In other news, this Saturday is an anniversary of the legendary journey taken by Valentina Tereshkova, or Chaika. Incredibly, she became the first woman to go into space, 55 years ago. To this day, she remains the only female to have ever embarked on a solo space mission. Valentina Tereshkova's work has proven to be an asset to modern female cosmonauts and astronauts.
Today, the heroine from the Yaroslavl Aero Club, whom Sergei Pavlovich Korolev long ago asked to join the cosmonaut corps was received by President Putin.
Valentina Tereshkova, Hero of the Soviet Union, Soviet Pilot and Cosmonaut, State Duma member: Can I give you a kiss?
President Putin: Of course. Mrs. Tereshkova, happy anniversary!
– Thank you!
– It's been 55 years since you went into space. Everyone knows about you and appreciates your work. However, not everyone is aware that the mission didn't exactly go smoothly. As far as I know, there were some errors in the control system and you had to manually navigate the spaceship. Is that true?
– There was a system malfunction. I think it was an error. I noticed it during the first few orbits and reported the issue to base. I corrected the error by entering data I received from Earth into the system. The rest of the flight went smoothly.
– The rest of the flight went smoothly, but the landing wasn't easy, was it?
– The landing? Yes. I landed in Altai Krai, on the dried-up shore of Lake Kulundinskoye. It was very windy, but I managed to land safely.
Mr. Putin, forgive me for bringing this up, but I'm concerned about the Volga River. It's a great Russian river and it's suffering from an algae bloom. I hope it will remain our dear Volga that gives people water and food. Could you please see to it? I'm afraid that if you don't personally take charge, it may take a while before the situation improves.
– Thank you. We have a program devoted to the Volga, so don't worry, we're working on it.
– Mr. Medvedev even said that money has been earmarked for the project, but it's currently in Siluanov's possession.
– Don't worry, after money has been earmarked by the government, it doesn't matter where it is. The important thing is the money has been earmarked for the project. We have a plan and the project will be carried out.
– Thank you so much! May I ask you for another favor?
– Of course.
– Please take good care of yourself. Everyone's worried about you. Is there anything that we, the people of Yaroslavl, can help you with?
– You're all already helping. Your governor is doing a good job. Yes, thank you for appointing our governor, we're very happy with him. People think very highly of him and he's done a lot for us.
– He's a very capable and talented man.
– Do you mind if we keep him for a while?
– Of course not, he's still new to the game and can keep working.
This was Saturday's news on Valentina Tereshkova, but let's look back at her past. Pavel Melnik with a report on Valentina Tereshkova.
Every step is accompanied by the flash of cameras. Yaroslavl Oblast greets its famous native with applause and literally smothers her with flowers.
"On behalf of the entire garrison, I wish you a happy anniversary!"
Even the sky has been colored for her today. 55 years ago, a new star appeared in the sky. The first woman to go into space didn't initially plan to become a cosmonaut.
Valentina Tereshkova: "When I was a teenager, I wanted to become a locomotive engineer, I wanted to drive huge trains, visit various cities, see things, meet new people, but..."
She was offered a chance she couldn't say no to.
"During the course of the mission, cosmonauts will carry out a lot of scientific research".
In 1963, the little known skydiver from the Yaroslavl Aero Club was invited to meet chief engineer Korolev. He was looking for young women who had received pilot training and would be able to handle the ejection system of the new Vostok spacecraft. Five female candidates were considered for the mission. On the steppe of Baikonur, a number of secret tests were performed to select a single candidate.
Valentina Ponomareva, Soviet Pilot and Cosmonaut, Tereshkova's second backup: "In the morning, Gagarin would knock on the door and say "Girls, let's go!" After that, we would all go and get some exercise. The training was conducted on a daily basis".
From extreme vestibular training exercises to nervous system stress tests. Back then, no one knew how a female body would respond to being sent into space. Deafening silence seems relaxing at first, but after about 30 minutes it causes mild discomfort and can even affect your mental state. Cosmonauts spend up to three days in this soundproof chamber, completely isolated from the rest of the world. The only exception is this hatch door, used to communicate tasks to the examinees, with each task putting more pressure on their nervous system. Tereshkova passed all of the tests, and so did the other candidates. It wasn't clear who would go on the space voyage up until a few days before the launch. Valentina Tereshkova received the call sign Chaika.
Alexey Leonov, Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, two-time Hero of the Soviet Union: "Her report to the Chairman of the State Commission stood out to me. I thought she'd get scared... She didn't. Her lip didn't even tremble".
Valentina Tereshkova, 1963: "I declare that I will complete the tasks like a communist".
On the morning of June 16th, 1963, the whole world was applauding her. At 9.29 am, the Vostok-6 spacecraft took off. Today, it's well known that adjusting to weightlessness takes up to seven days. But back then, nobody knew that. At one point, connection with Chaika was lost, and Mission Control began to panic.
Valentina Ponomareva: "She didn't have time to adjust and became nauseous. But she did great! She spent three days in space. She could have asked to return at the end of the first day, but she didn't".
Today, footage of a woman in space doesn't surprise anyone. Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti feels at home.
Samantha Cristoforetti: "We have fruit, for example, this citrus salad. Here we have a bunch of macadamia nuts".
The experience and knowledge Valentina Tereshkova acquired by orbiting the Earth 48 times enabled other terrestrial women to go into space.
Samantha Cristoforetti, European Space Agency astronaut: "Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a cosmonaut. I already knew about people like Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova".
A young woman revolutionized the world of astronautics, a fact many still find hard to believe. Today, the average age of an astronaut is 35 and up. The astronautics era had its own heroes.
Yuri Maltsev, combat test engineer, Baikonur Cosmodrome combat unit member in 1963: "Everyone from the Design Bureau was young. We were also all young. We spent months getting the craft ready. We worked day and night, and we enjoyed it".
The legendary Chaika has a simple tip for the 21st century's youth: Spread your wings, no matter how windy it gets.
Valentina Tereshkova: "Never give up on your dream! Never".
Pavel Melnik, Yuri Marchenko, Anton Meshechryakov, Stanislav Sverchkov and Diana Jameleva, Vesti – Saturday News.
