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#931115 06/16/19 05:57 AM
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On June 16, 1963, Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space when she was launched on Vostok 6 from Baikonur Cosmodrome. During her mission, which lasted just under three days, she maintained a flight log and performed various tests to collect data on her body’s reaction to spaceflight. Her photographs of Earth and the horizon were later used to identify aerosol layers within the atmosphere.

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Three days orbiting Earth strapped into a space capsule so primitive that no one could land in it. So how did the cosmonaut get home? That's part of the story of the first woman in space, on a solo flight twenty years before NASA sent Sally Ride into orbit on a Space Shuttle.

Valentina Tereshkova - the First Spacewoman

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On this day in 1983 - June 18th - physicist and astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. She was a crew member of STS-7 Challenger which was launched 2 days after the 20th anniversary of Valentina Tereshkova's historic space flight.

On what would have been her 64th birthday, May 26 2015, there was a set of 5 Google doodles honoring her life. (She died in 2012.)

Her partner Tam O’Shaughnessy wrote:
Quote
As the first American woman in space, Sally Ride—who would have been 64 today—captured the nation’s imagination as a symbol of the ability of women to break barriers. But her historic flight represented just one aspect of a remarkable and multifaceted life. She was also a physicist, a science writer, and an inspirational advocate for keeping kids excited about science as they go through school.

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Achievements may be honored with prizes and medals, but few get represented as children's toys. However Lego responded to a proposal to showcase women in space and astronomy by making a Lego set representing four such women and their major contributions. Who were these women?

NASA Women in Lego

In addition to the brilliant multi-talented Sally Ride, the article introduces astronaut, engineer, doctor, college professor & businesswoman, Mae Jemison. (Yes, that is one person.)

As a bonus, there are two women who didn't go into space, but made major contributions to the space program. Margaret Hamilton was the lead developer for Apollo flight software, which was later adapted for Skylab and the Space Shuttle. And astronomer Nancy Grace Ronan - who, sadly, died last year - was the first woman to hold an executive position at NASA. She developed, budgeted and organized the scientific participation for a number of programs, but was often known as the Mother of Hubble for her major contribution to the creation of everybody's favorite space telescope.

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The first British woman in space - indeed the first British astronaut! - was Helen Sharman. Chosen to train as an astronaut, Sharman was the first woman to visit the Mir space station. The mission, which included Soviet cosmonauts Anatoly Artsebarsky and Sergei Krikalev, was launched on May 18, 1991, and lasted eight days. On board Mir, Sharman carried out a series of experiments. Since then she's continued her work as a scientist as well as doing science outreach work.

The first Briton in Space - a 3-minute video from the Science Museum in London.


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