Russia is marking the 50th anniversary of the first spaceflight by a woman, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova. She made international headlines on June 16, 1963, when her Vostok-6 space capsule blasted off. She successfully completed 48 orbits around the Earth in a space flight lasting nearly three days. (16 PHOTOS)
Russia Marks 50th Anniversary Of First Woman In Space
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Valentina Tereshkova completed 48 orbits of the Earth in June 1963.
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Tereshkova with cosmonaut Yury Gagarin, the first man in space, at Lenin’s mausoleum in Red Square in 1963
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Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (center) with Tereshkova and cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky in 1963. Bykovsky holds the endurance record for a solo space flight. He spent five days in orbit.
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Tereshkova and Yury Gagarin pose with various Soviet honors in 1963.
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Tereshkova visits Prague on a victory tour following her flight in 1963.
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A matchbox label from 1963 featured a portrait of Tereshkova.
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Tereshkova with her daughter Elena in January 1971
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Then-President Vladimir Putin meets with Tereshkova in March 2007.
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Then-President Vladimir Putin honors Tereshkova with the Order for Service for the Fatherland in May 2007.
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An election billboard for Tereshkova, who ran successfully for a seat in the State Duma with the ruling United Russia party in February 2008
