Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space
A former textile-factory worker orbits Earth 48 times, alone, aboard Vostok 6
Quick facts
- Agency
- USSR
- Spacecraft
- Vostok 6
- Call sign
- Chaika (Seagull)
- Mission duration
- 2 days, 23 hrs, 12 min
What happened
Valentina Tereshkova, a 26-year-old former textile-factory worker and amateur parachutist, launched aboard Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963, becoming the first woman in space. She had been selected in February 1962 from more than 400 applicants as part of a Soviet program specifically created to ensure the first woman in space would be a Soviet citizen. Using the radio call sign 'Chaika,' meaning seagull, she flew solo for just under three days, two days, 23 hours, and 12 minutes, completing 48 orbits of Earth. During the mission Vostok 5, launched two days earlier with cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky aboard, came within 4.5 kilometers of Tereshkova's capsule, marking the second time two crewed spacecraft were in orbit simultaneously. Both spacecraft landed on 19 June 1963, and Tereshkova was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
Why it matters
Tereshkova remains, decades later, the only woman to have flown a solo space mission; no other woman has flown alone since. Her flight was a genuine spaceflight first, not just a demonstration flight, but the American space program would not put a woman in orbit for another two decades, when Sally Ride flew in 1983.
How we know
The European Space Agency's own retrospective on Tereshkova documents her call sign, mission duration, and selection process; NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center education resource independently corroborates the launch date and spacecraft.
Sources
- European Space Agency. First woman in space: Valentina · Reputable sourceesa.int · The domain "esa.int" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (StarChild). Valentina Tereshkova · Primary source (author-declared)starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
See something wrong? . Corrections with a source get fixed fastest.
Part of a timelineSpace Exploration38 events · From a cabbage field in Massachusetts to a telescope a million miles from EarthView all →