Celine’s Interview With Valentina Tereshkova (this is a simulated interview)
This year we celebrate the 62nd anniversary of the first female space mission completed by former Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova. For this occasion, we had the opportunity to interview her to learn more about her life and the Vostok 6 mission.
Good morning, Mrs. Tereshkova. Let me introduce myself. My name is Celine, and today, I will have the immense pleasure of interviewing you.
Greetings to you too, Miss, and the pleasure is all mine.
Celine: So, the first question that comes to mind is this: How do you feel today, 62 years after that historic day?
Every June 16, since then, memories of my Vostok 6 mission resurface. Every year, it’s like reliving those moments.
Celine: Going back to those moments, do you remember the selections?
I remember them as if they were yesterday. So, General Kamanin proposed sending a woman into space to achieve more records and defeat the Americans. Khrushchev entirely accepted his proposal. I applied twice to enter the school of aspiring astronauts: the first time, I failed, and the second time, I succeeded. Then, in 1962, I participated in the selection for the first group of cosmonauts, which I passed with honors, together with four other former colleagues, Zanna Erkina, Tat’jana Kuznecova, Valentina Ponomareva, and Irina Solev’eva.
Celine: Did the four ladies participate in any other space mission?
No, no. Two of them were appointed as reserves in case something happened to me.
Celine: And what was the determining characteristic of your selection?
Skydiving, despite having no piloting experience.
Celine: After long months of training, that day had arrived… how did you feel?
I was anxious but, at the same time, excited for the feat I was about to accomplish.
Celine: On June 16, 1963, at 9:29, you took off aboard Vostok 6 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. After almost three days of orbiting the Earth 49 times, she returned on June 19 at 8:20, landing in the countryside not far from Karakanda. Am I wrong, or was there another mission in the same period besides Vostok 6?
Yes, there was Vostok 5 commanded by cosmonaut Bykovsky. But he left on the 14th, two days before me, and returned to Earth three hours later.
Celine: Did you meet at least once while in orbit?
Yes, even more than once: our orbits were very similar, and we communicated several times by radio.
Celine: Thanks to your flight, we were able to verify how female physiology reacts in the space environment. But were there any issues during the mission?
Yes, it is true. I felt nauseated and tired due to the lack of gravity, especially during the first orbits. Then, I had problems piloting the spacecraft toward the reentry phase’s orientation, so I asked the control center for assistance several times.
Celine: Two days later, you were awarded a significant honor.
Yes, that of a pilot cosmonaut of the Soviet Union.
Celine: What was the mission’s funniest and most beautiful part?
It was the moment of the parachute jump, not only because it was the thing I liked to do the most but also because I knew I would return to Earth safe and sound.
Celine: During the training, she did not tell your family about the mission.
Yes, given the problems we had in the family, I did not want to worry them further.
Celine: What part of the former Soviet Union are you from?
I come from Bolshoye Maslennikov, near Yaroslavl, on the Volga River.
Celine: What was your youth like?
It wasn’t easy. My father died during World War II, so I had to do many jobs to support my family. While working, I attended evening classes, and in 1960, I graduated as a technical expert.
Celine: How did your passion for skydiving begin?
It started in 1955 after I saw people doing it. Out of curiosity, I tried flying, and that was the spark.
Celine: What did you do in the years after the Vostok 6 mission?
1969 I studied at the Soviet Academy of Military Aeronautical Engineering, Tukovsky. In 1966, I began my political life by joining the High Soviet of the Soviet Union, and in 1968, I became the chairman of the Women’s Committee of the Soviet Union. In 1971, I became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Since 1974, I have been a member of the Council of the Supreme Soviet, and from 1976 onwards, I became the vice-chairman of the Committee on Education, Science and Culture of the Soviet Union. My last political post was at the Russian Center for International Cultural and Scientific Cooperation, where the government appointed me as director.
Celine: A very intense political life, but have you ever wanted to return to space?
Of course, but certain circumstances prevented me. Now it’s time to leave room for young people!
Celine’s Interview With Valentina Tereshkova | Post-interview notes: personal life and legacy
Family:
- Married to Andriyan Nikolayev (1963-1982), their daughter, Elena, is a doctor.
- She later remarried to Yuliy Shaposhnikov, a surgeon, who died in 1999.
- She maintained a close relationship with her mother, Elena Fyodorovna, until she died in 1987.
Health and secrecy:
- Soviet officials hid her in-flight struggles to protect the image of the mission.
- Long-term effects included joint pain and osteoporosis, common among early cosmonauts due to prolonged weightlessness.
Advocacy:
- Promotes STEM education for girls in Russia.
- An outspoken critic of the militarization of space, urging global cooperation: “In space, there are no borders, only shared wonders.”
Current Life (As of 2024):
- Resides in Star City, Russia, near the cosmonaut training center.
- Publishes memoirs and mentors young astronauts, insisting, “Courage is not the absence of fear, it is flying in spite of it.”
- https://scienceandaerospace.blog/science/dmitri-mendeleev-periodic-table-pionee
