Sixty years ago this June, a Soviet factory worker with a passion for parachuting became the first woman to fly in space. Twenty years and two days later, half a world away a tennis-playing astrophysicist followed suit to become the first American woman in space. This month, we take a look back at the flights of Valentina Tereshkova and Sally Ride - two individuals who forged the way for women in space. Yet while one's flight remained something of a one-off with little lasting effect on her nation's space programme, the other's was the start of a step-change in outlook that continues to this day.
Born on 6 March 1937, Valentina Tereshkova was the daughter of a tractor driver who died during World War II. Upon reaching adulthood, Tereshkova worked in a textile factory, continuing to study in her spare time. Unlike most future astronauts, she did not spend her childhood dreaming of space. Instead, it was a different passion that decided her path - parachuting. She began the hobby in 1959 after seeing an advertisement for a local club, and by the early '60s she was jumping competitively.
At the time, the Soviet Union dominated the Space Race. It had successfully put the first man, Yuri Gagarin, into space, but there were concerns that the US might launch a female astronaut just so that they could claim that 'first'.
"We cannot allow that the first woman in space will be American," Nikolai Kamanin, director of cosmonaut training, wrote in his diary, and soon began seeking out potential candidates.
Previous cosmonauts had been drawn from the air force, but with no female pilots, Kamanin instead looked for experienced parachutists. They would need to be under 30, as well as under 5 foot 7 inches (1.7m) in order to fit into the single-person Vostok crew capsules. Tereshkova was one of five women who fitted the criteria and underwent cosmonaut training.
Denne historien er fra June 2023-utgaven av BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 2023-utgaven av BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Could We Find Aliens by Looking for Their Solar Panels?- Designed to reflect ultraviolet and infrared, the panels have a unique fingerprint
Researchers searching for life beyond Earth spend a lot of time thinking about what telltale signs might be detectable astronomically. Forms of unambiguous evidence for the presence of life on another world are known as biosignatures. By extension, techno signatures are indicators of activity by intelligent, civilisation-building life.
Antimatter- In our continuing series, Govert Schilling looks at antimatter, the strange counterpart to most of the matter filling our Universe
Particles and corresponding antiparticles are very much alike, except they have opposite electrical charges. For instance, the antiparticle of the electron - known as the positron - has the same tiny mass, but while electrons carry a negative electrical charge, positrons are positively charged.
Where Have All The Milky Way's Early Stars Gone?- Our Galaxy has a curious lack of pristine stars
The Big Bang produced a Universe filled almost exclusively with hydrogen and helium; all other elements - what astronomers call metals - were produced by stars, supernovae and everything that happens later. So if you can pick out a pristine star with no metals polluting it from among the billions in the Milky Way, then you are likely to have a star dating from our Galaxy's earliest days.
Inside The Sky At Night - Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST
Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST. In July's Sky at Night, we discovered what she's learned since then.
How to stack DSLR data in Siril
Easily combine multiple frames to boost detailin your astro photos
Lunar occultation of Saturn
You'll need to strike a balance on 21 August to capture the Moon covering the ringed planet
How to plot a variable star light curve
A rewarding project to chart stars that change brightness
Smartphone photography with a telescope
Mary Mcintyre explains how to get impressive night-sky images using your phone
Once-a-century solar storm is overdue
If a Carrington Event struck today it would be catastrophic, says Minna Palmroth
The new era of human spaceflight
There's been a step-change in crewed space missions since the dawn of the 21st century. Ben Evans charts its course and looks ahead to future horizons
