Valentina Tereshkova Biography

The first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova was a Russian cosmonaut, who travelled round the earth for three full days. Born in a family of peasants, Valentina lost her father to war and was raised with her other siblings singlehandedly by her mother under hard financial conditions. Later when she worked in a tire factory and cotton mill, she took correspondence courses and received a graduate degree from Light Industry Technical School. She took inspiration from Yuri Gagarin and volunteered for the space program organized by the Soviet government. Because of Valentina’s skills as a trained parachutist, she was absorbed as a cosmonaut. She was chosen among the five women for a single woman-in-space flight and was given an honorary position in Russian air force. Valentina was part of a rigorous training program, but her stubborn persistence paid off. This eminent cosmonaut also went on to complete her doctoral studies in engineering after completing her space missions. She was a hardcore Communist and her feminist views made her join the Soviet Women’s Committee, where she tirelessly worked for betterment of women. Read on to know more about the life, works and achievements of this famous cosmonaut