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Early life
Valentina Tereshkova was born on 6 March 1937 in Bolshoye Maslennikovo Russia.
She started to work at the age 17 in a tire factory and then in a textile factory.
She became interested in parachuting from a young age, and trained in skydiving at the local Aeroclub.
After the flight of Yuri Gagarin in 1961, Sergey Korolyov, the chief Soviet rocket engineer, envisioned the idea of putting a woman in space. On 16 February 1962, Valentina Tereshkova was selected to join the female cosmonaut corps. Out of more than 400 applicants, five were selected: Tatyana Kuznetsova, Irina Solovyova, Zhanna Yorkina, Valentina Ponomaryova, and Tereshkova.
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