Who was the first woman in space, launched by the Soviet Union in 1963?

Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space, launched by the Soviet Union in 1963.

She flew aboard Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963, nearly two years after Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. Tereshkova completed 48 orbits of Earth during a flight lasting almost three days.

Her mission was coordinated with Vostok 5, flown by Valery Bykovsky. The two spacecraft came relatively close, allowing communication between the cosmonauts, although they did not dock.

Tereshkova remained the only woman to have flown alone in space for decades. The next woman in space was Svetlana Savitskaya, who flew in 1982.