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The First 5 Female Astronauts To Ever Go To Space

In the vast space, there are heroes who break through the Earth's atmosphere and reach for the stars. Among these brave explorers, there were five incredible women who made history by becoming the first female astronauts to travel into the great unknown.

(Photo by History in HD on Unsplash)

In this article, we will take a look at the first 5 female astronauts to ever go to space. Let's learn about their achievement and why they're very important! (Photo by Pixabay)

1. Valentina Tereshkova

Valentina Tereshkova was the very first lady to go to space. She was born in the Soviet Union in 1937. At first, she worked in a textile factory, but her life changed when she fell in love with skydiving.

(Photo by Alexander Mokletsov/
CC BY-SA 3.0)

When she was 26 years old, on June 16, 1963, she flew a spacecraft called Soviet Vostok 6 and became the first woman to travel in space. She beat more than 400 other women who wanted to do the same.

Valentina Tereshkova also set some special records. She's the only woman who flew into space all by herself, and she's the youngest woman ever to go to space.

2. Svetlana Savitskaya

Svetlana Savitskaya is a Russian woman who became an astronaut. She was born in Moscow in 1948.

(Photo by Kremlin.ru/CC BY 4.0)

When she was just 16 years old, she started parachuting without telling her parents. Later, she became a test pilot and was chosen for the Soviet space program.

On August 19, 1982, Svetlana Savitskaya, along with two other Soviet astronauts, flew into space on a spacecraft called Soyuz T-7. She became the second woman ever to go to space.

But that's not all! Two years later, on July 17, 1984, she went to space again. This time, she made history by becoming the first woman to go to space twice.

3. Sally Ride

Sally Ride was an American astronaut and physicist. She was born in Los Angeles in 1951. In 1978, she earned her doctorate degree in physics at Stanford University before joining NASA.

(Photo by NASA/Public Domain)

In 1983, on June 18, she took her first trip to space aboard the Challenger space shuttle on the STS-7 mission. This made her the very first American woman to go to space and also the youngest American in space at that time.

Just one year later, in 1984, Sally Ride went to space again, this time on the Space Shuttle Challenger for the STS-41-G mission.

4. Judith Resnik

Judith Resnik was an American-Jewish astronaut. She was born in Ohio in 1949. Before becoming an astronaut, Judith Resnik was a very talented electrical engineer.

(Photo by NASA/Public Domain)

Resnik was selected by NASA for their space program when she was just 28 years old. In 1984, she went on her first space trip on the Space Shuttle Discovery for the STS-41-D mission. This made her the second American woman to go to space and the first Jewish woman.

In 1985, NASA chose her again to be on the Space Shuttle Challenger for the STS-51-L mission. But on January 28, 1986, the Challenger broke apart just 73 seconds after it launched. Everyone on board, including Judith Resnik, lost their lives in this tragic accident.

5. Kathryn D. Sullivan

Kathryn D. Sullivan is a former NASA astronaut and a retired U.S. Navy officer. She was born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1951.

(Photo by NASA/Public Domain)

In 1978, NASA chose her to be an astronaut. Her first journey to space happened in 1984 when she was part of the crew on the space shuttle Challenger for the STS-41G mission. This made her the third American woman ever to go to space.

But her space adventures didn't end there. In 1990, she went on her second space mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery to deploy the Hubble Space Telescope. Two years later, she ventured into space once more, this time on the Space Shuttle Atlantis for the STS-45 mission.