Tereshkova, Valentina Vladimirovna, << teh rehsh KAW vah, `vah` lehn TEE nah vlah DEE mih `rawv` nuh >> (1937-…), a Soviet cosmonaut, became the first woman to travel in space. In the spacecraft Vostok 6, Tereshkova made 48 revolutions around Earth in a 70-hour 50-minute space flight from June 16 to June 19, 1963. Tereshkova orbited Earth once every 88 minutes during her historic journey. She operated her spacecraft by manual controls.
Tereshkova parachuted from the Vostok 6 after reentering Earth’s atmosphere. She landed about 380 miles (612 kilometers) northeast of Qaraghandy (or Karaganda), Kazakhstan, in central Asia.
Tereshkova, the first space traveler with no experience as a test pilot, became interested in parachuting as a hobby. She made more than 125 jumps before volunteering for space-flight training school. Tereshkova also received training as an airplane pilot.
Tereshkova was born on March 6, 1937, in Maslennikovo, in western Russia, near Yaroslavl. She went to work in a textile mill when she was 18 years old. Tereshkova became an active member of the Young Communist League while at the mill. In November 1963, she married cosmonaut Andrian G. Nikolayev.
