On board Vostok 6 in 1963, Russian Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel to space. Before her recruitment as a cosmonaut, she was a textile factory worker and an amateur parachutist.
In 1997, she retired from the air force and the cosmonaut corps. At the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, she carried the Olympic flag.
In 1977, she received a doctorate in engineering. Due to her prominence, she held various political positions: from 1966 to 1974, she was a member of the Supreme Soviet; from 1974 to 1989, she was part of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet; and from 1969 to 1991, she belonged to the Central Committee of the Communist Party.
Source: Chile Mobile Observatory - Marca Chile
Photo: National Geographic History
