Valentina (First woman in space)

Valentina (First woman in space)

 Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova was bom in 1937, in a small Ullage near the town of Yarosllavi in the Soviet Union. 

Valentina

She has the honour to be the first woman in the space. Her father was a tractor driver. He was killed during the Second World War when she was just a child. 

A man in space

After the death of her father, her mother who was a milkmaid, moved to Yaroslavi with two small daughters and a baby son and went to work in a textile. When the two sisters left school they joined her mother there. Valentina studied at the same time at a technical institute. 
When she got her diploma from the Institute she was promoted as foreman in the mill. Valentina was so intelligent that in addition to working at the mill she also studied at a technical institute. She was beautiful slim and strong. 
At the age of 22 she joined a parachuting club as she was interested in flying like other girls of her generation. In those days Yuri Gagarin made the first historic flight into space. Then another Russian, Herman Titov became the second cosmonaut. 
This impelled all the youngmen to go into space. Many applied to join the training institute for this purpose, but a few were taken. Valentina was lucky enough to be one of them. She joined in the spring of 1962. In the training school, students were given practical training of different kinds and they had to pass through many tests of body, nerves and intelligence. 
They had to make parachute drops. Valentine did ail these exercises very cooly. One of the toughest exercises was the "wheel’ exercise. She had to sit in a cabin. Fitted with a machine, which spun it round and round at an alarming speed. She had also to remain in the noise and heat chambers. 
She was also trained to sustain the condition of weightlessness. She was also made to sit in a chamber which was quiet and where it was pitch dark. One felt very lonely there. Valentina and her space companion Bykovsky went together to the launching site. She was given the code name "Seagull" while his was "Hawk". He went into space on 14th June, 1963 at 3p.m. and on the 16th, two days later she started her historic flight. 
She had become the first woman cosmonaut in the whole world. Her space ship moved very fast. It gathered speed through stages till it attained the top speed of 19,000 miles an hour. She stayed in space for 71 hours, travelling about 12,50,000 miles and made 49 orbits round the earth. 
On the successful completion of their flight, both Valentina and Bykovsky were given red carpet welcome and were accorded many other distinctions. Later . Valentina married Andiron Nikolayev another cosmonaut Valentina was an intelligent, slim and a smart girl. But physically she was quite strong.
 She was serious by nature and took interest in dancing and music like many other young women of her day. She was also deeply interested in flying. To pursue this interest, she joined a parachuting club and it was here that she was able to show her mettle. Even in her maiden jump she was fearless and confident. All her instructors were full of praise for her. 
Soon she got a first-class-badge as a parachutist. She was also a member of Komosmoi, the communist Youth Organisation, and took part in national activities. It was the historic day of April 12, 1961 about which she had heard in a meeting of Komosomoi. On that day Yuri Gagarin succeeded to be the first man to travel in space. 
The Russians had surpassed the Americans in the race of space-flight. This event gave impetus to all the adventurous young men and women to go into space. Soon after, Herman Titov, arother Russian, circled the earth several times, remaining in orbit ( A ) for a day. After this many young boys and girls desired to become cosmonauts. Many applied, but a few were selected. Valentina was one of those lucky who had been chosen. 
She was put to many tests of body, nerves and intelligence. These were very tough examinations, but she came out successful out of all and finally was given admission to the Cosmonant’s training school in the spring of 1962. 
By that time two Americans, John Glen and Scott Carpenter had also performed their space flight. At the training school Valentina proved to be an excellent student. 
Yuri Gagarin and Herman Titov, both were her instructors at the school and both held the new rank of Space Pilot of the U.S.S.R. 
In one of thief lectures on space medicine a doctor told the trainees at the school, "a woman is more suitable for space-flights than a man. 
The female body is tougher than that of the man and could stand strain better. The distance between the heart and the brain is also shorter,to that she can stand up better to the gravity that drain . She needs less oxygen and food." He was of the view that man’s superior strength was wasted in a spaceship. 
All encouraged Valentina. In this school trainees were also given practical gaining of different kinds. They had to make parachute drops. She remained perfectly cool during all the exercises. One of the exercises was the "wheel" exercise. It was extremely tough. Nobody enjoyed it. While performing this exercise she had to sit in a cabin with a machine that spun jt round and round at an-enormous speed . She was also seated in the noisy and extremely hot chambers. She was also to stand the state of weightlessness.
 One of the chambers in which she had to sit was sound proof which was pitch dark and she felt very lonely. She passed through all these exercises and tests very successfully. She was very happy to know when Major Andiron Likolayey and Colonel Pavel Propovich were sent to fly in space, because after them she was to be sent on her space, journey. The latter was her friend. He went into space on June 9, 1963 and her turn came on the 16th June, 1963. 
 When that thrilling moment of her life arrived, she was clad in a blue linen frock and was looking elegantly beautiful. She put on her three space-suits, boarded Vostok-6. and took off. It was a normal take off. She had become the first woman in the whole world to go into space.
 Her space ship moved very fast. It gathered speed through stages and finally started travelling at 19,000 miles per hour. She was given the call-sign of ’Seagull" while Bykovsky’s was given that of "Hawk". She talked to him on wireless. She sent a full report of what she saw and felt to the scientists below. She simply gasped at the beauty of die eardi she saw from the space ship: She was 135 miles away from the earth at diis time.
 Valentina and Bykoysky were seen on die television in Russia and other countries. Everything went according to the schedule. She was allowed to stay in space for two days more than die scheduled programme. She stayed in space for 72 hours and after travelling 12,50,000 miles and making 49 0rbits round the earth came down on the earth.
 Bykovsky landed 2" hours 'ater. Both of them were given a red carpet welcome and a bronze statue was erected in Moscow. In Leningrad a new scent was put on sale.