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It is 50 years since the Vostok-6 rocket took Valentina Tereshkova to orbit, making her the first ever female to conquer space. RT brings the reconstructed timeline of the Russian's historic mission.
The selection of candidates for the mission began in early 1962. The first female cosmonaut had to meet certain criteria: a parachute jumper, younger than 30, less than 170 cm (5’ 7”) tall, and less than 70kg (154lbs).
Soviet Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, born on March 6, 1937, in the Soviet village of Maslennikovo, Yaroslavl Region
Parents had migrated from Belarus. Father was a tractor-driver, mother worked at a textile plant
Tereshkova became the first woman in space on May 16,1963
Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded on June 22, 1963
First woman in the Russian Army to get a rank of Major-General, 1995 (in retirement since April 1997)
State Duma deputy, member of the majority United Russia party
Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs
Got married to the 3rd Soviet cosmonaut Andrian Nikolaev in November 1963
On June 8, 1964, she gave birth to their daughter Elena - the first child in the world whose parents were both cosmonauts
Divorced since 1982
Finally, out of several hundred candidates, five were selected, including 26-year-old Valentina Tereshkova – a regional champion in skydiving who had 90 jumps under her belt.
On March 12, 1962, Tereshkova became a member of the cosmonaut corps and, along with the other four candidates, began months of tough training which included days spent in the complete silence of a soundproof chamber, zero-gravity tests and exhausting exercises in a heat chamber.
Tereshkova was last on the list of the candidates, but in the 1960s, political factors mattered a lot, and it was the “proletarian” background, which scored her points.
On June 16, 1963, Tereshkova became the first woman in space. She spent almost three days (70 hours 50 minutes) on the Vostok-6 spacecraft, which was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, in present-day Kazakhstan. She orbited the earth 49 times. Another Soviet spacecraft, Vostok-5 piloted by Valery Bykovsky, was in space at the same time.
RT reconstructed the timeline of Tereshkova’s historic flight, based on open sources, Tereshkova’s after-mission report and interviews, and the published diaries of Nikolay Kamanin, assistant commander-in-chief of the Air Force for space missions from 1960 to 1971, who supervised cosmonauts' training.
June 15, 1963
19:00 MSK: The pre-launch team and space industry officials meet with the Vostok-6 crew. Everyone brought Tereshkova flowers and wished her a safe flight.
After the meeting, the girls changed to casual clothes and together with Sergey Korolyov went on board Vostok-6. At night Tereshkova and Solovyova went to the cosmonauts’ house and started to prepare for the launch.
17:00 MSK: Tereshkova meets the pre-launch team. Moscow decides to keep it secret that Tereshkova is an army officer in the first media report about her mission and it was decided that she must be wearing civilian clothes.
In the morning Vostok-6 was placed on the launch pad at Baikonur. The launch of the craft is scheduled for June 16, 12:30 Moscow time.
June 14, 1963
17:00 MSK: Vostok-5 was launched, piloted by Valery Bykovsky, code name Yastreb (Hawk). The flight would continue for about five days, with the cosmonaut landing successfully on June 19, after making 82 orbit passes. He would set a record of space flight duration. During the flight, the pilot would manage various systems of the spacecraft, establish radio connection with the Earth and between the ships and, also, conduct scientific research, mainly focused on how a human body changes in space.
June 10, 1963
22:30 MSK: The launch of Vostok-5 got cancelled due to a series of strong solar flares. It means that radiation in space may rise to a dangerous level for the pilot. It’s the first time a launch is canceled.
June 9, 1963
09:00 MSK: Vostok-5 ship was prepared for the launch.
On the very same day, the cosmonauts and the pre-launch team took a motorboat trip along the Syr Darya River and cooked fish soup together.
June 8, 1963
17:00 MSK: The State Space Commission meeting. The chairman of the commission suddenly asked a question: ‘Should we mention that Tereshkova is an officer when we first announce her flight?” The majority supported introducing her as the Air Force Officer.
It was decided to launch Vostok-6 with a female cosmonaut two days after the launch of Vostok-5 piloted by a male cosmonaut. Under the plan, the man was to spend two days in space alone; then both craft would stay together for three days and land at the same time.
The same day, Tereshkova boarded her Vostok-6 and examined the craft and its equipment together with the lead engineer.
“Tereshkova makes a very good impression on everyone. She treats people equally; she is full of tact and dignity,” Nikolay Kamanin, the man in charge of cosmonauts training, recalled in his diaries.
June 5, 1963
Kamanin held a training session with all cosmonauts, doctors and other specialists to ensure a common understanding of 37 instructions that everyone – both on Earth and in orbit – were obliged to know.
The teams also agreed to introduce code words that could be used in open radio talks during the flights.
For instance, when a cosmonaut reports that “I am feeling fine, the spacecraft’s equipment is working fine” it means a space mission should continue as normal as there are no concerns about health or equipment. When they say “well” instead of “fine” it would mean that a cosmonaut is not really sure they would be able to complete their mission. The word “satisfactory” in a report would mean that the flight should be terminated.
June 4, 1963
The State Space Commission held a meeting on launching the Vostoks spacecraft – their readiness to go into orbit and flight missions. At the gathering, Jr. Lt. Tereshkova was approved to pilot Vostok-6, and Major Bykovsky – Vostok-5.
June 3, 1963
09:00 AM: Tereshkova, Solovyova and Ponomaryova start trying on their spacesuits and adjusting harnesses and chairs. Tereshkova’s code name was Chaika, or Seagull in Russian, and there was a picture of the bird embroidered on the shoulder of her heat-protective suit.
June 1, 1963
10:00 MSK: Tereshkova, her back-ups Irina Solovyova and Valentina Ponomaryova, and a group of 35 people including the first spaceman Yuri Gagarin arrived at Baikonur space launch facility by Antoshin AN-10 plane. Sergey Korolyov and others met them at the site.
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