"Sky, take off your hat!"- with these words the first flight of a woman-cosmonaut into orbit started 16 June 1963 of the year. The flight on the Vostok-6 spacecraft lasted almost three days, all this time Valentina Tereshkova was alone in an unknown and mysterious space. Today is the first woman astronaut, major general of aviation, Hero of the Soviet Union celebrates her birthday - she turned 84 of the year. About, how an assembly shop cutter became an astronaut, - in the material FAN.
From cutter to astronaut
Valentina Tereshkova was born in the village of Maslennikovo, Tutaevsky district, Yaroslavl region. Her father worked as a tractor driver and died during the Soviet-Finnish war. Mother worked on a collective farm, and after the end of the war she moved to Yaroslavl and got a job at the plant of technical fabrics "Krasny Perekop".
Tereshkova graduated from a seven-year school in 1953 year, evening school for working youth in 1955, and then the Yaroslavl correspondence college of light industry in 1960 with a degree in cotton spinning technician. FROM 1954 of the year, the future cosmonaut worked at the Yaroslavl tire plant in the assembly shop as a cutter, and then she became a roving maker in a ribbon-stitching shop at a fabric combine. In her youth, Tereshkova became interested in parachuting and made 163 jump.
For the chief designer Sergei Korolev the woman's flight into space was absolutely natural and did not raise doubts. AT 1962 year began the search for applicants, as a result, five candidates were selected, including Valentina Tereshkova.
Initially, the simultaneous flight of two female crews was supposed, however in March 1963 years this plan was abandoned. In March 1963 Tereshkova was chosen for the first flight. According to some reports, when making a decision, social aspects were also taken into account - Tereshkova was from a family of workers and socially active.
Flight of the "Seagull"
Tereshkova's flight on the Vostok-6 spacecraft started 16 June 1963 years from the Baikonur cosmodrome. During the flight, she took the call sign "Seagull" - it was invented by Yuri Gagarin.
Before the start Tereshkova quoted a poem Vladimir Mayakovsky "A cloud in pants": "Hey, sky, take off your hat!»
"As soon as the start command went, a rocket went - it involuntarily escaped ", - said Tereshkova.
The main task of the flight was to compare the responses to weightlessness of male and female organisms - no significant differences were found. However, a significant difference was in appetite - Tereshkova ate almost nothing during the flight..
As it turned out, the flight of the first female astronaut did not go perfectly. Decades later, Tereshkova told, that there was a mistake in the automatic program of the ship, so instead of, to implement the descent system, its orbit, in front of, rose. Fortunately, the error was corrected.
Political and social activities
FROM 1966 of the year Valentina Tereshkova is active in state and public activities. To 1987 of the year she headed the Committee of Soviet Women, was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and even a member of the World Peace Council.
AT 2011 year Tereshkova was elected State Duma deputy from "United Russia", and in 2012 she was approved for the post of deputy head of the State Duma committee on international affairs.
Author: Anna Kovaleva
