In the past half-century, just over 60 women have flown in space. In contrast, more than 500 men have made the trip during that same period.
Clearly, Earth’s space agencies have a long way to go to reach gender equality. However, among the women who have flown to space, their lifetime accomplishments are often staggering — and their missions groundbreaking. From the first female astronaut, Valentina Tereshkova, to the current roster of spacefarers, we review 11 of the most important female spaceflight pioneers of all time.
Valentina Tereshkova
Valentina Tereshkova was the first female astronaut to venture to space. She was born in Bolshoye Maslennikovo, USSR, in 1937, and she worked in a factory when she was young. Over time, she fell in love with skydiving. And in 1963, at just 26 years old, she piloted the Vostok 6 spacecraft around Earth alone, orbiting our planet for 48 hours.
The next woman to fly in space didn't blast off until nearly 20 years after Tereshkova’s maiden flight. And no woman has carried out a solo spaceflight since. Even Tereshkova never flew again. She spent the rest of her career training male cosmonauts, eventually rising to the rank of an Air Force major general before changing careers to become a politician.
