumps than Tereshkova.

Be that as it may, the members of the last medical board found out that Tatyana was pregnant. Thus, it finally became clear that Valentina would go into space after all.

Flight

When she realized that she would soon be in space, she tried to hide her plans from her family. She said then that she was going to leave for the next parachuting competition.

So in what year did Valentina Tereshkova fly? The event took place in the middle of the summer of 1963. Her call sign was Seagull. The launch of Vostok-6 went without problems. The first space flight of Valentina Tereshkova lasted more than two days. During this time, the device made 48 orbits around the Earth.

The woman endured the space voyage rather badly. The duration of Valentina Tereshkova's flight in space is 70 hours. But they turned out to be literally hell for her.

As it turned out, there was an inaccuracy in the Vostok-6 automatic program. The fact is that the ship was oriented somewhat differently than it should have been. And Tereshkova did not approach the planet at all, but moved away from it. She was nauseated, her head was spinning. At the same time, the spacesuit was not allowed to be removed. On the second day of the flight, my lower leg began to hurt.

Valentina Tereshkova in space was forced to drastically limit her movements. She sat almost motionless. However, she still managed to put new data into the computer. By the way, she did not tell anyone about this state of emergency, except for the flight leaders. Actually, Korolev himself then asked her to remain silent.

The problems that the astronaut had had had an explanation in terms of physiology. They say that when the medical commission examined her before the flight, the results were very bad. However, at the direction of Khrushchev, she was still allowed to go on a flight.

Be that as it may, despite her physical condition during the flight into space, Tereshkova Valentina Vladimirovna was able to withstand all the tests. She managed not only to regularly keep a journal on board, but also to take pictures. Subsequently, these images were useful in further space travel. In a word, she held on and sent extremely positive reports to Earth.

Landing

The spacecraft landed in Altai. True, when, after a flight into space, Valentina Tereshkova (year - 1963) ejected, she hit her helmet very hard. She received a large bruise on her temple and cheek. As a result, when she was found, she was practically unconscious.

IN urgently she was brought to the capital and hospitalized. And a little later, doctors reported that the life and health of the first female cosmonaut was out of danger.

When she finally came to her senses, the newsreel staff managed to make a staged shooting. As if after the flight into space, Valentina Tereshkova (date of the event - June 16, 1963) was in the apparatus. Extras ran towards him. Then they opened the lid and saw a cheerful and smiling Tereshkova. These shots then circled the entire planet.

Subsequently, as a reward, Tereshkova was given a three-room apartment in her homeland, in Yaroslavl. Here she lived for almost three years, after which she finally settled in the capital.

Symbol woman

The seagull actually returned from space as a female symbol. The fairer sex began to imitate her. They did haircuts under Tereshkova. appeared in stores wrist watch with the name "Seagull".

Party leaders constantly invited her to the Kremlin receptions. A row public organizations included it in the meetings.

The government gave her, in addition to the Hero's star, prestigious awards. She became the only Soviet army female general. In addition, she became the hero of such republics as Mongolia and Bulgaria.

She also received the title The greatest woman twentieth century." A small planet, streets in cities, the Evpatoria embankment, a square in Tver, city schools, a museum and a planetarium were named in her honor. In addition, one of the lunar craters was named after her.

Public figure

After the flight into space, Valentina Tereshkova (you already know the date of the event) began working as an instructor and tester of spacecraft.

Two years later, she began studying at the Air Force Academy and five years later received a red diploma.

During her studies, she wrote almost fifty working papers in this specialization. But since 1966, she has been actively engaged in social activities. She became a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. She was also the second person in the International Women's Federation. It was then that she began to be called the Iron Lady.

To be honest, Tereshkova was very burdened by this party load. She said that she did not receive any money for her social work. And always dreamed of a new flight. She even tried to break into a new detachment of astronauts. However, after the death of Gagarin, the Soviet government decided to protect the "first".

Valentina continued to be interested in space. She dreamed of flying to Mars. At the same time, she understood that this flight would be one way ...

In the 90s, she was the head of the Association for International Cooperation and the Council for the Coordination of the Activities of Russian Science Centers.

And at the end of this decade, she began working at the Cosmonaut Training Center. She received the post of senior researcher there.

Present time

Since 2008, Tereshkova has collaborated with the United Russia party. She was a member of the State Duma. She always helped her Yaroslavl school and some other children's institutions. Thanks to her, a university, a planetarium and a river station were opened in Yaroslavl.

In the spring of 2008, she turned out to be the torchbearer of the domestic stage of the games in Beijing.

Three years later, she again became the people's choice.

In 2014, she carried the Russian flag at the Sochi Olympics.

And in 2015, she headed a non-profit charitable foundation called "Memory of Generations".

In 2016, she Once again won the election race, becoming a deputy State Duma.

Orbital marriage

Five months after the landmark flight into space, Valentina Tereshkova (year - 1963) got married. Her chosen one was cosmonaut Andrian Nikolaev. This move came as a surprise to many. At least the residents of Yaroslavl knew that she allegedly had a fiancé. True, the journalists could not find him.

Be that as it may, the 35-year-old cosmonaut Nikolaev was actually courting the young Valentina. She was then twenty-six. Many believed that this relationship would not last long. They were too different - strong and strong-willed. They say that the head of the Soviet state Nikita Khrushchev himself betrothed them. There was no such stellar, cosmic, orbital pair back then. But this marriage still lasted for nineteen years.

The couple also had their first child - daughter Lena. At one time, she graduated with honors from both school and medical school. She works as an orthopedic surgeon. She has two sons - Alexey and Andrey.

In the late 70s, the space couple began to appear less frequently together. Divorce was out of the question. For for "immorality" Nikolaev could easily be fired from the cosmonaut corps. Moreover, in fact, then two applicants for astronauts were expelled due to divorces. Yes, and Tereshkova, the head of the Committee, is somehow uncomfortable being in a state of divorce.

They say Brezhnev saved the situation. He personally agreed to this divorce. By this time, Tereshkova was in love again.

Second marriage

With a new chosen one, Valentina Tereshkova, whose photo you have the opportunity to see in the article, met back in 1978. By this time, she was again in the cosmonaut corps and hoped that she would go on her new space journey. And Julius Shaposhnikov served in the medical academy in those days. He checked the health of the astronauts. Employees called him "hard worker" and "humble". And Valentina herself always also spoke warmly about him.

Then it was clear that they were in love. They say that because of the new novel, Shaposhnikov left his family.

They lived together for nearly two decades. During this time, Tereshkova's husband was able to head the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics. He also became a major general. But in 1999 he died due to cancer.

recent history

On this moment Tereshkova has practically no close people left. There was a time, she loved her native very much younger brother. His name was Vladimir. He worked as a cameraman in Star City. A few years ago he was gone.

Mom Valentina is also long gone. Until the last, she was looking for her father. As mentioned earlier, he died during the Soviet-Finnish war. It was known that he died a heroic death on the territory of the Karelian Isthmus. But his grave, of course, did not exist then. And only in the late 80s, the head of the defense department, D. Yazov, helped her find his burial place. He was able to allocate funds to fly around the area. As a result, a mass grave was found in the forest. Tereshkova was even able to erect a monument there. Since then, she regularly visits this place.

Despite her age, she still boasts of her good health. Although in 2004 she underwent heart surgery. Otherwise, she would have suffered a heart attack.

Until recently, Chaika continues to do a lot for his native region. And in 1996, the head of the school where she studied fell ill. At this point, the teacher needed an urgent operation. Thanks to Valentina, she was operated on in the capital. And for free.

At the woman-symbol big connections. However, little is known about this side of her life. In the 80s, she "closed" from the media because of the stupidest articles about her. Her silence was broken only a few years ago.

Valentina Tereshkova is the first woman to go into space. To this day, she remains the only woman in the world who went on a space flight alone, without assistants and partners. She also became the first woman in Russia to be awarded the rank of major general. It was in this rank that Tereshkova retired in 1997, at the age of sixty. Valentina Tereshkova forever inscribed her name in the history of the Soviet Union, Russia and the whole world.

Childhood and youth

The biography of this woman begins in the village of Bolshoye Maslennikovo, Yaroslavl Region. Valentina's parents were Belarusian peasants. The mother of the future conqueror of outer space worked at a textile enterprise, and her father was a tractor driver. He participated in battles during Soviet-Finnish war and died.

Young Tereshkova attended the Yaroslavl school, received high marks, and also learned to play the dombra (the girl had a good ear for music). Completing the basic seven-year school education, she decided to help her mother in the maintenance of the family and got a job as a bracelet in the Yaroslavl tire plant. However, the purposeful girl was not going to give up her education: she combined work with studies at an evening school.

The next stage in the life of Valentina Vladimirovna also did not foreshadow the heights that she was to achieve. So, she studied in absentia at the technical school of light industry and worked for seven years as a weaver at a nearby plant called Krasny Perekop. At this time, Tereshkova began to get involved in parachuting. She gladly went to the local flying club and fearlessly jumped from great heights.

astronautics

Valentina's new hobby sealed her fate. By a happy coincidence, just at that time, a Soviet scientist set about trying to send a woman into space. The idea was accepted favorably, and at the beginning of 1962, the search began for that representative of the fair sex, who was to receive the proud title of "astronaut". The criteria were as follows: a parachutist under the age of 30, weighing up to 70 kg, height up to 170 cm.

There were surprisingly many Soviet women who wanted to go into space. Workers in the Soviet cosmonautics industry were looking for the ideal candidate from hundreds of candidates. As a result of a tough selection, five "finalists" were determined: Irina Solovieva, Tatyana Kuznetsova, Zhanna Yorkina, Valentina Ponomareva and Valentina Tereshkova.

The girls were officially called up for military service, received the rank of privates and began to train hard. Initially, Tereshkova went through a training program with the rank of student-cosmonaut of the second detachment, but already in 1962, having successfully passed the exams, she became an astronaut of the first detachment of the first department.

The training included techniques for developing the body's resistance to the peculiarities of space flight. So, for example, the girls learned to move in weightlessness, tested the body's resources in a thermal chamber and an isolation chamber, performed parachute training, and mastered the use of a spacesuit. Training in the isolation chamber (a room isolated from external sounds) lasted for 10 days. Each of the five contenders for the role of the first female cosmonaut spent 10 days in the illusion of complete silence and loneliness.

When choosing the applicant who was to make the planned flight, the following was taken into account:

• training, level of practical training, knowledge of theory, results of medical examinations;
• origin (the fact that Valentina Vladimirovna was from a simple working family, who lost her breadwinner during the war, played into her hands);
• ability to lead social activities glorifying the communist party.

If the other candidates were not inferior to Tereshkova on the first two points, then she had no equal in public speaking skills. Valentina Vladimirovna easily communicated with journalists and other people, gave concise and natural answers to questions, while not forgetting to screw in a few words about the greatness of the Communist Party. In the end, she was chosen as the main candidate for space flight. Irina Solovieva received the status of a backup cosmonaut, and Valentina Ponomareva was appointed as a reserve applicant.

A space flight

The first woman went into space on June 16, 1963. The flight lasted 3 days. Valentina Tereshkova went into space on the Vostok-6 spacecraft, which took off from Baikonur (not from the site from which it launched, but from a backup). The way the first woman-cosmonaut conducted the launch, what reports she voiced, was highly appreciated by specialists. They assured that Tereshkova had a better launch than experienced male cosmonauts.

Soon after the start, Tereshkova's health deteriorated, she moved little, did not eat, and sluggishly negotiated with ground stations. Nevertheless, she lasted three days, 48 ​​revolutions around the Earth, and throughout the flight she regularly kept a logbook.

Some time before the intended landing, the first female astronaut had problems with the spacecraft's equipment. Due to incorrect installation of control wires, Valentina Tereshkova did not manually orient the ship. However, Cosmos 6 was nevertheless oriented and landed on the Earth's surface thanks to the use of automatic mode, in which such a problem did not arise.

At the end of the flight (the ship arrived at Altai region) Valentina Vladimirovna distributed products from her diet local residents, and she ate the traditional food of these places. This, like Tereshkova's poor health, as well as problems with the orientation of the ship, upset Sergei Korolev. He even promised not to let another woman into space until his death. The next such flight took place much later than the departure of a gifted engineer from life.

Subsequent career

Since then, Valentina Tereshkova has not flown into space again. She became an instructor-cosmonaut, worked at the Cosmonaut Training Center as a senior researcher, even graduated from the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy, becoming a professor and writing over five dozen scientific papers. Valentina Vladimirovna declared that she was ready (for a one-way flight).

Tereshkova continues to engage in politics. During the Soviet Union, she was a member of the CPSU, and in the 2000s she was elected a deputy regional duma native Yaroslavl region from the United Russia party. She also participated in the opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympic Games 2014, became President charitable foundation"Memory of Generations" contributed to the opening of the university and a number of other institutions in Yaroslavl.

Personal life

The first husband of the first female cosmonaut was cosmonaut Adrian Nikolaev. The wedding ceremony took place in 1963, and guests of this ceremony can be seen in the photo. The family broke up in 1982, when the daughters of Adrian and Valentina, Elena Tereshkova, turned 18 years old. Subsequently, Tereshkova admitted that in the circle of close people, her husband showed himself to be a despot, which is why their relationship came to naught.

The second husband of Valentina Vladimirovna was Major General of the Medical Service Yuli Shaposhnikov. No children were born in this marriage. But Elena Tereshkova gave the mother of her grandchildren Alexei Mayorov and Andrei Rodionov. It is noteworthy that both Elena's husbands turned out to be pilots. Herself sole heiress Valentina Tereshkova works at CITO as an orthopedic surgeon.

Valentina Vladimirovna celebrated her 80th birthday on March 6, 2017. She is a retired major general, spends a lot of time with her family, and also continues to pursue a political career. So, in 2016, during the next parliamentary elections, Tereshkova was elected to the State Duma. The first female cosmonaut loves her native region very much, strives to help Yaroslavsky orphanage, native school, to improve the city and help open new educational, industrial, infrastructure institutions in it.

Despite her retirement age, Valentina Tereshkova boasts good health. In 2004, she underwent complex heart surgery, otherwise she would have suffered a heart attack. From then on serious problems with the health of Valentina Vladimirovna was not reported, but according to her active labor activity it can be concluded that they do not exist.

• To increase the motivation of the five girls who were contenders for the role of the first female cosmonaut, Sergei Korolev promised that all of them, sooner or later, fly into space. In reality, this did not happen.
• It was originally planned to simultaneously send two women on different spacecraft, but in 1963 this plan was abandoned. Two days before Valentina Tereshkova's flight, Valery Bykovsky went into space on the Vostok-5 spacecraft. He spent 5 days outside our planet. This is a solo flight record that remains to this day.

• The footage of the newsreel that was shown to the Soviet people and the whole world was staged. They were filmed a day after Valentina Vladimirovna's real arrival on Earth, since in the first hours after her return she felt very unwell and was hospitalized.

In the history of world cosmonautics, Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova to this day remains the only woman who was able to make a solo space flight. She closes the top ten cosmonauts of the world, and among Russian cosmonauts she is number 6.

Childhood and youth of the first woman astronaut

Tereshkova Valentina Vladimirovna was born on March 6, 1937 in the Yaroslavl region in a village that does not exist on modern map Russia. Her parents were from Belarus. Father, Vladimir Aksenovich, worked as a tractor driver. He died during the Finnish war in 1939. Mother, Elena Fedorovna, after the death of her husband moved to the city and got a job at a textile factory. In addition to Vali, the family had elder sister and younger brother.

As children, they all spoke Belarusian well. In the first post-war year of 1945, she began to study at the Yaroslavl high school 32, which now bears her name. After graduating from the seven-year plan, she gets a job in the assembly shop of the Yaroslavl tire plant and at the same time studies at an evening school. In 1955, Valentina receives a secondary education and comes to work as a weaver at the Krasny Perekop textile factory, complementing the family dynasty. After all, her mother and older sister had already worked here.

At the same time, she begins to study at the Yaroslavl flying club and performs more than 90 parachute jumps. A girl striving for knowledge enters the technical school of light industry in absentia and successfully completes it. Having received a secondary special education, Valentina Tereshkova becomes the released secretary of the Komsomol committee at her native plant. She has a wide range of career opportunities.

The girl is strong-willed, purposeful and ambitious, in good sense words, an athlete, a parachutist, from a family of workers, turned out to be the most suitable candidate for enrollment in the cosmonaut corps when the Soviet government decided to get ahead of America and be the first to send a woman cosmonaut into space orbit.

Detachment of astronauts

In the cosmonaut corps, out of several hundred candidates, there were only five girls, and among them Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova. The selection criteria for future cosmonauts were very strict - age should not exceed 30 years, height 170 cm, and weight - 70 kg. The data of Valentina Vladimirovna corresponded to all the main and additional parameters, so the girl, among the other applicants, was called up for an urgent military service in the rank of private.

The girls began serious preparation for a responsible flight in March 1962, and already in November of the same year, Tereshkova passed the final exams on the basics of space flight with "excellent". individual preparation for flight.

Preparing for space flight

The preparation of the first cosmonauts for the flight was very strict, and these strictness applied to women in full measure. No indulgence was made for the weaker sex. It was important to develop the necessary resistance of the human body to the unexpectedness of space flight. A prerequisite was being in a thermal chamber, the temperature in which reached plus 70 Celsius. The ten-day ordeal of loneliness in the isolation chamber was very difficult.

While being in weightlessness, it was necessary to complete certain tasks - write your own name, surname, try to have lunch, negotiate on the radio. Parachute jumps were an important part of pre-flight training, and future cosmonauts made training jumps into the sea in spacesuits that did not fit. In addition to purely physical tests, psychologists worked with the astronauts. It was important not only to perform the flight technically correctly, but also to be stress-resistant, to be able to conduct social work, to be a contact person.

Not last role in determining the final candidacy of a woman - an astronaut, her origin played. The personality of Valentina Tereshkova combined all the criteria, up to the working - peasant position. Therefore, it was she who was recommended as the first woman astronaut.

First woman in space

And on June 16, 1963, the call signs “I am the Seagull” rang out from the space orbit. It was the first woman cosmonaut in the world, a citizen of the USSR, Tereshkova Valentina Vladimirovna, who began her three-day space flight on the Vostok-6 spacecraft. The spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome, from a reserve site, which was prepared with the same care as the flight of the planet's first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin. The head of space flights Kamanin noted that the "Seagull" carried out the launch of the spacecraft no worse than the men who started before it.

"Hey! Sky! Take off your hat! - said this young woman before the start. And the sky obeyed her. She made 48 revolutions around the planet. After the flight, Valentina Tereshkova was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

• After landing, Tereshkova distributed the entire space supply of food to local residents, for which she received a penalty from the command.