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Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (born 6 March 1937) is a Soviet cosmonaut and one of the most famous figures in the history of aviation and space exploration. On 16 June 1963, aboard Vostok 6 , she became the first woman in space and remains the first woman to have flown a solo space mission. From a textile worker and amateur parachutist to one of the most recognizable cosmonauts in history, Tereshkova became a symbol of one of humanity’s greatest technological achievements.
History
Valentina Tereshkova was born on 6 March 1937 in the Yaroslavl region of the Russian SFSR, in the Soviet Union. Her father was a tractor driver while her mother worked in a textile factory. After leaving school, Tereshkova followed her mother into factory work, but she also developed a strong interest in parachuting.
In 1959, she made her first parachute jump at a local flying club. Over the following years, parachuting became her greatest passion, and her experience would eventually help open the door to an extraordinary career. When the Soviet space programme began searching for female candidates following Yuri Gagarin’s historic flight, parachuting experience was considered particularly valuable due to the Vostok spacecraft’s landing system.
In 1962, Tereshkova was selected as one of five women to join the Soviet cosmonaut corps. The candidates underwent extensive and demanding training, including centrifuge tests, isolation exercises, weightlessness flights, parachute training and jet aircraft familiarisation. After completing her training, Tereshkova was chosen for a historic mission: becoming the first woman to travel into space.
On 16 June 1963, at the age of 26, Tereshkova launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Vostok 6, Using the call sign “Chaika” (“Seagull”), she became the first woman in space. Her mission took place alongside Vostok 5, piloted by Valery Bykovsky, allowing the two cosmonauts to communicate by radio while their spacecraft operated in orbit.
During her flight, Tereshkova completed 48 orbits of Earth and spent almost three days in space. She carried out scientific observations, kept flight records and took photographs of the Earth and horizon. Her mission lasted 2 days, 23 hours and 12 minutes, ending with a successful parachute landing on 19 June 1963. With this single flight, she had spent more time in space than all American Mercury astronauts who had flown up to that point combined.
Tereshkova did not fly another space mission, but her place in history was already secure. Her journey aboard Vostok 6 made her one of the defining figures of the Space Age and a global symbol of women breaking new barriers in aviation and space exploration.
Why should she be added in War Thunder?
War Thunder already has profile pictures dedicated to famous historical figures connected to aviation and space exploration. Most notably, we already have Yuri Gagarin, the first human to travel into space, as an in-game profile picture.
However, despite being just as important to the history of spaceflight, Valentina Tereshkova does not currently have a profile picture. Tereshkova became the first woman in space, flying Vostok 6 only two years after Gagarin’s historic flight. Since War Thunder already recognizes Gagarin with his own profile picture, I think it would be fitting to also have Tereshkova represented in the game.
She would also be a great addition as another historical female figure connected to Soviet aviation and aerospace history.
