Question 1

True or false: Tereshkova never flew in space again after her 1963 mission.

Accepted Answer

True. She was scheduled for a second flight, but it was canceled, and she never returned to space, making her the only woman to fly solo in orbit.

Question 2

True or false: The United States sent a woman into space before the Soviet Union did.

Accepted Answer

False. The U.S. didn't send a woman (Sally Ride) until 1983, two decades after Tereshkova's 1963 flight; the Soviets were first by a wide margin.

Question 3

True or false: Valentina Tereshkova was a textile factory worker before becoming a cosmonaut.

Accepted Answer

True. Before her spaceflight, Tereshkova worked at a textile mill and was an amateur skydiver, which helped her get selected for the Soviet space program.

Question 4

True or false: Tereshkova later served as a member of the Russian State Duma, the country's parliament.

Accepted Answer

True. After her cosmonaut career, she entered politics and has been a member of the Duma since 2011, representing the ruling United Russia party.

Question 5

True or false: Tereshkova piloted the Vostok 6 spacecraft completely solo, with no backup crew.

Accepted Answer

False. While she flew alone, a backup cosmonaut, Irina Solovyova, was also trained and ready to fly a parallel mission if needed.

Question 6

True or false: She was the first person to vomit in space, suffering severe space sickness on her flight.

Accepted Answer

False. Although Tereshkova felt nauseous and had issues with the spacecraft's controls, she did not vomit; the first recorded vomiting in space was by a later cosmonaut.

Question 7

True or false: Tereshkova was forced to eject from her capsule just before landing due to a malfunction.

Accepted Answer

True. She ejected at 20,000 feet and parachuted separately, as was standard for Vostok capsules, but the landing was rough and she hit her head.

Question 8

True or false: Her spaceflight lasted nearly three days, longer than all previous American astronauts combined.

Accepted Answer

True. Tereshkova's 1963 mission lasted 70 hours and 50 minutes, orbiting Earth 48 times—more time in space than all U.S. astronauts up to that point.

First Woman in Space (Valentina Tereshkova) Trivia Questions