The history of the space age is less than a century. But during this time, many significant events have occurred. And ahead of us, no doubt, are waiting for grandiose discoveries and interplanetary flights. But even after a hundred years, people will remember the name of the first person flying around the Earth, and what was the name of the first woman flying into space.
The first steps
Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova was born into a peasant family of immigrants from Belarus on March 6, 1937. Her birthplace is the village of B. Maslennikovo, in the Yaroslavl region. Orphaned early, as his father died in the Soviet-Finnish war. And her mother with three children had to move to the regional center. There, Valentine graduated from the seven-year plan, and then evening school. She got a job at the Yaroslavl tire factory - a bracelet. And then for several years she worked at a local mill as a weaver. The girl did not abandon her studies and began to study in absentia in a technical college of light industry. In her free time, she was fond of parachuting.
A chance not to be missed
And everything would go on as usual, but it so happened that Sergei Korolev decided to send the woman into space. The search for candidates has begun. The following criteria were declared: height - not more than one hundred and seventy cm, weight - not more than 70 kg, and the first woman-cosmonaut should be no older than 30 years of age. It would seem pretenders to the sea. But there was another important criterion: parachuting. As a result, Tereshkova’s rivals turned out to be less than a dozen.
Road to space
All the girls participating in the selection were called up for military service. And in 1962, intensified preparations for flight began. Special training was held on the endurance of the body.
The girl was closed for several days in an isolated cell and subjected to high temperatures. Often, future conquerors of heaven were forced to parachute. Valentina passed exams with honors and became an astronaut of Detachment No. 1.
“Take off your hat, heaven!”
They say that Tereshkova was chosen largely for political reasons. Like, from working-peasant youth, his father died in the war. Be that as it may, the experts who followed the selection claim that it started even better than some male astronauts. Her famous phrase said during the launch: “Hey! Sky! Take off your hat! ”, - says that emotionally the girl was perfectly tuned.
The flight of Tereshkova lasted two days, twenty two hours and fifty minutes. This is not to say that this journey was given to the first female astronaut easily. She went into orbit on the Vostok-6 ship. Tereshkova became the tenth astronaut in the history of flights in general and the sixth from the Soviet Union. And, by the way, at that time she was ten years younger than any American astronaut. Having learned that it was approved, the astronaut Valentina Tereshkova already hid this from her relatives, and they already learned about her feat from the news.
As mentioned above, in flight, the girl had a hard time. She often lost orientation in space. This happened due to improper installation of equipment. And Valentina herself had to make the necessary changes. At the request of the Queen, she hid it for forty years. During the flight, the first female astronaut also experienced health problems. According to experts, this is not surprising, since before the start, her physiological indicators were the worst in the group. But, despite this, Tereshkova made forty-eight turns around the Earth on her ship. She took many photos, which later were very useful to scientists. The girl also kept a flight logbook. Do you know the name of the first woman to fly into space, dispatchers and project managers? Her call sign was "The Seagull."
Valentina Tereshkova landed in the Altai Territory. After she was convicted of violating the regime: she shared a secret ration of astronauts with local residents, and she ate their food. It is said that precisely because of this, the woman’s next flight into space took place only nineteen years later.
Praise and honor
As a bonus for the flight, Tereshkova was presented with an apartment in Yaroslavl, where she moved with her mother and daughter after an unsuccessful marriage with another astronaut. It is alleged that the union of A. Nikolaev was fictitious from the beginning. And it was initiated by senior officials of the Soviet Union. But what was the name of the first woman flying into space, married, in reality, only she can tell. Three years later, Tereshkova moved to Moscow. She became the first woman in the rank of major general, and her portrait appeared on one of the coins during her lifetime.
Tereshkova received a myriad of orders and awards not only in our country, but also abroad. She is a Hero of the Soviet Union. Laureate of the Orders of Lenin, the October Revolution and many others. She received the United Nations World Gold Medal. Tereshkova became an honorary citizen of many cities. A crater on the moon was named in her honor . What was the name of the first woman who flew into space, the leaders of other states!
Social activity
After her flight, Valentina Vladimirovna made many trips to other countries where she promoted the Soviet way of life. She became the idol of millions. Valentina showed the world the image of a Soviet woman.
Tereshkova worked for many years in Soviet and Russian public organizations. For 19 years she headed the Committee of Soviet Women. Valentina Vladimirovna was engaged in cultural relations with foreign countries. Since 1995, she has chaired the council, which coordinates the activities of Russian centers of science in other countries of the world. For many years, Tereshkova was in the leadership of the International Federation of Women.
Valentina Vladimirovna is also engaged in political activities. She worked as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from 1966 to 1989. She took part in the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation from the party "Our Home - Russia". Since 1998 he is a member of the editorial board of the journal "Flight".
From 2008 to 2011 was a deputy from the "United Russia" Yaroslavl Regional Duma. And since 2011, Tereshkova is a member of the lower house of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. She is part of a group promoting Christian values. A lot of good deeds were done by a deputy in his native Yaroslavl. With her assistance, a university was opened there, a planetarium and a river station were built. She helps the local orphanage and school where she studied before. So we can say that Valentina Tereshkova continues her grandiose flight ..