- Tereshkova made history by becoming the first woman to travel into outer space, an event that took place on June 16, 1963, aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft.
As part of International Women’s Day, we are going to recognize the professional careers of some female role models who have made history in closing the gender gap, in this case in the field of science and technology.
Specifically, we are going to dedicate this article to cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.
Valentina Tereshkova’s childhood
Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova was born on March 6, 1937, in the then Soviet town of Maslennikovo, a tiny village that now belongs to the Yaroslavl Oblast within the Russian Federation.
Her childhood was marked by World War II—during which her father died when she was two years old—with the economic difficulties and lack of resources that many people suffered at that time in history.
Although she had to leave school to work in a tire factory and later in a textile factory, she continued her studies by correspondence.
In addition to balancing work and studies, Tereshkova was passionate about skydiving, a specialty in which she even earned her instructor’s license.
Cosmonaut career
Her skydiving experience, combined with her interest in space, led her to apply alongside hundreds of other skydivers to become a cosmonaut after the USSR opened the special program to volunteers in 1961.
The fact that she had more than 125 parachute jumps under her belt when she took the tests was one of the reasons she was selected.
After being chosen, she underwent a year and a half of training, which included physical endurance tests, zero-gravity flights, isolation, and technical engineering studies.
With these ingredients, Tereshkova became part of the Vostok Program, which included six flights, some of which were to achieve milestones in human history.
Tereshkova: first woman in space
The 1960s followed in the wake of the 1950s and were marked by numerous milestones in the history of the space race.
The launch of the first living being into space in 1957 aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft (the dog Laika) and the sending of the first human into space in 1961 in the Vostok 1 (Yuri Gagarin) were later surpassed by the United States with the arrival on the Moon, an event that took place on July 20, 1969.
In between, the most notable milestone in Valentina Tereshkova’s career occurred: becoming the first woman to travel into space.
Specifically, on June 16, 1963, the Vostok 6 spacecraft took off from Leninsk (now Baikonur), in the then Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, and on board it, Tereshkova completed 58 Earth orbits.
This took her almost three days—70 hours and 48 minutes, to be precise—before she left the flight capsule. She finally landed back on June 19 after a final parachute descent from an altitude of 6,000 meters to Karaganda, also in Kazakhstan.
Later career
Tereshkova’s professional career after the historic milestone of being the first woman to travel into space continued in the field of science and technology when she graduated from the Zhukovsky Aviation Academy in 1969 and later obtained a doctorate in engineering, becoming a key figure in Soviet space engineering.
Apart from her scientific career, Tereshkova also has—in fact, she continues to be a deputy in the Duma today—a political career in both the former Soviet Union and Russia.
As a result, Tereshkova represented the USSR at the UN World Conference for the International Women’s Year in 1975, where the United Nations officially established International Women’s Day.
Valentina Tereshkova is an icon in the field of equality, having become the first woman to go into space more than 60 years ago in a field, cosmonautics, that continues to be predominantly male. In fact, it is estimated that of the more than 700 people who have traveled to space, only 15% are women.
Telefónica and gender equality
As part of its diversity and inclusion policies, Telefónica demonstrates its commitment to gender equality, as “understanding the pay gap is not only about ensuring that our employees are paid the same for the same work, but also about ensuring that they have the same opportunities regardless of their gender.”
Similarly, the company collaborates with programs to increase the presence of women in technical careers, addressing the shortage of women in scientific and technological careers or in the field of entrepreneurship.
Frequently asked questions
El 6 de marzo de 1937 en un pequeño de la Unión Soviética que en la actualidad pertenece a Rusia.
En el mundo de la cosmonáutica, Tereshkova hizo historia al convertirse en la primera mujer en viajar al espacio.
Valentina Tereshkova fue la primera mujer en viajar al espacio exterior, a bordo de la nave Vostok 6: el 16 de junio de 1963 completó 58 órbitas terrestres para las que invirtió prácticamente tres días, aterrizando de vuelta el 19 de junio de ese mismo año.
Tereshkova se convirtió también en la primera persona civil en volar al espacio, aunque para pasar a formar parte del Cuerpo de Cosmonautas hubo de ser admitida honorariamente en la Fuerza Aérea.
