In the last century, it was believed that the female body could not withstand space overloads. One can only guess how much strength and courage it took the first female astronauts to conquer the Universe.
Gull
For the first time, the vastness of the Universe was submitted to a Soviet woman. It was Valentina Nikolaevna Tereshkova. She made a space flight in 1963. For three days in space her call sign sounded - "Seagull". During this time, Tereshkova orbited the Earth as many as 48 times.
The female cosmonaut corps was created on the initiative of Sergei Korolev. Applicants were selected carefully. Several flights of female space crews were planned. Unfortunately, plans have changed over time. From Detachment 1, only Valentina Tereshkova visited space.
It was no coincidence that she became an astronaut. Tereshkova was fond of parachuting. She had the first category. The girl had 163 jumps on her account.
Valentina grew up in a working class family. She herself worked as a weaver in a factory. When choosing a candidate for the first flight, this factor played a decisive role. After all, she did not have a special education at that time. Preparation for the flight lasted a whole year. At that time, the astronaut could not control the spacecraft. The flight was automatic. However, among experts there was an opinion that the female body would not be able to withstand space overloads. The female pilot will die.
Valentina was preparing for space travel. Weightlessness training was especially grueling. They took place on a MiG-15 plane. When he performed a special aerobatic figure, weightlessness arose in the cabin for only 40 seconds. At this time, Tereshkova was performing another task. And so 3-4 times per workout.
Today one can only guess how much strength and courage it took this fragile girl during the launch of the ship and the flight. According to the recollections of colleagues, she acted calmly and clearly. I coped with the task, justified the trust.
First in outer space
The second famous Soviet woman-cosmonaut was Svetlana Savitskaya. She was a military pilot. She was admitted to the cosmonaut corps in 1980. She made her first space flight in October 1982 on the Soyuz T-5 and Soyuz T-7 spacecraft.
And in 1984, Savitskaya was the first of the women to go into outer space. She was outside the ship for 3 hours and 35 minutes. The country appreciated the courage of Svetlana Savitskaya: she is twice a Hero of the Soviet Union.
Brave women
Russian woman cosmonaut Elena Kondakova became famous for the first time she made a long flight. She spent 169 days in space. During the second flight, she took part in the docking of the American shuttle with the Mir orbital complex. Kondakova is the Hero of the Russian Federation.
American Anna Lee Fisher, traveled to space in 1984. Her compatriot Christa McAuliffe flew into space, but did not become an astronaut. The Challenger spacecraft did not overcome gravity, exploded in 73 seconds of flight. The crew was killed. In total, 45 American women have visited space.
