Home > History Fact Finder > Exploration and Settlement - Who Was The First Woman In Space?

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

Who was the first woman in space?

The first woman in space was Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937– ). On June 16, 1963, Tereshkova was launched into space aboard the Vostok 6 and spent three days circling Earth. It was twenty years before the United States would send a woman into space. On June 18, 1983, American astronaut Sally K. Ride (1951– ) and four other crew members were launched into space aboard the U.S. space shuttle Challenger.

Further Information: Briggs Carole S. Women in Space. Minneapolis: Lerner, 1998; Vostok 5 and 6. [Online] Available http://www.users.wineasy.se/svengrahn/trackind/Vostok5and6/Vostok56.htm, October 22, 2000; Vostok Program. [Online] Available

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. The Americas
   1. When and how did the first people migrate to the Western Hemisphere?
   2. Were the Vikings the first Europeans to reach North America?
   3. Were the Spaniards the first Europeans to reach North America after the Vikings?
   4. When was the first authenticated European landing in North America?
   5. Why did Spain authorize Columbus to search for a westward route to the Indies?
   6. Where did Columbus first land in the New World?
   7. Did Columbus make any important discoveries in the Americas?
   8. Why does controversy surround Christopher Columbus?
   9. Who were the conquistadors?
   10. What contributions did the Europeans make to the Americas?
   11. How did America get its name?
   12. How was Hernán Cortés able to claim Mexico for the Spaniards?
   13. Who was Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca?
   14. Who was Montezuma?
   15. What were the Seven Cities of Cibola?
   16. Who were the first Europeans to explore the Mississippi River?
   17. What were the Spanish holdings in the New World?
   18. What were the French holdings in the New World?
   19. What were the Dutch colonial holdings in the New World?
   20. Did Sweden have any colonies in the New World?
   21. What was the Lost Colony?
   22. Were the Pilgrims explorers?
   23. Were African slaves the first source of labor in the English colonies?
   24. What was the goal of the Lewis and Clark expedition?
   25. How were the Puritans different from the Pilgrims?
2. Outer Boundaries
   1. How old was Marco Polo when he began his famous journey to the Far East?
   2. Who discovered the southwest passage to the Orient?
   3. What is the Northwest Passage?
   4. Who were the first Europeans to sail around the world?
   5. Who was Hawaii Loa?
   6. Who said, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"
   7. What did the famous Captain James Cook discover?
   8. Who was the first European to cross the Bering Strait?
   9. Who were the first people to reach the North Pole?
   10. Who was the first person to reach the South Pole?
   11. Who was the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest?
3. American Expansion
   1. Who were the expansionists?
   2. How did the concept of Manifest Destiny influence the expansion of the United States?
   3. Why was the Cherokee Nation forced to walk the Trail of Tears?
   4. What caused more Irish people to emigrate to the United States in the mid-1800s?
   5. When did major waves of immigration to the United States occur?
   6. How many immigrants arrived at Ellis Island, and what did they experience there?
4. Air And Space
   1. Who was the first person to fly nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean?
   2. When did aviator Amelia Earhart disappear?
   3. When did the space age begin?
   4. Who was the first person to travel in space?
   5. Who was the first man to walk on the Moon?
   6. Who was the first woman in space?
   7. What was the first animal sent into space?
   8. What was the impact of the Challenger disaster on the U.S. space program?
   9. Why was the Mars Pathfinder project important?
   10. What new discoveries have been made by the Hubble Space Telescope?

1. Christopher Columbus