Astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a Manned Maneuvering Unit outside the United States Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984.

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft. While generally reserved for professional space travelers, the terms are sometimes applied to anyone who travels into space, including scientists, politicians, journalists, and tourists.^[1][2]

Until 2002, astronauts were sponsored and trained exclusively by governments, either by the military, or by civilian space agencies. With the sub-orbital flight of the privately funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of astronaut was created: the commercial astronaut.

Definition[link]

Countries whose citizens have flown in space.

The criteria for what constitutes human spaceflight vary. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Sporting Code for astronautics recognizes only flights that exceed an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 mi).^[3] In the United States, professional, military, and commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of 50 miles (80 km)^[4] are awarded astronaut wings.

As of June 20, 2011, a total of 523 people from 38 countries^[5] have reached 100 km (62 mi) or more in altitude, of which 520 reached low Earth orbit or beyond.^[6][7] Of these, 24 people have traveled beyond Low Earth orbit, to either lunar or trans-lunar orbit or to the surface of the moon; three of the 24 did so twice: Jim Lovell, John Young and Eugene Cernan.^[8] The three astronauts who have not reached low Earth orbit are Joe Walker, Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie.

Under the U.S. definition, as of June 20, 2011, 529 people qualify as having reached space, above 50 miles (80 km) altitude. Of eight X-15 pilots who exceeded 50 miles (80 km) in altitude, only one exceeded 100 kilometers (about 62 miles).^[9] Space travelers have spent over 30,400 man-days (83 man-years) in space, including over 100 astronaut-days of spacewalks.^[9][10] As of 2008, the man with the longest cumulative time in space is Sergei K. Krikalev, who has spent 803 days, 9 hours and 39 minutes, or 2.2 years, in space.^[11][12] Peggy A. Whitson holds the record for the most time in space by a woman, 377 days.^[13]

Terminology[link]

English[link]

In the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and many other English-speaking nations, a professional space traveler is called an astronaut.^[14] The term derives from the Greek words ástron (ἄστρον), meaning "star", and nautes (ναύτης), meaning "sailor". The first known use of the term "astronaut" in the modern sense was by Neil R. Jones in his short story "The Death's Head Meteor" in 1930. The word itself had been known earlier. For example, in Percy Greg's 1880 book Across the Zodiac, "astronaut" referred to a spacecraft. In Les Navigateurs de l'Infini (1925) of J.-H. Rosny aîné, the word astronautique (astronautic) was used. The word may have been inspired by "aeronaut", an older term for an air traveler first applied (in 1784) to balloonists. An early use in a non-fiction publication is Eric Frank Russell's poem "The Astronaut" in the November 1934 Bulletin of the British Interplanetary Society.^[15]

The first known formal use of the term astronautics in the scientific community was the establishment of the annual International Astronautical Congress in 1950 and the subsequent founding of the International Astronautical Federation the following year.^[16]

NASA applies the term astronaut to any crew member aboard NASA spacecraft bound for Earth orbit or beyond. NASA also uses the term as a title for those selected to join its Astronaut Corps.^[17] The European Space Agency similarly uses the term astronaut for members of its Astronaut Corps.^[18]

Russian[link]

By convention, an astronaut employed by the Russian Federal Space Agency (or its Soviet predecessor) is called a cosmonaut in English texts.^[17] The word is an anglicisation of the Russian word kosmonavt (Russian: космонавт Russian pronunciation: [kəsmɐˈnaft]), one who works in space outside the Earth's atmosphere, a space traveler,^[19] which derives from the Greek words kosmos (κόσμος), meaning "universe", and nautes (ναύτης), meaning "sailor".

The Soviet Air Force pilot Yuri Gagarin was the first cosmonaut. Valentina Tereshkova, a Russian factory worker, was the first female cosmonaut, as well as arguably the first civilian cosmonaut (see below for a further discussion of civilians in space). On March 14, 1995, Norman Thagard became the first American to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle, and became the first "American cosmonaut".

Chinese[link]

Official English-language texts issued by the government of the People's Republic of China use astronaut while texts in Russian use космонавт (kosmonavt).^[20][21] In China, the term for cosmonaut is "yǔhángyuán" (宇航员, "sailing personnel in universe") and for astronaut is "hángtiānyuán" (航天员, "sailing personnel in sky") have long been used for astronauts. The phrase "tàikōng rén" (太空人, "spaceman") is often used in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The term taikonaut is used by some English-language news media organizations for professional space travelers from China.^[22] The word has featured in the Longman and Oxford English dictionaries, the latter of which describes it as "a hybrid of the Chinese term taikong (space) and the Greek naut (sailor)"; the term became more common in 2003 when China sent its first astronaut Yang Liwei into space aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft.^[23] This is the term used by Xinhua in the English version of the Chinese People's Daily since the advent of the Chinese space program.^[24] The origin of the term is unclear; as early as May 1998, Chiew Lee Yih (趙裡昱) from Malaysia, used it in newsgroups.^[25][26]

Other terms[link]

With the rise of space tourism, NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency agreed to use the term "spaceflight participant" to distinguish those space travelers from professional astronauts on missions coordinated by those two agencies.

While no nation other than the Russian Federation (and previously the former the Soviet Union), the United States, and China has launched a manned spacecraft, several other nations have sent people into space in cooperation with one of these countries. Inspired partly by these missions, other synonyms for astronaut have entered occasional English usage. For example, the term spationaut (French spelling: spationaute) is sometimes used to describe French space travelers, from the Latin word spatium or "space", and the Malay term angkasawan was used to describe participants in the Angkasawan program. In Hungary the word describing astronauts is űrhajós (from űr meaning "space" and hajós meaning "sailor".)

Space travel milestones[link]

Yuri Gagarin, first human in space (1961)

Valentina Tereshkova, 1963 first woman in space.

Neil Armstrong, first person to walk on the moon (1969).

The first human in space was Soviet Yuri Gagarin, who was launched into space on April 12, 1961 aboard Vostok 1 and orbited around the Earth for 108 minutes. The first woman in space was Russian Valentina Tereshkova, who launched on June 16, 1963 aboard Vostok 6 and orbited Earth for almost three days.

Alan Shepard became the first American and second person in space on May 5, 1961 on a 15-minute sub-orbital flight. The first American woman in space was Sally Ride, during Space Shuttle Challenger's mission STS-7, on June 18, 1983.^[27] In 1992 Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space aboard STS-47.

The first manned mission to orbit the moon, Apollo 8, included American William Anders who was born in Hong Kong, making him the first Asian-born astronaut in 1968. In April 1985, Taylor Wang became the first ethnic Chinese person in space.^[28][29] On 15 October 2003, Yang Liwei became China's first astronaut on the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft.

The Soviet Union, through its Intercosmos program, allowed people from other "socialist" (i.e. Warsaw Pact and other Soviet-allied) countries to fly on its missions. An example is Czechoslovak Vladimír Remek, the first cosmonaut from a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States, who flew to space in 1978 on a Soyuz-U rocket.^[30] On July 23, 1980, Pham Tuan of Vietnam became the first Asian in space when he flew aboard Soyuz 37.^[31]

Also in 1980, Cuban Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez became the first person of Hispanic and black African descent to fly in space, Guion Bluford became the first African American to fly into space. The first person born in Africa to fly in space was Patrick Baudry, in 1985.^[32][33] In 1985, Saudi Arabian Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin AbdulAziz Al-Saud became the first Arab Muslim astronaut in space.^[34] In 1988, Abdul Ahad Mohmand became the first Afghan to reach space, spending nine days aboard the Mir space station.^[35]

With the larger number of seats available on the Space Shuttle, the U.S. began taking international astronauts. In 1983, Ulf Merbold of West Germany became the first non-US citizen to fly in a US spacecraft. In 1984, Marc Garneau became the first of 8 Canadian astronauts to fly in space (through 2010).^[36] In 1985, Rodolfo Neri Vela became the first Mexican-born person in space.^[37] In 1991, Helen Sharman became the first Briton to fly in space.^[38] In 2002, Mark Shuttleworth became the first citizen of an African country to fly in space, as a paying spaceflight participant.^[39] In 2003, Ilan Ramon became the first Israeli to fly in space, although he died during a re-entry accident.

Age milestones[link]

The youngest person to fly in space is Gherman Titov, who was 25 years old when he flew Vostok 2. (Titov was also the first person to suffer space sickness).^[40][41] The oldest person who has flown in space is John Glenn, who was 77 when he flew on STS-95.^[42]

Duration and distance milestones[link]

The longest stay in space thus far has been 438 days, by Russian Valeri Polyakov.^[9] As of 2006, the most spaceflights by an individual astronaut is seven, a record held by both Jerry L. Ross and Franklin Chang-Diaz. The farthest distance from Earth an astronaut has traveled was 401,056 km (249,205 mi), when Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise went around the Moon during the Apollo 13 emergency.^[9]

Civilian and non-government milestones[link]

Depending on the exact definition of 'civilian', the first civilian in space was either Valentina Tereshkova^[43] aboard Vostok 6 (she also became the first woman in space on that mission) or Joseph Albert Walker^[44][45] on X-15 Flight 90 a month later. Tereshkova was only honorarily inducted into the USSR's Air Force, which had no female pilots whatsoever at that time. Joe Walker had joined the US Army Air Force but was not a member during his flight. The first people in space who had never been a member of any country's armed forces were both Konstantin Feoktistov and Boris Yegorov aboard Voskhod 1.

The first non-governmental space traveler was Byron K. Lichtenberg, a researcher from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who flew on STS-9 in 1983.^[46] In December 1990, Toyohiro Akiyama became the first paying space traveler as a reporter for Tokyo Broadcasting System, a visit to Mir as part of an estimated $12 million (USD) deal with a Japanese TV station, although at the time, the term used to refer to Akiyama was "Research Cosmonaut".^[47][48][49] Akiyama suffered severe space-sickness during his mission, which affected his productivity.^[48]

The first self-funded space tourist was Dennis Tito on board the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-3 on 28 April 2001.

Self-funded travelers[link]

The first person to fly on an entirely privately funded mission was Mike Melvill, piloting SpaceShipOne flight 15P on a sub-orbital journey, although he was a test pilot employed by Scaled Composites and not an actual paying space tourist.^[50][51] Seven others have paid to fly into space:

1. Dennis Tito (American): April 28 – May 6, 2001 (ISS)
2. Mark Shuttleworth (South African): April 25 – May 5, 2002 (ISS)
3. Gregory Olsen (American): October 1–11, 2005 (ISS)
4. Anousheh Ansari (Iranian / American): September 18–29, 2006 (ISS)
5. Charles Simonyi (Hungarian / American): April 7–21, 2007 (ISS), March 26 – April 8, 2009 (ISS)
6. Richard Garriott (American): October 12–24, 2008 (ISS)
7. Guy Laliberté (Canadian): September 30, 2009 – October 11, 2009 (ISS)

Training[link]

The first NASA astronauts were selected for training in 1959.^[52] Early in the space program, military jet test piloting and engineering training were often cited as prerequisites for selection as an astronaut at NASA, although neither John Glenn nor Scott Carpenter (of the Mercury Seven) had any university degree, in engineering or any other discipline at the time of their selection. Selection was initially limited to military pilots.^[53][54] The earliest astronauts for both America and Russia tended to be jet fighter pilots, and were often test pilots.

Once selected, NASA astronauts go through 20 months of training in a variety of areas, including training for extra-vehicular activity in a facility such as NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.^[1][53] Astronauts-in-training may also experience short periods of weightlessness in aircraft called the "vomit comet", the nickname given to a pair of modified KC-135s (retired in 2000 and 2004 respectively, and replaced in 2005 with a C-9) which perform parabolic flights.^[52] Astronauts are also required to accumulate a number of flight hours in high-performance jet aircraft. This is mostly done in T-38 jet aircraft out of Ellington Field, due to its proximity to the Johnson Space Center. Ellington Field is also where the Shuttle Training Aircraft is maintained and developed, although most flights of the aircraft are done out of Edwards Air Force Base.

NASA candidacy requirements[link]

• Be citizens of the United States.^[52][55]
• Pass a strict physical examination, and have a near and distant visual acuity correctable to 20/20 (6/6). Blood pressure, while sitting, must be no greater than 140 over 90.

Commander and Pilot[link]

• A bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics is required.
• At least 1,000 hours flying time as pilot-in-command in jet aircraft. Experience as a test pilot is desirable.
• Height must be 5 ft 2 in to 6 ft 2 in (1.58 to 1.88 m).
• Distant visual acuity must be correctable to 20/20 in each eye.
• The refractive surgical procedures of the eye, PRK (Photorefractive keratectomy) and LASIK, are now allowed, providing at least 1 year has passed since the date of the procedure with no permanent adverse after effects. For those applicants under final consideration, an operative report on the surgical procedure will be requested.

Mission Specialist[link]

• A bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics, as well as at least three years of related professional experience (graduate work or studies) and an advanced degree (master's degree = 1 year or a doctoral degree = 3 years)
• Applicant's height must be 5 ft 2 in to 6 ft 4 in (1.57 to 1.93 m).

Mission Specialist Educator[link]

Mission Specialist Educators Lindenberger, Arnold, and Acaba during a parabolic flight.

• Bachelor's degree with teaching experience, including work at the kindergarten through 12th grade level. Advanced degree not required, but is desired.^[56]

Mission Specialist Educators, or "Educator Astronauts", were first selected in 2004, and as of 2007, there are three NASA Educator astronauts: Joseph M. Acaba, Richard R. Arnold, and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger.^[57][58] Barbara Morgan, selected as back-up teacher to Christa McAuliffe in 1985, is considered to be the first Educator astronaut by the media, but she trained as a mission specialist.^[59] The Educator Astronaut program is a successor to the Teacher in Space program from the 1980s.^[60][61]

Health risks of space travel[link]

Astronauts are susceptible to a variety of health risks including decompression sickness, barotrauma, immunodeficiencies, loss of bone and muscle, orthostatic intolerance due to volume loss, sleep disturbances, and radiation injury. A variety of large scale medical studies are being conducted in space via the National Space and Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) to address these issues. Prominent among these is the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Study in which astronauts (including former ISS commanders Leroy Chiao and Gennady Padalka) perform ultrasound scans under the guidance of remote experts to diagnose and potentially treat hundreds of medical conditions in space. This study's techniques are now being applied to cover professional and Olympic sports injuries as well as ultrasound performed by non-expert operators in medical and high school students. It is anticipated that remote guided ultrasound will have application on Earth in emergency and rural care situations, where access to a trained physician is often rare.^[62][63][64]

Insignia[link]

In Russia, cosmonauts are awarded Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation upon completion of their missions, often accompanied with the award of Hero of the Russian Federation. This follows the practice established in the Soviet Union.

At NASA, those who complete astronaut candidate training receive a silver lapel pin. Once they have flown in space, they receive a gold pin. U.S. astronauts who also have active-duty military status receive a special qualification badge, known as the Astronaut Badge, after participation on a spaceflight. The United States Air Force also presents an Astronaut Badge to its pilots who exceed 50 miles (80 km) in altitude.

Space Mirror Memorial

Deaths[link]

Eighteen astronauts (fourteen men and four women) have lost their lives during four space flights. By nationality, they are 13 Americans (including one with dual Indian citizenship), four Russians (Soviet Union), and one Israeli.

Eleven people (all men) have lost their lives training for spaceflight: eight Americans and three Russians. Six of these were in crashes of training jet aircraft, one drowned during water recovery training, and four were due to fires in pure oxygen environments.

The Space Mirror Memorial, which stands on the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, commemorates the lives of the men and women who have died during spaceflight and during training in the space programs of the United States. In addition to twenty NASA career astronauts, the memorial includes the names of a U.S. Air Force X-15 test pilot, a U.S. Air Force officer who died while training for a then-classified military space program, and a civilian spaceflight participant.

See also[link]

	Spaceflight portal
	Space portal
	Solar System portal
	Astronomy portal

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up cosmonaut, spationaut, astronaut, or taikonaut in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Astronauts

• NASA: How to become an astronaut 101
• List of International partnership organizations
• Encyclopedia Astronautica: Phantom cosmonauts
• collectSPACE: Astronaut appearances calendar
• spacefacts Spacefacts.de
• Manned astronautics: facts and figures
• Astronaut Candidate Brochure online

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Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov
Cosmonaut
Nationality	Soviet Union
Born	(1927-03-16)March 16, 1927 Moscow, USSR
Died	April 24, 1967(1967-04-24) (aged 40) Orenburg Oblast, USSR
Other occupation	Engineer
Rank	Polkovnik (equiv. Colonel), Soviet Air Force
Time in space	2d 03h 04m
Selection	Air Force Group 1
Missions	Voskhod 1, Soyuz 1
Mission insignia
Awards

1964 USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov

Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov (Russian: Влади́мир Миха́йлович Комаро́в; IPA: [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr mʲɪˈxaɪləvʲɪtɕ kəmɐˈrof]; 16 March 1927 – 24 April 1967) was a Soviet test pilot, aerospace engineer and cosmonaut in the first group of cosmonauts selected in 1960. He was one of the most highly experienced and well-qualified candidates accepted into "Air Force Group One".

Komarov was declared medically unfit for training or spaceflight twice while he was in the program, but his perseverance and superior skills and his knowledge as an engineer allowed him to continue playing an active role. During his time at the Tsentr Podgotovki Kosmonavtov (cosmonaut training centre), he contributed to space vehicle design, cosmonaut training and evaluation and public relations. He was eventually selected to command the first Soviet multiman Voskhod 1 spaceflight that presented a number of technical innovations in the Space Race. Komarov was later chosen for the rigorous task of commanding Soyuz 1 as part of the Soviet Union's bid to reach the Moon first.

His spaceflight on Soyuz 1 made him the first cosmonaut to fly into outer space more than once, and he became the first human to die during a spaceflight—when the Soyuz 1 space capsule crashed after re-entry on April 24, 1967.^[1]

Early life[link]

Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov (Russian: Влади́мир Миха́йлович Комаро́в) was born in Moscow on March 16, 1927, where he grew up along with his sister Matilde. His father was a laborer who worked at various low-paid jobs to support the family. In 1935, Komarov began his formal education in the local elementary school. Here he showed a natural aptitude for mathematics.^[2] In 1941, Komarov left school because of World War II, and the Nazi German invasion of the U.S.S.R., and he became a laborer on a collective farm. He showed an interest in aeronautics from an early age, and he collected magazines and pictures about aviation, in addition to making model aircraft and his own propeller.^[3] At the age of fifteen in 1942, Komarov entered the "1st Moscow Special Air Force School" to pursue his dream of becoming an aviator. Shortly thereafter, his family learned that Komarov's father had been killed in an "unknown war action."^[3] Of necessity because of the German invasion, the flight school was soon moved to the Tyumen Region in Siberia for the duration of the war. Students there learned a wide variety of subjects besides aviation -- including zoology and foreign languages. In 1945, Komarov graduated from flight school with honors. Hostilities ended in World War II before Komarov was called on to enter combat.

In 1946, Komarov completed his first year of training at the Chkalov Higher Air Force School in Borisoglebsk in Voronezh Region. He then completed his training at the A.K. Serov Military Aviation College in Bataisk. Komarov's mother died in 1948, seven months before his graduation (in 1949) at which he received his pilots wings and commission as a lieutenant in the Soviet Air Force.

Career in the Soviet Air Force[link]

In December 1949, Komarov served as the pilot of a fighter plane with the 383rd Regiment of the 42nd North Caucasian Fighter Air Division that was based in Grozny.

Komarov married Valentina Yakovlevna Kiselyova in October 1950. He was promoted to senior lieutenant in 1952, and he was later assigned as the chief pilot of the 486th Regiment of the 279th Fighter Air Division in the Prikarpate Region.^[3] Komarov continued to fly in that position until 1954, and then he enrolled in an engineering course at the N.E. Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy. In 1959, Komarov was promoted to the rank of senior engineer-lieutenant. Later that year he achieved his goal of becoming a test pilot at the Central Scientific Research Institute at Chkalovsky.

Cosmonaut selection[link]

Air Force Group One[link]

In September 1959, Komarov was promoted to engineer-captain and invited to participate in the selection process for cosmonaut candidate along with approximately 3,000 other pilots.^[4] He was one of only 20 candidates selected for "Air Force Group One", he and reported to the newly formed TsPK just outside Moscow for assignment on March 13, 1960.

Although eminently qualified, Komarov was not chosen in the top six candidates, because he did not meet the age, height and weight restrictions specified by the "Chief Designer" of Russia's space program: Sergei Korolev. "If the criteria had been different," the cosmonaut trainer Mark Gallai noted in an interview, "certainly Komarov, who was very intelligent, would have been in the group. He had Air Force Academy flight experience. He had a great influence on the design of the Vostok and and [the] Voskhod."^[5] At age 32, Komarov was the second-oldest of the pilots chosen, whereas Sergi Korolev had specified a maximum age of just 27. Of the first intake, only two members, Pavel Belyayev (of Voskhod 2) and Komarov, were also graduates of the Soviet Air Force Academy. Also, just Komarov had experience as a fight test engineer on new aircraft.^[6]

Training[link]

Shortly after beginning his training Komarov was hospitalised for a minor operation in May 1960, which left him medically unfit for physical training for approximately 6 months. At the time, the selection criteria placed a heavy emphasis on the physical condition of cosmonauts and any imperfection led to instant disqualification. Since Komarov already held engineering qualifications, he was allowed to remain a part of the program after assuring the administration he would be able to catch up. He continued with the required academic studies while recovering.^[7] He returned to training in October, because his recovery was more rapid than medical staff had expected. During that time he assisted his younger peers with their academic studies; earning him the casual nickname of "The Professor" which he shared with Belayev who was 2 years his senior. In 1961 the first space flights began. By 1962, Komarov was the third highest paid cosmonaut, due to his qualifications, rank and experience. He earned 528 rubles a year, with only cosmonauts 1 and 2 Yuri Gagarin and Gherman Titov being more highly paid.^[8]

When Georgi Shonin demonstrated an unacceptable level of g-Force susceptibility in the centrifuge he was replaced by Komarov in May 1962 for planned dual Vostok missions.^[9] Komarov was selected as back up for Pavel Popovich (Vostok 4), but subsequent routine ECG testing of Komarov revealed a heart irregularity and he was pulled from the program and replaced by Boris Volynov^[10] The same heart irregularity grounded American Astronaut Deke Slayton. After Komarov persistently lobbied medical and military personnel to be readmitted into the program he was allowed to return to training.

In 1963, cosmonaut training was conducted in 6 Groups, with Komarov being selected in Group 2 with Valery Bykovsky and Volynov.^[11] This group was to train for missions of up to five days in duration scheduled for the latter part of 1963. In May 1963 Alekseyev proposed to Kamanin that Komarov be named backup for Vostok 5 rather than Khrunov because his suit was ready.^[12] Komarov was later named in a further group for planned missions in 1964 with Belyaev, Shonin, Khrunov, Zaikin, Gorbatko, Volynov, and Leonov. The training groups were formed for later Vostok missions, (Vostok 7-13) but no actual crews were assigned and the missions did not occur under the auspices of the original Vostok program.^[13] In December 1963, Komarov was shortlisted for flight by Kamanin with Volynov and Leonov, having completed 2 years of training.

In April 1964 Komarov was declared space-flight ready with Bykovsky, Popovich, Titov, Volynov, Leonov, Khrunov, Belyayev, and Lev Demin.^[14] From this group the commander of the planned Voskhod mission scheduled for late 1964 would be chosen. In May the group was reduced to Volynov, Komarov, Leonov, Khrunov.^[15]

During training, Komarov lived at the TsPK (which would later be nicknamed Star City by the Soviet press) with his wife Valentina and their two children Yevgeny and Irina. There he enjoyed hunting, cross country skiing, ice hockey and other social activities with his fellow trainees in their leisure time. Komarov was well liked by his peers and was referred to by them as Volodya (a diminutive of his first name). Pavel Popovich noted that Komarov was respected for his humility and experience: "…he was already an engineer when he joined us, but he never looked down on the others. He was warm-hearted, purposeful and industrious. Volodya's prestige was so high that people came to him to discuss all questions: personal as well as questions of our work."^[16] Fellow cosmonaut Alexei Leonov described him as "…very serious. He was a first-class test pilot."^[17]

Spaceflights[link]

[edit] Voskhod 1

By July 1964, only seven cosmonauts remained eligible for the Voskhod crew after some of them had been disqualified on medical grounds. On July 6, Komarov was named as the commander of the back-up crew for Voskhod 1. After much heated debate over several months about the selection of the crew between Nikolai Kamanin and Sergei Korolev, Komarov was named as prime crew commander on October 4, 1964, by the State Commission;^[18] just eight days before its scheduled launch. Kamanin played tennis with the Voskhod crew that evening and noted that Komarov played poorly in comparison to his crew: Boris Yegorov and Konstantin Feoktistov.

On October 9, Komarov and the crew inspected the Voskhod with Korolev and other members of the administration. Later that day they were interviewed by the state press and played tennis for the benefit of photographers.

On the morning of October 11, Komarov was given various communist relics to take with him into space the following day. In the afternoon the crew again inspected the capsule and were given their final instructions by Korolev. Komarov was the only member of the crew to have undertaken extensive training and was the only member with any flight experience; the two other crewmen being civilians. His call sign was "Ruby" (Russian: Рубин).

During the mission Komarov performed various tasks with the other crew members, including medical and navigational tests and observing the Aurora Borealis. He also made a number of radio transmissions, including a greeting to the Tokyo Olympics which had opened on October 10. Some of the transmissions Komarov made were recorded by amateur radio operators like Sven Grahn. The mission lasted just over 24 hours. After the crew landed safely they were flown back to the launch site at Tyuratam (also known as Baikonur to disguise its true location). Kamanin noted in his diary that while his crew were in good spirits, Komarov was fatigued.^[19] On October 19, Komarov and his crew made reports in Red Square and attended an audience at the Kremlin.^[20] After the success of this short but scientifically important mission he was promoted to colonel.^[21] The success of the mission earned Komarov the awards of the Order of Lenin and Hero of the Soviet Union.

In December 1964, the RSVN (Strategic Rocket Forces) requested that Komarov be transferred to the RSVN from the VVS (Soviet Air Force), in a move possibly motivated by the poor record of the RSVN in producing successful rockets compared to the VVS. The request was opposed by Kamanin.^[22]

In 1965, Komarov worked with Yuri Gagarin in supervising preparations for the flight of Voskhod 2, which carried out the first attempt of an Extravehicular activity in outer space. These preparations included fitting of space suits on the cosmonauts and briefings for the spaceflight. In April of that year, Komarov toured St. Petersburg, Russia, with Kamanin, Gagarin, Gherman Titov, Belyayev, and Leonov, and Komarov visited Petropavlovsk Fortress with Valentin Glushko where he had conducted the first rocket experiments in the early 1930s.^[23] In September that year, Komarov toured West Germany.

[edit] Soyuz 1

Komarov was assigned to the Soviet Soyuz program along with Yuri Gagarin and Alexei Leonov. In July 1966, Komarov was reprimanded by Kamanin for his unauthorised disclosure that "…the Soviet Union will, at the scheduled time, fly an automated spacecraft around the Moon and return it to (the) Earth, to be followed by a dog flight, then a manned circumlunar flight."^[24] whilst in Japan. The following month Komarov clashed with other engineers over ongoing design problems in which zero-G tests showed that the Soyuz module hatch was too small to allow the exit of a fully suited cosmonaut safely.^[25] Meanwhile Komarov and his fellow cosmonauts had their groups and assignments constantly revised and they became increasingly anxious about the lack of response to their concerns about the design and manufacture of space craft which had been raised in a letter to Leonid Brezhnev by Yuri Gagarin on their behalf.

Komarov was selected to command the Soyuz 1, in 1967, with Yuri Gagarin as his backup cosmonaut. During the preparations for the spaceflight, both cosmonauts were working 12-to-14 hour days to prepare for it. One source reports that before boarding the spacecraft, Komarov feared for his life, but he flew anyway in order to spare Gagarin the same fate.^[26] On orbital insertion, the solar panels of the Soyuz module failed to fully deploy, thereby preventing the craft from being fully powered and obscuring some of the navigation equipment. Komarov reported: "Conditions are poor. The cabin parameters are normal, but the left solar panel didn't deploy. The electrical bus is at only 13 to 14 amperes. The HF (high frequency) communications are not working. I cannot orient the spacecraft to the sun. I tried orienting the spacecraft manually using the DO-1 orientation engines, but the pressure remaining on the DO-1 has gone down to 180."^[27] Komarov tried unsuccessfully to orient the Soyuz module for five hours. The craft was transmitting unreliable status information and communications were lost on orbits 13 through 15 due to the failure of the high frequency transmitter which would have maintained radio contact whilst the craft was out of range of the ultra-high frequency (UHF) receivers on the ground.^[28]

As a result of the problems with the craft, the second Soyuz module which was to have carried cosmonauts to perform an extra-vehicular activity (EVA) to the Soyuz 1 was not launched and the mission was cut short.

Komarov was ordered to re-orient the craft using the ion system on orbits 15 through 17. The ion engine system failed. Komarov did not have enough time to attempt a manual re-entry until orbit 19. Manual orientation relied on using the equipped Vzor device, but in order to do this, Komarov needed to be able to see the sun. To reach the designated landing site at Orsk the retro-fire would need to take place on the night side of the earth. Komarov oriented the spacecraft manually on the dayside then used the gyro-platform as a reference so that he could orient the craft for a night side retro-fire.^[29] He successfully re-entered the earth's atmosphere on his 19th orbit, but the module's drogue and main braking parachute failed to deploy correctly and the module crashed into the ground, killing Komarov.

In Leo De Boer's documentary The Red Stuff (2000), Alexei Leonov noted the profound effect that Komarov's death had on the morale of the Cosmonaut corps: "He was our friend. Before his death the press and public had paid little attention to the extreme risks we took."^[30]

Honours and awards[link]

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Russian Wikipedia.

• Gold Star Hero of the Soviet Union, twice (19 October 1964, 1967 (posthumously))
• Order of Lenin (19 October 1964)
• Order of the Red Star (1961)
• Medal "For Combat Merit" (1956)
• Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands" (1964)
• Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR
• Hero of Socialist Labour (Vietnam, 1964)

Posthumous honours[link]

On April 26, 1967, Komarov was given a state funeral in Moscow, and his ashes were interred in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis at Red Square.

Komarov was posthumously awarded his second Order of Lenin and also the Order of Hero of the Soviet Union.

On April 25, 1968, a memorial service was held for Komarov at the crash site near Omsk. Kamanin noted in his diary that over 10,000 people were present at this service, "some driving hundreds of kilometres for the event".^[31]

Komarov has been featured on commemorative First Day Covers and stamps for his contribution to the space program -- from several different countries.

Monument of Vladimir Komarov on Cosmonauts Alley in Moscow

Komarov is commemorated with other prominent figures from the early Russian space program with a bust on Cosmonauts Alley in Moscow, and he is also honored with a monument at the crash site near Orsk.^[32]

Before leaving the Moon on Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong's final task was to place a small package of memorial items to honor Komarov, Yuri Gagarin, and the Apollo 1 astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee. Komarov's name also appears on a plaque left at Hadley Rille on the Moon by the commander of Apollo 15, David Scott, along with a small sculpture representing the "Fallen Astronaut" on August 1, 1971. This plaque and the sculpture represent those astronauts and cosmonauts who died in the quest to reach outer space and the Moon.

Response to Komarov's death[link]

On April 25, a response to Komarov's death by his fellow cosmonauts was published in Pravda: "For the forerunners it is always more difficult. They tread the unknown paths and these paths are not straight, they have sharp turns, surprises and dangers. But anyone who takes the pathway into orbit never wants to leave it. And no matter what difficulties or obstacles there are, they are never strong enough to deflect such a man from his chosen path. While his heart beats in his chest, a cosmonaut will always continue to challenge the universe. Vladimir Komarov was one of the first on this treacherous path."^[33]

When interviewed on May 17 by the newspaper Komosmolskaya Pravda, Yuri Gagarin alluded to the failure of the administration to listen to the concerns about the Soyuz module that were identified by the cosmonaut corps and that Komarov's death should teach the establishment to be more rigorous in its testing and evaluation of "all the mechanisms of the spaceship, even more attentive to all stages of checking and testing, even more vigilant in our encounter with the unknown. He has shown us how dangerous the pathway to space is. His flight and his death will teach us courage."^[34] In May 1967, Gagarin and Leonov criticised Mishin's "poor knowledge of the Soyuz spacecraft and the details of its operation, his lack of cooperation in working with the cosmonauts in flight and training activities" and asked Kamanin for him to be cited in the official report into the crash.^[35]

Legacy[link]

After Komarov's death, the communications systems on-board all Soviet spacecraft were modified -- because Komarov's voice transmissions from Soyuz 1 had blocked its telemetry signals.

The asteroid 1836 Komarov, discovered in 1971, was named in the honor of Komarov, as was a crater on the Moon.^[36] This asteroid and the cosmonaut inspired the composer Brett Dean to write a piece of symphonic music commissioned by conductor Simon Rattle in 2006. The composition is named Komarov's Fall, and it can be found on the EMI Classics Album of Simon Rattle's The Planets.

Among other honors, the Vladimir M. Komarov Astronautical Rocketry Club (ARK) in Ljubljana has also borne Komarov's name since 1969.

The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale's V.M. Komarov Diploma is named in Komarov's honor.

There was formerly a Soviet satellite-tracking ship named for Komarov, the Kosmonaut Vladimir Komarov.

The Estonian band Sõpruse Puiestee (Friendship Boulevard)] wrote a song "Planeetidegi vahel kehtib raskus" ("Difficulty stands even between planets") in honor of Komarov. This recording was completed 43 years after Komarov's death, on April 24, 2010.

The French electro band named Kowalsky wrote a song "Lost" (2008) in honor of Komarov, in which the listener can hear his last words.

The American progressive metal band Cormorant wrote a song "Unearthly Dreamings" (2011) about Komarov's failed space misson.

See also[link]

• Apollo 1
• Atmospheric reentry#Notable atmospheric entry mishaps
• Soyuz 1
• Soyuz 11
• Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Burgess, Colin; Doolan, Kate; Vis, Bert (2003). Fallen Astronauts. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 272. ISBN 0-8032-6212-4. 
• Burgess, Colin (October 15, 2007). In the Shadow of the Moon: A Challenging Journey to Tranquility, 1965-1969. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 448. ISBN 978-0-8032-1128-5. 
• Burgess, Colin; Hall, Rex. The First Soviet Cosmonaut Team: Their lives, legacy and historical impact. ISBN 978-0-387-84823-5. 
• Hall, Rex; Shayler, David. The Rocket Men: Vostok & Voskhod, The first Soviet Manned Spaceflights. ISBN 1-85233-391-X. 
• Nikolai Kamanin's personal diaries, from 1960-1971. A summary and English translation by Mark Wade is available online at Kamanin Diaries, in the Encyclopedia Astronautica.
• Bizony, Piers; Doran, Jamie (1998). Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. ISBN 0-7475-3688-0. 

External links[link]

• Yahoo News
• Analysis of Voskhod Mission and in flight voice recordings of Komarov compiled by Sven Grahn
• Analysis of Soyuz 1 Mission and in flight voice recordings of Komarov compiled by Sven Grahn
• ARK Vladimir M. Komarov
• Komarov - detailed biography at Encyclopedia Astronautica
• BBC "On this day" 1967: Russian cosmonaut dies in space crash
• Zarya - site dedicated to early Soviet Missions, including Voskhod

Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova
Soviet cosmonaut The first woman in space
Nationality	Russian
Born	(1937-03-06) 6 March 1937 (age 75) Bolshoye Maslennikovo, Tutayevsky District, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russian SFSR, USSR
Other occupation	Pilot
Rank	General-Major, Soviet Air Force
Time in space	2days, 23hrs and 12mins
Selection	Female Group
Missions	Vostok 6
Mission insignia
Awards

Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (Russian: Валенти́на Влади́мировна Терешко́ва; born March 6, 1937) is a retired Soviet cosmonaut, and was the first woman in space. She was selected out of more than four hundred applicants, and then out of five finalists, to pilot Vostok 6 on the 16 June, 1963, becoming both the first woman and the first civilian to fly in space,^[1] as she was only honorarily inducted into the USSR's Air Force as a condition on joining the Cosmonaut Corps. During her three-day mission, she performed various tests on herself to collect data on the female body's reaction to spaceflight.

Before being recruited as a cosmonaut, Tereshkova was a textile factory assembly worker and an amateur parachutist. After the dissolution of the first group of female cosmonauts in 1969, she became a prominent member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, holding various political offices. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, she stayed in politics and remains revered as a hero in post-Soviet Russia.

Early life[link]

Tereshkova was born in the village Maslennikovo, Tutayevsky District, Yaroslavl Oblast, in central Russia. Her parents had migrated from Belarus.^[2] Tereshkova's father was a tractor driver and her mother worked in a textile plant. Tereshkova began school in 1945 at the age of eight, but left school in 1953 and continued her education by correspondence courses.^[3] She became interested in parachuting from a young age, and trained in skydiving at the local Aeroclub, making her first jump at age 22 on 21 May 1959; at the time, she was employed as a textile worker in a local factory. It was her expertise in skydiving that led to her selection as a cosmonaut. In 1961 she became the secretary of the local Komsomol (Young Communist League) and later joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Career in the Soviet space program[link]

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Cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova and Valery Bykovsky among children

After the flight of Yuri Gagarin in 1961, Sergey Korolyov, the chief Soviet rocket engineer, came up with the idea of putting a woman in space. On February 16, 1962, Valentina Tereshkova was selected to join the female cosmonaut corps. Out of more than four hundred applicants, five were selected: Tatyana Kuznetsova, Irina Solovyova, Zhanna Yorkina, Valentina Ponomaryova, and Tereshkova. Qualifications included that they be parachutists under 30 years of age, under 170 cm (5 feet 7 inches) tall, and under 70 kg (154 lbs.) in weight.

Tereshkova was considered a particularly worthy candidate, partly due to her "proletarian" background, and because her father, tank leader sergeant Vladimir Tereshkov, was a war hero. He died in the Finnish Winter War during WWII in the Lemetti area in Finnish Karelia when Tereshkova was two years old. After her mission she was asked how the Soviet Union should thank her for her service to the country. Tereshkova asked that the government search for, and publish, the location where her father was killed in action. This was done, and a monument now stands at the site in Lemetti—now on the Russian side of the border. Tereshkova has since visited Finland several times.

Training included weightless flights, isolation tests, centrifuge tests, rocket theory, spacecraft engineering, 120 parachute jumps and pilot training in MiG-15UTI jet fighters. The group spent several months in intensive training, concluding with examinations in November 1962, after which four remaining candidates were commissioned Junior Lieutenants in the Soviet Air Force. Tereshkova, Solovyova and Ponomaryova were the leading candidates, and a joint mission profile was developed that would see two women launched into space, on solo Vostok flights on consecutive days in March or April 1963.

Cosmonauts Andriyan Nikolayev and Valentina Tereshkova on Hungarian stamp.

Originally it was intended that Tereshkova would launch first in Vostok 5 while Ponomaryova would follow her into orbit in Vostok 6. However, this flight plan was altered in March 1963. Vostok 5 would now carry a male cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky flying the joint mission with a woman aboard Vostok 6 in June 1963. The State Space Commission nominated Tereshkova to pilot Vostok 6 at their meeting on May 21 and this was confirmed by Nikita Khrushchev himself. At the time of her selection, Tereshkova was ten years younger than the youngest Mercury Seven astronaut, Gordon Cooper.

After watching the successful launch of Vostok 5 on June 14, Tereshkova began final preparations for her own flight. She was 26 at the time. On the morning of 16 June 1963, Tereshkova and her back-up Solovyova were both dressed in spacesuits and taken to the launch pad by bus. After completing her communication and life support checks, she was sealed inside the Vostok. After a two-hour countdown, Vostok 6 launched faultlessly, and Tereshkova became the first woman in space. Her call sign in this flight was Chaika (English: Seagull; Russian: Ча́йка), later commemorated as the name of an asteroid, 1671 Chaika.

Nikita Khrushchev, Valentina Tereshkova, Pavel Popovich and Yury Gagarin at Lenin Mausoleum, 1963.

Although Tereshkova experienced nausea and physical discomfort for much of the flight,^[4] she orbited the earth 48 times and spent almost three days in space. With a single flight, she logged more flight time than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown before that date. Tereshkova also maintained a flight log and took photographs of the horizon, which were later used to identify aerosol layers within the atmosphere.

Vostok 6 was the final Vostok flight and was launched two days after Vostok 5 which carried Valery Bykovsky into a similar orbit for five days, landing three hours after Tereshkova. The two vessels approached each other within 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) at one point, and Tereshkova communicated with Bykovsky and with Khrushchev by radio.

Even though there were plans for further flights by women, it took 19 years until the second woman, Svetlana Savitskaya, flew into space. None of the other four in Tereshkova's early group flew, and in October 1969 the pioneering female cosmonaut group was dissolved.

Later career[link]

Tereshkova, skiing, 1964

After her flight, she studied at the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy and graduated with distinction as a cosmonaut engineer. In 1977 she earned a doctorate in engineering. Due to her prominence she was chosen for several political positions: from 1966 to 1974 she was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, from 1974 to 1989 a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, and from 1969 to 1991 she was in the Central Committee of the Communist Party. In 1997 she was retired from the air force and the cosmonaut corps by presidential order.

After the Vostok 6 flight a rumor began circulating that she would marry Andrian Nikolayev (1929–2004), the only bachelor cosmonaut to have flown. Nikolayev and Tereshkova married on 3 November 1963 at the Moscow Wedding Palace. Khrushchev himself presided at the wedding party, together with top government and space program leaders.

On June 8, 1964, she gave birth to their daughter Elena Andrianovna Nikolaeva-Tereshkova ^[5] (who is now a doctor and was the first person to have both a mother and father who had travelled into space). She and Nikolayev divorced in 1982. Her second husband, Yuli Shaposhnikov, died in 1999.

The wedding ceremony of pilot-cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova and Andrian Nikolaev, 3 November 1963.

Valentina Tereshkova later became a prominent member of the Soviet government and a well known representative abroad. She was made a member of the World Peace Council in 1966, a member of the Yaroslavl Soviet in 1967, a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union in 1966–1970 and 1970–1974, and was elected to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in 1974. She was also the Soviet representative to the UN Conference for the International Women's Year in Mexico City in 1975. She also led the Soviet delegation to the World Conference on Women in Copenhagen and played a critical role in shaping the socialist women's global agenda for peace. She attained the rank of deputy to the Supreme Soviet, membership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Central Committee, Vice President of the International Woman’s Democratic Federation and President of the Soviet-Algerian Friendship Society.

She was decorated with the Hero of the Soviet Union medal, the USSR's highest award. She was also awarded the Order of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, numerous other medals, and foreign orders including the Karl Marx Order, United Nations Gold Medal of Peace and the Simba International Women’s Movement Award. She was also bestowed a title of the Hero of Socialist Labor of Czechoslovakia, Hero of Labor of Vietnam, and Hero of Mongolia. In 1990 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. Tereshkova crater on the far side of the Moon was named after her. Valentina Tereshkova became the first and still remains to be the only female general officer in both Soviet and Russian armed forces.

Tereshkova in 1970

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tereshkova lost her political office but none of her prestige. To this day, she is revered as a hero, and to some her importance in Russian space history is only surpassed by Yuri Gagarin and Alexey Leonov. Since her retirement from politics, she appears infrequently at space-related events, and appears to be content with being out of the limelight.

Tereshkova's life and spaceflight were first examined (in the west) in the 1975 book: It Is I, Sea Gull; Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space by Mitchel R. Sharpe^[6] and then again in greater detail of her life and spaceflight in the 2007 book Into That Silent Sea by Colin Burgess and Francis French, including interviews with Tereshkova and her colleagues.

Tereshkova was invited to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's residence in Novo-Ogaryovo for the celebration of her 70th birthday. While there she said that she would like to fly to Mars, even if it meant that it was a one way trip.^[7]

On 5 April 2008, she became a torchbearer of the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay in Saint Petersburg, Russia.^[8]

She received the Eduard Rhein Ring of Honor from the German Eduard Rhein Foundation in 2007.^[9][10]

Honours and awards[link]

Tereshkova in 2002

Tereshkova visiting the Lvov confectionary, 1967

Valentina Tereshkova and Neil Armstrong, 1970

Valentina Tereshkova among delegates of the 24th CPSU congress, 1971

Valentina Tereshkova and NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in December 2010.

Tereshkova receives the Order of Friendship from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on 12 April 2011 at the Moscow Kremlin.

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Russian Wikipedia.

Soviet and Russian

• Honoured Master of Sports (19 June 1963)
• Hero of the Soviet Union (22 June 1963)
• Order of Merit for the Fatherland;
  • 2nd class (6 March 2007) - for outstanding contribution to the development of domestic space
  • 3rd class (6 March 1997) - for services to the state and the great personal contribution to the development of domestic space
• Order of Honour (10 June 2003) - for outstanding contribution to the development and strengthening of international scientific, cultural and social ties
• Order of Friendship (April 12, 2011) - for outstanding contribution to the development of national manned space flight and long-term fruitful public activity
• Two Orders of Lenin (22 June 1963 and 6 May 1981) - for making progress on the development and strengthening of ties with the progressive community and peace-loving forces of foreign countries
• Order of the October Revolution (1 December 1971)
• Order of the Red Banner of Labour (5 March 1987) - for social activities
• Order of the Friendship of Peoples
• Pilot-cosmonaut of the Soviet Union
• Russian Federation State Prize for outstanding achievements in the field of humanitarian action in 2008 (4 June 2009)
• Certificates of appreciation from the Government of the Russian Federation;
  • 16 June 2008, - for long-term fruitful state and public activities, considerable personal contribution to the development of manned space flight and in connection with the 45th anniversary of spaceflight
  • 12 June 2003, - for large contribution to the development of manned space flight
  • 3 March 1997) - for the contribution to the development of space, the strengthening of international scientific and cultural ties and years of diligent work

Foreign awards

• "Gold Star" Hero of Socialist Labour (Czechoslovakia) (August 1963)
• "Gold Star" Hero of Socialist Labour (Bulgaria) (Bulgaria, 9 September 1963)
• Order of Georgi Dimitrov (Bulgaria, 9 September 1963)
• Order of Karl Marx (October 1963, East Germany)
• Medal of Becker (October 1963, East Germany)
• Cross of Grunwald, 1st class (October 1963, Poland)
• Order Nepal, 1st class (November 1963)
• Order of the Star of the Republic of Indonesia, 2nd class (November 1963)
• Order of the Volta (Ghana, January 1964)
• Order of the National Flag with diamonds (Hungary, April 1965)
• "Gold Soyombo" Hero of Labour (Mongolia)
• Order of Sukhbaatar (Mongolia, May 1965)
• Order of the Enlightenment (Afghanistan, August 1969)
• Order of Planets (Jordan, December 1969)
• Order of the Nile (Egypt, January 1971)
• "Gold Star" Hero of Labour (Vietnam) (October 1971)
• Order of Bernardo O'Higgins (Chile, March 1972)
• Order of the Yugoslav Flag with sash (November 1972)
• Order "For Achievements in Science" (Romania, 17 November 1973)
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun (Peru, 1974)
• Order of the Bay of Pigs (Cuba, 1974)
• Order of Anne Betancourt (Cuba, 1974)
• Medal "For Strengthening Brotherhood in Arms" (Bulgaria, 1976)
• Order of the Duke of Branimir, with sash (Croatia, 17 February 2003)
• Order of Klement Gottwald (Czechoslovakia)

Scientific, social and religious organizations

• Gold Medal, Tsiolkovsky Academy of Sciences of the USSR
• Gold Medal of the British Society for interplanetary communications "For achievements in space exploration" (February 1964)
• Gold Medal of the "Cosmos" (FAI)
• Award Galambera Astronautics
• Gold Medal of Peace Joliot-Curie (France, 1964)
• Order "Wind Rose" International Committee of the National Aeronautics and Space Missions
• "Golden mimosa" of the Italian Union of Women (1963)
• Sign of the Komsomol "For active in the League" (1963)
• Gold Medal Exhibition of Economic Achievements (28 June 1963)
• Honour of DOSAAF (1 July 1963)
• Order of St. Euphrosyne, Grand Duchess of Moscow, 2nd class (2008)

Honorary Citizenships

Kaluga, Yaroslavl (Russia), Karaganda, Baikonur (Leninsk, Kazakhstan, 1977), Gyumri (Leninakan, Armenia, 1965), Vitebsk (Belarus, 1975), Montreux (Switzerland), Drancy (France), Montgomery (UK), Polizzi Generosa ( Italy), Darkhan (Mongolia, 1965), Sofia, Burgas, Petrich, Stara Zagora, Pleven, Varna (Bulgaria, 1963), Bratislava (Slovakia, 1963)

Recognition

Various locations and monuments have been named after Valentina Tereshkova:

• lunar crater
• minor planet 1671 Chaika
• Yalta embankment
• streets in Vitebsk, Volokolamsk, Grodno, Irkutsk, Ishimbay, Kemerovo, Klin, Korolyov, Lipetsk, Mytishchi, Ardatov, Novosibirsk (Akademgorodok), Novocheboksarsk, Odessa, Orenburg, Yaroslavl, Krasnoyarsk, Penza, Gudermes (Chechen Republic)
• a district in Tver
• School number 32 in Yaroslavl, where she studied
• Museum of Tereshkova "Cosmos" near her native village
• monument in Bayevsky District of Altai Territory close to the landing place of the first female astronaut
• "Greatest woman of 20th century"
• Cosmonaut monument in Moscow
• monument planned at Tereshkova's birthplace in Yaroslavl
• Yaroslavl Planetarium (7 April 2011)