I shared this video on my blog last year that makes me cry every time I see it. I have now profiled each woman in this commercial, but there are so many more amazing women to share. I am adding my own list of inspiring women who have inspired me and made me want to be a stronger, more brave, force for good in this world. I plan on sharing these stories with my daughters.
VALENTINA TERESHKOVA
First woman in Space
Valentina Tereshkova was born to a peasant family in Maslennikovo, Russia, in 1937. Her father was a tractor driver and her mother worked in a textile plant. She began work at a textile factory when she was 18, and at age 22 she made her first parachute jump under the auspices of a local aviation club. Her enthusiasm for skydiving brought her to the attention of the Soviet space program, which sought to put a woman in space in the early 1960s as a means of achieving another “space first” before the United States.
As an accomplished parachutist, Tereshkova was well equipped to handle one of the most challenging procedures of a Vostok space flight: the mandatory ejection from the capsule at about 20,000 feet during reentry. In February 1962, she was selected along with three other woman parachutists and a female pilot to begin intensive training to become a cosmonaut.
On the morning of 16 June 1963, Tereshkova and her back-up Solovyova were both dressed in spacesuits and taken to the launch pad by bus. After completing her communication and life support checks, she was sealed inside the Vostok. After a two-hour countdown, Vostok 6 launched faultlessly, and Tereshkova became the first woman in space. She was 26 years old.
Although Tereshkova experienced nausea and physical discomfort for much of the flight, she orbited the earth 48 times and spent almost three days in space. With a single flight, she logged more flight time than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown before that date. Tereshkova also maintained a flight log and took photographs of the horizon, which were later used to identify aerosol layers within the atmosphere.
The United States did not send a woman into space until 1983, 20 years after Valentina's flight.
After her flight, Tereshkova studied at the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy and graduated with distinction as a cosmonaut engineer. In 1977 she earned a doctorate in engineering.
In 2007 Tereshkova was invited to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's residence for the celebration of her 70th birthday. While there she said that she would like to fly to Mars, even if it meant that it was a one way trip.
*To read all posts in my BRAVE WOMEN series click here.
As an accomplished parachutist, Tereshkova was well equipped to handle one of the most challenging procedures of a Vostok space flight: the mandatory ejection from the capsule at about 20,000 feet during reentry. In February 1962, she was selected along with three other woman parachutists and a female pilot to begin intensive training to become a cosmonaut.
On the morning of 16 June 1963, Tereshkova and her back-up Solovyova were both dressed in spacesuits and taken to the launch pad by bus. After completing her communication and life support checks, she was sealed inside the Vostok. After a two-hour countdown, Vostok 6 launched faultlessly, and Tereshkova became the first woman in space. She was 26 years old.
Although Tereshkova experienced nausea and physical discomfort for much of the flight, she orbited the earth 48 times and spent almost three days in space. With a single flight, she logged more flight time than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown before that date. Tereshkova also maintained a flight log and took photographs of the horizon, which were later used to identify aerosol layers within the atmosphere.
The United States did not send a woman into space until 1983, 20 years after Valentina's flight.
After her flight, Tereshkova studied at the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy and graduated with distinction as a cosmonaut engineer. In 1977 she earned a doctorate in engineering.
In 2007 Tereshkova was invited to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's residence for the celebration of her 70th birthday. While there she said that she would like to fly to Mars, even if it meant that it was a one way trip.
*To read all posts in my BRAVE WOMEN series click here.
1 comment
This is awesome. I've never heard her name!
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