valentina tereshkova: voyage to space
Space holds many secrets for scientists to discover. These discoveries help create a
broader understanding of what is beyond the plane earth with the universe being a never-
ending mine for the curious. Technology has been pushed forward with the space age
back in the past century and many countries racing to top one another. It wasn’t less than
60 years ago the first person was put to orbit on earth, and it wasn’t a decade later when
the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova, was selected to go into space.
Valentina Tereshkova was born in the region Yaroslavl of Russia in March 6,
1937.
Born to a peasant family of a tractor driver and a mother who worked in the textile
plant Valentine would have to work from scratch if she ever wanted to be someone in
life. Her father died when she was two, and left Valentina and her mother to fend for
them in a country still under turmoil from the world wards. Poverty was nothing new to
anybody. At age eight she started school but only attended for five years when her
mother needed more help at home (Greene). When she left to work for the textile mills
she applied for amateur parachuting club that was being offered. Afterward she applied
for flight technical school and finished her education. During these years up until
adulthood Valentina would attend several skydiving and parachuting lessons and enjoyed
it so much she began wanting something more than just jumping off planes hundreds of
feet above earth. During work she and her family were at work when the first man was
put in space when her mother commented the next person should be a woman. Valentina
became inspired.
The director or Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev began a campaign as Valentina
entered adulthood. The newly developed space program needed to send a woman into
space to conduct observations about a woman’s biological and mental effect in zero
gravity. As many as five-hundred applications were sent to apply for the program for
only five finalists were allowed the opportunity to participate in the study. Valentina had
to meet requirements of those including being under twenty-three, less than five foot
seven inches, and experience in parachuting and expert knowledge of flight (Learning
Haven). On February 1962 Valentina was chosen of five women to participate in the
space program. Due to her Proletarian background and father being a war hero during the
Finnish Winter War during World War 2 she stood out enough to put her among the
finalists.
Being an expert parachutist Valentina understood the kinds of concepts to work
with when dealing with space and flight. All five women underwent intense months of
training and months of learning about space in the women cosmonaut program. Because
it was during a time when the communist party had many enemies and was looking ways
to one up the United States the entire program was enshrouded in secrecy. She was not
allowed to disclose anything to anyone outside the program and told her mother that
she would be going to a training camp for an elite skydiving team. It was not until the
flight announcement that her mother found out about her daughter’s participation in the
cosmonaut program. It took decades before the other women’s identities were released as
Valentina was the only one among them to go and fly. In order to become a cosmonaut she had to join the Air
Force as an Officer. During her 18 months of training hours included sessions on physical training, rocket
science and spaceship design.
On June 1963, Valentina flew to the moon and became the first woman to travel
to the space. Accompanied by another male astronaut she spend roughly seventy hours
rotating around Earth taking notes on her physical demeanor and conducting observations
on behalf of the cosmonaut program (Greene). She spent three times the total amount
of any astronaut before her and the whole space voyage went smoothly. The point of
sending a woman to space had been to see if they could endure the hardships as well as
men (…). She proved to be able to withstand the physical and emotional stress of space
flight just as any man could before her. After her mission it was not for two decades
before a second woman would be sent up into space.
Valentina arrived home where she was given the medal of the Order of Lenin and
a Hero of the Soviet Union and a big honor to the country for being the first woman in
space. The female cosmonaut program she had undergone training with dis-banned in
1969 ridding the opportunity of the other four women in the original five to go into flight.
It wouldn’t be until 1983 that the US sent its own woman into space (Learning Haven).
Granted she had served put a big gap between the Soviet Union and Russia the country
asked to grant her one wish from them. Valentina asked for her general father’s death
site be commemorated and built a statue upon, which they followed. Later that year after
much push from the news media and co-workers Valentina married another cosmonaut
in 1963 of that same year. Elena their daughter was born to them the following year and
doctors at the time proved to worry about any health issues in regards to having parents
that have served time in space flight. She would grow up to become a doctor and living
today. After Valentina returned she continued her work with the Communist party and
served as a member of the Supreme Soviet, the USSR’s national parliament. Recently she
has lives in Moscow at the age of seventy-six.
The woman strove to get people involved in the Soviet feminist movement. She
fought for equal treatment for both women and men. A famous statement she is known
for is how a woman’s most important job is to have compassion, be caring and being a
mother. Despite what a woman does with her life, she should strive to be a devoting and
loving member of any family because the foundation of a good person is a good care-
taker.
broader understanding of what is beyond the plane earth with the universe being a never-
ending mine for the curious. Technology has been pushed forward with the space age
back in the past century and many countries racing to top one another. It wasn’t less than
60 years ago the first person was put to orbit on earth, and it wasn’t a decade later when
the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova, was selected to go into space.
Valentina Tereshkova was born in the region Yaroslavl of Russia in March 6,
1937.
Born to a peasant family of a tractor driver and a mother who worked in the textile
plant Valentine would have to work from scratch if she ever wanted to be someone in
life. Her father died when she was two, and left Valentina and her mother to fend for
them in a country still under turmoil from the world wards. Poverty was nothing new to
anybody. At age eight she started school but only attended for five years when her
mother needed more help at home (Greene). When she left to work for the textile mills
she applied for amateur parachuting club that was being offered. Afterward she applied
for flight technical school and finished her education. During these years up until
adulthood Valentina would attend several skydiving and parachuting lessons and enjoyed
it so much she began wanting something more than just jumping off planes hundreds of
feet above earth. During work she and her family were at work when the first man was
put in space when her mother commented the next person should be a woman. Valentina
became inspired.
The director or Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev began a campaign as Valentina
entered adulthood. The newly developed space program needed to send a woman into
space to conduct observations about a woman’s biological and mental effect in zero
gravity. As many as five-hundred applications were sent to apply for the program for
only five finalists were allowed the opportunity to participate in the study. Valentina had
to meet requirements of those including being under twenty-three, less than five foot
seven inches, and experience in parachuting and expert knowledge of flight (Learning
Haven). On February 1962 Valentina was chosen of five women to participate in the
space program. Due to her Proletarian background and father being a war hero during the
Finnish Winter War during World War 2 she stood out enough to put her among the
finalists.
Being an expert parachutist Valentina understood the kinds of concepts to work
with when dealing with space and flight. All five women underwent intense months of
training and months of learning about space in the women cosmonaut program. Because
it was during a time when the communist party had many enemies and was looking ways
to one up the United States the entire program was enshrouded in secrecy. She was not
allowed to disclose anything to anyone outside the program and told her mother that
she would be going to a training camp for an elite skydiving team. It was not until the
flight announcement that her mother found out about her daughter’s participation in the
cosmonaut program. It took decades before the other women’s identities were released as
Valentina was the only one among them to go and fly. In order to become a cosmonaut she had to join the Air
Force as an Officer. During her 18 months of training hours included sessions on physical training, rocket
science and spaceship design.
On June 1963, Valentina flew to the moon and became the first woman to travel
to the space. Accompanied by another male astronaut she spend roughly seventy hours
rotating around Earth taking notes on her physical demeanor and conducting observations
on behalf of the cosmonaut program (Greene). She spent three times the total amount
of any astronaut before her and the whole space voyage went smoothly. The point of
sending a woman to space had been to see if they could endure the hardships as well as
men (…). She proved to be able to withstand the physical and emotional stress of space
flight just as any man could before her. After her mission it was not for two decades
before a second woman would be sent up into space.
Valentina arrived home where she was given the medal of the Order of Lenin and
a Hero of the Soviet Union and a big honor to the country for being the first woman in
space. The female cosmonaut program she had undergone training with dis-banned in
1969 ridding the opportunity of the other four women in the original five to go into flight.
It wouldn’t be until 1983 that the US sent its own woman into space (Learning Haven).
Granted she had served put a big gap between the Soviet Union and Russia the country
asked to grant her one wish from them. Valentina asked for her general father’s death
site be commemorated and built a statue upon, which they followed. Later that year after
much push from the news media and co-workers Valentina married another cosmonaut
in 1963 of that same year. Elena their daughter was born to them the following year and
doctors at the time proved to worry about any health issues in regards to having parents
that have served time in space flight. She would grow up to become a doctor and living
today. After Valentina returned she continued her work with the Communist party and
served as a member of the Supreme Soviet, the USSR’s national parliament. Recently she
has lives in Moscow at the age of seventy-six.
The woman strove to get people involved in the Soviet feminist movement. She
fought for equal treatment for both women and men. A famous statement she is known
for is how a woman’s most important job is to have compassion, be caring and being a
mother. Despite what a woman does with her life, she should strive to be a devoting and
loving member of any family because the foundation of a good person is a good care-
taker.
References:
Greene, N. (n.d.). Valentina Tereshkova Biography. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from http:/
/space.about.com/od/cosmonautbiographies/a/tereshkovabio_2.htm
Learning Haven (n.d.). Fun Facts about Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space.
Retrieved April 11, 2013, from http://www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/
articles/valentina_tereshkova.htm
The StarChild Team (n.d.). Valentina Tereshkova. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from http://
starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/tereshkova.html
Greene, N. (n.d.). Valentina Tereshkova Biography. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from http:/
/space.about.com/od/cosmonautbiographies/a/tereshkovabio_2.htm
Learning Haven (n.d.). Fun Facts about Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space.
Retrieved April 11, 2013, from http://www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/
articles/valentina_tereshkova.htm
The StarChild Team (n.d.). Valentina Tereshkova. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from http://
starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/tereshkova.html