The day of the first woman in space – level 3

16-06-1963

In 1963, the Soviets decided to show the world once again who the best was. They wanted to send the first woman to space.

Out of the 400 candidates, five women were chosen for their training. The training was very hard. For a long time, it wasn’t clear which of the women would eventually become the first woman in space.

In the end, Valentina Tereshkova was chosen. Her background helped her. Her father was a farm worker who died in a war. Her mother worked in a textile company.

On June 16, 1963, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Tereshkova was sealed inside Vostok 6. The spacecraft launched faultlessly, and Tereshkova became the first woman to see the Earth from orbit. It was a beautiful sight for her.

Tereshkova experienced sickness and physical discomfort for much of the flight. She had to cope with zero gravity and extreme conditions in the capsule. She orbited the Earth 48 times and spent 2 days and 22 hours in space.

On June 19, after descending into the atmosphere, Tereshkova catapulted and landed in Kazakhstan. The success of her mission meant another Soviet victory in the Space Race with the United States.

Difficult words: background (a person’s family and education), seal (to close an entrance so that air can’t go inside), faultlessly (without a mistake), orbit (a way around the Earth above the atmosphere), sight (what you see), cope (to succeed in dealing with a difficult situation), capsule (the part of a spacecraft in which people live), Space Race (a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States to get to space first).

What do you think was the biggest challenge that Valentina Tereshkova faced during her historic flight into space?

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