Vostok 6 (jul 16, 1963 – jul 19, 1963)

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These days span the time of the Vostok 6 mission, the first ever space mission that sent a woman up to space: Valentina Tereshkova, the first female cosmonaut. While she was never allowed control of the Vostok 6 spacecraft, as it was instead operating on an automatic control system, her brief orbit around Earth was an important landmark in space age history, as the USSR’s competitor, the USA, had yet to allow any of its women to join its astronaut ranks. Granted, the USSR disbanded its own female cosmonaut group just six years later, but Tereshkova received some well-deserved recognition upon her return to Earth, including a couple of awards. She even pushed for more women to be included in spaceflight missions, which, while unrealized for a while, was eventually made a reality, not just in the USA, but in a few other countries, as well.

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