Valentina Tereshkova Quotes

One cannot deny the great role women have played in the world community. My flight was yet another impetus to continue this female contribution.

It [the Earth] was breathtakingly beautiful, like something out of a fairy tale. There is no way to describe the joy of seeing the Earth. It is blue, and more beautiful than any other planet.

The missing toothbrush was nothing compared with the fact that the spacecraft was orientated to ascend, not descend. I would have gone up and up instead of going back down to the ground.

I would not say that female cosmonauts are not welcomed in the Russian space program. I must say, however, that all spaceflight hardware, including spacesuits and spacecraft comfort assuring systems, were designed mostly by men and for men.

I love Star City - it is my home.

The ideals of the party were close to me, and I have tried to adhere to those principles all my life. In essence, they are the same as in the Ten Commandments in the Bible. I will never change my convictions.

I believe that a woman should always remain a woman and nothing feminine should be alien to her. At the same time, I strongly feel that no work done by a woman in the field of science or culture or whatever, however vigorous or demanding, can enter into conflict with her ancient 'wonderful mission'
to love, to be loved
and with her craving for the bliss of motherhood.

I am deeply grieved by the loss of the crew of Columbia. I express my sincere condolences to the families and friends of the astronauts. I believe that their names will remain as the bright sparkling stars in the universe and will light the way for those who will follow them on the difficult roads of space exploration.

You don't think about the danger. The spaceship becomes your home.

I see Vostok-6 quite often in the centre for cosmonaut training. And every time I pass it by, I stroke it and say, 'My lovely one, my best and most beautiful friend, my best and most beautiful man.'

I never aimed to be on television or in the press. We all have a personal life, and being a public figure disrupts that.

More women should actively participate in space flight. There are many well educated women working in the space industry; they are very good candidates.

If women can be railroad workers in Russia, why can't they fly in space?

There was a lake beneath me, but the big, heavy parachute which had to be opened two miles above the ground couldn't be steered. My first thought was, 'Lord, they send just one woman into space, and she has to end up in the water.'

I felt fine after 24 hours and asked the state commission to prolong my stay in space to three days. And I carried out the entire schedule. Could I have done that if I had been half-dead?

On Earth, men and women are taking the same risks. Why shouldn't we be taking the same risks in space?

Russia is still the leader in world space exploration. But its position of leader involves great responsibility - we have no right to lag behind. We can and we must move constantly forward.

Cosmonauts can keep their word like men and women - particularly women.

Of course, it's a dream to go to Mars. I want to find out whether there was life there or not. And if there was, then why did it die out? What sort of catastrophe happened?

They forbade me from flying, despite all my protests and arguments. After being once in space, I was desperately keen to go back there. But it didn't happen.

It was very difficult to control the descent. At a height of seven kilometres, I catapulted out of my capsule and parachuted down to Earth. I was very familiar with parachutes because I was a sky diver before.

I often thought: why do I not succeed in everything? I asked my instructor, and got the answer that brought more confidence in me. "Don't be embarrassed, Valya," he tried to persuade me, "You are trying to accomplish a science which is new for you, the science of being a pilot, and it is not as simple as it may look from the ground.

It doesn't matter what country or what political system you are from. Space brings you together.