Valentina Tereshkova "Close" from journalists at the end of the 80s. No interviews! Even silence in response to dozens of publications silliest about how she was afraid, and prayed to be released from the spacecraft when batten down the hatch. About how Khrushchev made them as experimental dogs, married with cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev number 3. The fact that the two astronauts daughter was born sick and to this day hiding from the people.
And finally, "The Seagull" (space callsign Tereshkova) spoke.
On why chose to fly weaver
Official biography of Valentina looked like. Ordinary girl from the village Maslennikovo Yaroslavl region. His father died at the front. Mother she raised three children. At seventeen Valya came to tire factory working - had to earn money. Over the weekend, ran a flying club skydive. In 1962, her twenty-five workers who chose to prepare for space flight.
The truth is that after Gagarin's flight on all the flying club of the country looking for pretty girls-parachutists - Khrushchev wanted to become the first Soviet woman in space. Valentine had already been easy working and time secretary of the Komsomol organization Yaroslavl combine technical fabrics. Ideologically reliable man. There are, however, "speck" - her father was killed at the front, and went missing in Finnish. Only in the late 80's Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov Valentina help find a mass grave where buried Vladimir Axenovich Tereshkov.
First female set in the cosmonaut - five. Valentina Ponomareva and Irina Solovyova - clearly stronger. Ponomarev behind MAI, flying experience (participated in All-Union competitions in summer sports). Solovyov - Ural Polytechnic University, a master of parachuting, more than 700 jumps.
Only Valya Tereshkova no higher education, Parachuting 1st rank. And with academic performance during the training is not very much - to perform all tests on the "excellent" is not always succeeded. But the commission has selected for her flight. There are several reasons. After Gagarin's triumph was clear - the first woman in space will have to travel a lot, talking about the achievements of the Soviet system. And Wali just there "fighting Komsomol experience." The second reason - the king wanted to during the next flight of the female crew of one of the girls came out in open space. For such "acrobatics" and he had his eye on Solovyov and Ponomarev.