The history of the space age is less than a century away. But during this time there were many significant events. And ahead of us, no doubt, grandiose discoveries and interplanetary flights are still waiting. But even in a hundred years, people will remember the name of the first man who flew around the Earth, and the name of the first woman who flew into space.
First steps
Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova was born to a peasant family of immigrants from Belarus on March 6, 1937. The place of her birth is the village of B. Maslennikovo, in the Yaroslavl region. She was orphaned early because her father died in the Soviet-Finnish war. And her mother with three children had to move to the regional center. There, Valentina graduated from the seven-year school, and then evening school. She got a job at the Yaroslavl tire plant as a bracelet maker. And then for several years she worked at a local factory as a weaver. The girl did not abandon her studies and began to study in absentia at the technical school of light industry. In her free time, she enjoyed skydiving.
Chance,not to be missed
And everything would have gone on as usual, but it so happened that Sergei Korolev decided to send a woman into space. The search for candidates began. The following criteria were declared: height - no more than one hundred and seventy cm, weight - no more than 70 kg, and the age of the first woman-cosmonaut should have been no older than 30 years. It would seem that there are a lot of contenders. But there was another important criterion: parachuting. As a result, Tereshkova had less than a dozen competitors.
Road to space
All the girls who participated in the selection were called up for military service. And in 1962, intensive preparations for the flight began. Conducted special endurance training.
The girl was locked up for several days in an isolated cell, exposed to high temperatures. Often future conquerors of heaven were forced to parachute. Valentina passed her exams with honors and became a cosmonaut of squad 1.
Take off your hat, sky
They say that Tereshkova was chosen largely for political reasons. Like, from the worker-peasant youth, his father died in the war. Be that as it may, the experts who monitored the selection claim that she started even better than some of the male astronauts. Her famous launch line: “Hey! Sky! Take off your hat!”, - says that emotionally the girl was fine.
Tereshkova's flight lasted two days, twenty-two hours and fifty minutes. Can't say it'sthe journey was easy for the first woman astronaut. She went into orbit on the Vostok-6 spacecraft. Tereshkova became the tenth cosmonaut 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 she was approved, already cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova hid this from her relatives, and they learned about her feat already from the news.
As mentioned above, the girl had a hard time in flight. She often lost her orientation in space. This happened due to improper installation of the 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 he alth 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 orbits around the Earth on her ship. She took many photographs, which were later very useful to scientists. The girl also kept a flight log. Do you know the name of the first woman who flew into space, dispatchers and project leaders? Her call sign was "Seagull".
Valentina Tereshkova landed in the Altai Territory. After that, she was convicted of violating the regime: she shared the secret rations of the astronauts with the locals, and she herself ate their food. They say that it was because of this that the next flight of a woman into space took place only after nineteen years.
Praise and honor
As a bonus for Tereshkova's flightgave 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 very beginning. And it was initiated by the highest officials of the Soviet Union. But what was the name of the first woman who flew into space, married, in fact, 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 Gold Peace 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!
Community activities
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 board, which coordinates the activitiesRussian centers of science in other countries of the world. For many years, Tereshkova was in the leadership of the International Women's Federation.
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 has been a member of the editorial board of Polet magazine.
From 2008 to 2011 was a member of the "United Russia" Yaroslavl Regional Duma. And since 2011, Tereshkova has been a member of the lower house of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. She is part of a group that promotes Christian values. Many good deeds were done by the deputy in her native Yaroslavl. With her assistance, a university was opened there, a planetarium and a river station were built. She helps the local orphanage and the school where she used to study. So we can say that Valentina Tereshkova continues her grandiose flight..
