Vostok 6
| Operator | OKB-1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1963-023A | ||||
| SATCAT № | 595 | ||||
| Mission duration | 2 days, 22 hours, 50 minutes | ||||
| Orbits completed | 48 | ||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||
| Spacecraft | Vostok-3KA No.8 | ||||
| Manufacturer | OKB-1 | ||||
| Launch mass | 4,713 kilograms (10,390 lb) | ||||
| Crew | |||||
| Crew size | 1 | ||||
| Members | Valentina Tereshkova | ||||
| Callsign | Чайка (Chayka - "Seagull") | ||||
| Start of mission | |||||
| Launch date | 16 June 1963, 09:29:52 UTC | ||||
| Rocket | Vostok-K 8K72K | ||||
| Launch site | Baikonur 1/5[1] | ||||
| End of mission | |||||
| Landing date | 19 June 1963, 08:20 UTC | ||||
| Landing site | 53°12′34″N 80°48′14″E / 53.209375°N 80.80395°E[2] | ||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||
| Reference system | Geocentric | ||||
| Regime | Low Earth | ||||
| Perigee | 180 kilometres (110 mi) | ||||
| Apogee | 231 kilometres (144 mi) | ||||
| Inclination | 64.9 degrees | ||||
| Period | 87.8 minutes | ||||
  Valentina Tereshkova, first female cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union, 1969.
| |||||
Vostok 6 (Russian: Восток-6, Orient 6 or East 6) was the first human spaceflight mission to carry a woman, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, into space.
Mission
The spacecraft was launched on June 16, 1963. Data was collected on the female body's reaction to spaceflight. Like other cosmonauts on Vostok missions, she maintained a flight log, took photographs, and manually oriented the spacecraft. Her photographs of the horizon from space were later used to identify aerosol layers within the atmosphere. The mission, a joint flight with Vostok 5, was originally conceived as being a joint mission with two Vostoks each carrying a female cosmonaut, but this changed as the Vostok program experienced cutbacks as a precursor to the retooling of the program into the Voskhod program. Vostok 6 was the last flight of a Vostok 3KA spacecraft.
It was revealed in 2004 that an error in the control program made the spaceship ascend from orbit instead of descending. Tereshkova noticed the fault on the first day of the flight and reported it to Sergey Korolev. The mistake was promptly repaired. Tereshkova entered the data that she got from the Earth into the descent program and landed safely.[citation needed]
By request of Soviet spaceship designer Sergey Korolev, Tereshkova kept the problem secret for dozens of years. “I kept silent, but Evgeny Vasilievich decided to make it public. So, I can easily talk about it now.”[3]
The intended landing site was the Pavinskiy Collective Farm west of Bayevo in the Altai Region. After parachuting from the capsule, Tereshkova barely missed a lake because of violent wind. After landing, the wind took her parachute, and Tereshkova received a large bruise on her nose before she managed to free herself from it.[citation needed]
The Vostok 6 landing site coordinates are 53°12′34″N 80°48′14″E / 53.209375°N 80.80395°E, which is 200 km West of Barnaul, Region of Altai in the Russian Federation and 7 km south of Baevo, and 650 km North East of Karagandy, Kazakhstan. At the site, in a small park at the roadside, is a gleaming silver statue of Tereshkova soaring upward, with arms outstretched, at the top of a curved column. The statue is wearing a spacesuit without a helmet.[4]
The capsule is now on display at the RKK Energia Museum in Korolyov (near Moscow).
This was the final Vostok flight.
Crew
| Position | Cosmonaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot | Valentina Tereshkova First spaceflight | |
Backup crew
| Position | Cosmonaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot | Irina Solovyova | |
Reserve crew
| Position | Cosmonaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot | Valentina Ponomaryova | |
Mission parameters
- Mass: 4,713 kg (10,390 lb)
- Apogee: 231 km (144 mi)
- Perigee: 180 km (110 mi)
- Inclination: 64.9°
- Period: 87.8 minutes
9090
Women in space
On 19 August 1982, Svetlana Savitskaya aboard Soyuz T-7, headed for Salyut 7, succeeded Valentina Tereskhova, as the second woman in space, on a 3-man mission, 19 years and two months after Vostok 6.
On 18 June 1983, during the 20th anniversary of Vostok 6's orbits, Sally Ride aboard OV-099 Space Shuttle Challenger for mission STS-7, became the third woman in space, and first non-Soviet woman, and first American woman, on a 5-man mission.
On 16 June 2012, the 49th anniversary of the launch of Vostok 6, the People's Republic of China launched its first female Taikonaut, Liu Yang, aboard Shenzhou 9, on a 3-man mission.[5]
On 16 June 2013, the 50th anniversary of the launch of Vostok 6, two women were in space, Wang Yaping, aboard Tiangong-1 on the 3-man Shenzhou 10 mission, and Karen Nyberg on the 6-man Expedition 36 aboard the International Space Station.[6]
References
- ↑ "Baikonur LC1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
- ↑ "Google Maps - Vostok 6 Landing Site - Monument Location". Retrieved 2010-12-25.
- ↑ "World First Woman Cosmonaut Speaks About Error of Vostok Designers". Retrieved 2013-06-16.
- ↑ "Google Maps - Vostok 6 Landing Site - Monument Photo closeup". Retrieved 2010-12-26.
- ↑ Clara Moskowit (15 June 2012). "China Unveils Astronaut Crew, 1st Female Spaceflyer, for Saturday Launch". Space.com. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ↑ Ken Kremer (16 June 2013). "Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova; 1st Woman in Space 50 Years Ago! Ready for Mars". Universe Today.
| |||||||||||||
| ||||||||