1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hi, I'm Eves and Welcome to This Day 3 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: in History Class, a show that uncovers history one day 4 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 1: at a time. Today is June. The day was June 5 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three. Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Vladimirovna taresh Kava became 6 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 1: the first woman to go into space when she left 7 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:39,840 Speaker 1: Earth in the spacecraft Vostok six. Valentina was born in Maslenicava, 8 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 1: a village near the Volga River not far from Moscow. 9 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: Her father was a tractor driver and a soldier before 10 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: he died in the Winter War when teresh Kava was 11 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: two years old. Her mother worked on a textile assembly 12 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: line in a cotton mill. When she was a teenager, 13 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: Valentina left school and started working and the textile mill too, 14 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: But she also had a love for skydiving. She joined 15 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: an amateur parachuting club and she soon became interested in flying. 16 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: Valentina was also part of the Communist Party. An offshoot 17 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: of the Cold War, the Space Race was a battle 18 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: between the US and the Soviet Union over space exploration 19 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: and technological advancement. By nineteen sixty one, the Soviet Union 20 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,639 Speaker 1: had already sent the first person into space when Yuri 21 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: gagat In orbited Earth on April twelve, but the space 22 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: race continued throughout the nineteen sixties. When teresh Gaba was 23 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,120 Speaker 1: twenty four years old, she applied to become a cosmonaut. 24 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 1: Though she had no pilot training, the Soviet Union had 25 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: been considering sending a woman into space, and Valentina's modest 26 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: background plus her experience in parachuting, made her an ideal 27 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,360 Speaker 1: candidate for the cosmonaut program, and Soviet propaganda and bragging 28 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: rights at beating the US to the punt. Judy Gagaden 29 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: oversaw the selection process for women cosmonauts, which began in 30 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: mid nineteen sixty one. Out of hundreds of women who 31 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:13,520 Speaker 1: were chosen to be screened for the position, Valentina was 32 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: one of five women who were chosen to train as 33 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: cosmonauts in nineteen sixty two. The candidates went through months 34 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:24,920 Speaker 1: of training for space flight, including classroom study as well 35 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: as testing of their ability to be alone for a while, 36 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: their ability to withstand extreme gravity and weightlessness conditions, and 37 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:36,520 Speaker 1: their competence and parachute jumps. The program was kept under 38 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 1: wraps from the public All of the candidates were commissioned 39 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: as second lieutenants in the Soviet Air Force, but after 40 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: eighteen months of testing, Tereshkaba became chief pilot of the 41 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: Vostok six. She would be the only woman to go 42 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 1: into space. The space flight would be a dual mission. 43 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: Cosmonaut Valeri Vakovski launched on Vostok five on June fourteenth, 44 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three. Valentina launched on Vostok six two days later. 45 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: She flew with the call sign Chaika, meaning seagull. Tarashkava 46 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: reported in the porthole in the outer ring, the horizon 47 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 1: is visible. It's a very beautiful sight. At first, it's 48 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: light blue than lighter than dark. She also sent greetings 49 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: to Soviet women and women of the world from the 50 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: Vostok six. In the next seventy hours and fifty minutes, 51 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: Valentina completed forty eight orbits of Earth on the trip. 52 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: By Kopski and teresh Kava's spacecrafts came within three miles 53 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: or five kilometers of each other. She performed tests on 54 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: plants and animals, and she gathered data about her body 55 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: and the spacecraft. While on board. On June nineteenth, she 56 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: ejected from her capsule and parachuted back to Earth, landing 57 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 1: near Karaganda, Kazakhstan. It was later revealed that an error 58 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: in navigation software caused the space have to move away 59 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: from Earth, but Tareshkava and Soviet scientists were able to 60 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: fix the issue to give her a safe, if bumpy landing. 61 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: Upon her return to Earth, she traveled around the world 62 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: as a good will ambassador. She received a number of honors, 63 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:18,920 Speaker 1: including the Order of Linen and the United Nations Gold 64 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: Medal of Peace. She never flew in space again, and 65 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,039 Speaker 1: the cosmonaut program for women was shut down in nineteen 66 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: sixty nine. Tarashkava went on to marry and divorce another cosmonaut, 67 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: Andrea NIKOLAIAV, with whom she had a daughter. She graduated 68 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 1: from the Zukovski Air Force Academy and earned a doctorate 69 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,920 Speaker 1: in engineering. Tarash Kava became a test pilot and instructor 70 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,599 Speaker 1: and got a doctorate in technical sciences. She also became 71 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 1: a member in the U s s R. Supreme Soviet, 72 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 1: which was the national parliament and the Presidium, a body 73 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: within the Supreme Soviets. She also served on the Soviet 74 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,599 Speaker 1: Women's Committee, then next woman who flew in space was 75 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: cosmonauts fed Lana Schevetskaya, who did so in nineteen two. 76 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:09,839 Speaker 1: It wasn't until the next year when Sally Ride became 77 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: the first American woman to fly in space. I'm each 78 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 1: Deathcoat and hopefully you know a little more about history 79 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,919 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. But if you want to 80 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: learn even more, you can listen to a new podcast 81 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: I host called Unpopular. Um Popular is about people in 82 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 1: history who challenge the status quo and we're often persecuted 83 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: for it. You can listen anywhere you listen to this 84 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: Day in History class. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, 85 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: and Facebook at t d i h C podcast. Thanks 86 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:49,719 Speaker 1: again for being here and we'll see you tomorrow. For 87 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:52,479 Speaker 1: more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 88 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.