Today in Technology History
An event that occurred on this date in the history of technology.
(Published weekdays. To receive "Today in Technology History" by e-mail, click here. To read past issues, click here.)
June 19
Even though Sally Ride, whom we wrote about yesterday, was the first American woman to go into space, Russia had already sent two women into orbit. In fact, it was exactly forty years ago that the first woman in space ended her only mission.
Born in Russia in 1937, Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova was raised by her mother, a widow who worked in a textile mill. Tereshkova worked in factories during her youth, and made up for her limited schooling by taking night classes and correspondence courses. In 1959, she began parachuting as a hobby, and made 126 jumps.
After Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, Tereshkova wrote to the Soviet government, asking to become a cosmonaut. There were originally no plans to hire female cosmonauts, but after Nikita Khrushchev realized the publicity value of putting a woman in space, the Soviet Space Commission picked five, including Tereshkova.
Tereshkova had no pilot experience and no scientific background, so a lot was crammed into her sixteen months of training. She was launched into space in June of 1963, and spent three days making 48 orbits of the planet. At one point, Tereshkova’s capsule came within 3.1 miles of another Soviet capsule with a male cosmonaut aboard. (This was the second time the Soviets had two manned spacecraft in orbit simultaneously.) The main significance of her flight -- aside from the public relations value of having a floating female cosmonaut shown on TV around the world -- was to prove that women, like men, could cope with the rigors of spaceflight.
Tereshkova returned to Earth exactly forty years ago, on June 19, 1963. In the decades since her spaceflight, she traveled the world to lecture in favor of communism and feminism, and she held several government positions. Retired, she now lives in the Moscow area.
Of the 44 cosmonauts currently in the Russian space program, only one is a woman. In total, over 40 women from six countries (but mostly from the U.S.) have been in space.
Related links:
Click here and here to read more about Valentina Tereshkova.
Click here to read a recent interview with Tereshkova, and to learn about the role of women in today’s Russian space program.
Click here and here to read some of the messages recently sent to Tereshkova to congratulate her on the fortieth anniversary of her spaceflight.
| Biotechnology | Convergence | Creativity | Culture | E-conomics | Education |
| Equity | Gov't & Politics | Innovation | National Security | Personal Security |
BE SURE TO VISIT THE NEW ATLANTIS: A JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY.
For errors, broken links, questions or comments,
contact webmaster@tecsoc.org.
