Breaking Boundaries: The Trailblazing Journey of Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova

Born in 1937, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova made history at the age of 26 as the first woman to journey into space. Despite lacking pilot training, Tereshkova's proficiency as an amateur parachutist earned her a spot in the cosmonaut programme, alongside four other women. During Vostok missions, cosmonauts ejected prior to landing, descending to the ground separately from the spacecraft.

Hamilton with Valentina Tereshkova, cosmonaut, holding a photograph of Neil Armstrong.

On June 16, 1963, amidst a flawless two-hour countdown, Vostok 6 ascended without error. Within hours, Tereshkova established communication with Valery Bykovsky aboard Vostok 5, marking the second instance of two manned spacecraft concurrently orbiting Earth. Her televised presence captivated the Soviet Union, and she conversed with Khrushchev via radio, using the call sign 'Chaika,' meaning seagull. Throughout her mission, Tereshkova meticulously maintained a flight log, conducting various tests to monitor her body's response to spaceflight. Her captured images of Earth and its horizon later facilitated the identification of aerosol layers within the atmosphere.

Tereshkova's historic mission spanned nearly three days, totalling two days, 23 hours, and 12 minutes. With a single flight, she surpassed the cumulative flight time of all American Mercury astronauts up to that point. Upon her retirement from the Russian Air Force in 1997, Tereshkova held the rank of Major General. Recognised as a Hero of the Soviet Union, she received the Order of Lenin twice.

The space race between the United States and the Soviet Union marked an extraordinary era in history. While the USSR publicly congratulated the American crew on their moon landing victory, their internal disappointment was profound. Valentina was the Guest of Honour at an autograph conference at the Royal Court Hotel in Coventry, where an auction was held and the prize item was a personally signed NASA photograph of Neil Armstrong (Apollo 11) – the first man, (an American), on the Moon. As the first woman in space (a Russian), Valentina, seated in the audience, wasn't impressed with the Armstrong item. Determined to secure it, Hamilton announced that he would bid whatever it took, on the condition that Valentina would present it to him. He recommended this to Valentina, who accepted, and as a result, Hamilton won the item. There was an audible gasp when he requested a photo of her holding Neil Armstrong's image; her smile, albeit polite, concealed a tinge of strained diplomacy and very gritted teeth!

Rare memorabilia has an extensive selection of signed memorabilia in their Space Memorabilia Collection.