On This Day - June 16 The first woman astronaut.

On June 16,1963 Valentina Tereshkova was launched into space aboard Vostok 6. She became the first woman to travel in space. Valentina Tereshkova made 48 orbits of Earth. She spent almost three days in space.

In November of 1963, Valentina Tereshkova married Andrian Nikolayev. He was also a cosmonaut. Their daughter, Elena, was born in 1964. Elena was the first child born to a mother and a father who had both traveled in space.

Valentina Tereshkova never made a second trip into space. She became an important member of the Communist Party and a representative of the Soviet government.