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Home , Boris Yegorov, Konstantin Feoktistov, Pavel Popovich, Valery Bykovsky, Vostok 5, Vostok 6

Space history Vol 51 February 2009

Transcripts give new perspective to -6 mission

The first woman in orbit Part 2 by Asif A. Siddiqi

Valentina Tereshkova’s condition seemed to deteriorate into her third day in orbit. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of her performance was her fumbled attempt to orient the at the beginning of her third day in orbit, an exercise she was originally scheduled to perform early in the mission on the second orbit. She tried to perform attitude control twice (apparently on the 38th orbit) and openly admitted that she was not able to orient along the pitch axis. Not surprisingly, this made controllers on the ground anxious since, if for some reason she had to manually control attitude during the Tereshkova and Andriyan Nikolayev with their daughter Alyona. RIA Novosti descent, then a failure on her part could seriously jeopardise her There’s a pause in the audio at this point. she wasn’t responding to calls from the return. In part two of this article, ground. we join Tereshkova at 1737 hours Chayka [Tereshkova]: Orientation already on her 37th orbit, as she speeding up… [garbled]. Don’t worry, I’ll do Chayka [Tereshkova]: 20th [Korolev], I fell acknowledges a message from everything. Don’t worry about me. asleep … [but am] already woken up. Gagarin instructing her on how to Another pause. Kamanin noted in his diaries that despite her carry out the attitude control Chayka [Tereshkova, speaking to Zarya-6]: failure to carry out the attitude control experiment on the following orbit. Communicate to 20th [Korolev] that I’m experiment, Tereshkova tried to reassure the starting to orient for landing [mode]. Let ground: “Don’t worry, I’ll do everything in the Chayka [Tereshkova]: [Repeating Gagarin’s there be no worry, don’t worry. [next] morning,” ie, near the end of her third instructions:] On the 38th orbit carry out day in space [14]. Another pause. manual orientation for landing. Continue According to Kamanin, the plan was to work with photometer. If [I] don’t get Chayka [Tereshkova]: At the 20th parallel, I have ground controllers (specifically orientation, then turn the ship to roll. I carried out the calibration of [the] Globus cosmonauts Gagarin, Titov and Nikolayev, understood you. Switch off orientation after and [garbled]… [Pause] At six hours 26 as well as OKB-1 department chief Boris the turning ship passes over our territory. I minutes you gave me data for the correction Raushenbakh, responsible for the Vostok [need to] turn on the UKV [VHF]-regime of Globus [instrument], the number of attitude control system) pass on a precise during passage into our territory. correction is 524, longitude [or length] 273, set of instructions to Tereshkova in case she start up time 7 … [garbled]. On the 47th orbit needed to carry out manual orientation for Less than two hours later, at 1908 hours on calibrate Globus. re-entry. These instructions were to be her 38th orbit, Tereshkova reported directly communicated on her 45th orbit. to Korolev. According to Chertok, Tereshkova’s failure Around this time, Tereshkova hinted at to carry out her attitude control experiment Chayka [Tereshkova]: Am not getting the her condition. “didn’t bother” the ground controllers that photometer to work. I’ve attempted several much “but it really annoyed Korolev” [13]. In Chayka [Tereshkova, to Zarya-6]: I’m times. Chayka oriented the ship with the the transcripts, after a pause, we hear drinking a lot. [I feel] nauseous from the photometer on an airplane… [Rest garbled] Tereshkova speak at 2038 hours on her 39th sweets, so the sweets aren’t satisfactory. 120 atmospheres, so that I have another orbit, addressing Korolev directly, who had Don’t be concerned about my health - I feel possibility to fully orient the ship for been concerned after a long period when fully well. Completely well. I want [some] landing. Temperature 10 - quite well. I’m potatoes, onions and black bread… not turning on the ventilator, because [it’s] Part 1 of this article appeared in the rather cold, and it’s warm, fine without the According to Kamanin, on the night of June January 2009 issue of Spaceflight. ventilator. 18-19, despite Tereshkova’s condition, she

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News Conference on successful completion of the Vostok-5 and Vostok-6 missions. Pictured (from left) are: , , , (and Bykovskiy) slept peacefully and were (president of the USSR Academy of Sciences), , Adrian Nikolayav, and General Nikolay Kamanin. RIA Novosti well-rested for the next day [16]. And, as the following confirms, on her 47th orbit (on the morning of June 19), Tereshkova finally automatic cycle for landing Vostok-6. After a burning. Like a pendulum it’s turning and performed some attitude control exercises few seconds, ground control learned that the burning, burning. It’s swinging, swinging, with the Vostok-6 spacecraft for about 20 to command passed successfully. burning in [my] field of vision. It’s burning 25 minutes. Kamanin writes in his diary that vigorously. It’s burning vigorously. Swinging Tereshkova did not convey any information Chayka [Tereshkova]: From seven hours 40 around the axes, swinging around the axes. on several mission events. These included minutes until eight hours five minutes [I] It’s shaking, it’s shaking. Crackling. the switching on of the solar orientation oriented the ship… Everything’s in order. Did system; the functioning of the Vostok-6 The transcript tapes reveal that through the rotation on roll. retro-rocket engine; and the separation of these last comments, Tereshkova’s voice There’s a pause. the two modules of the spaceship, the re- was unusually restrained, sounding very entry module and the instrument section. fatigued, and not all excited. A few minutes Chayka [Tereshkova]: Roger, take a tablet, Ground control learned significantly later after her main parachute opened, the check the catapult toggle switch, the locks of about the success of all these events, and Vostok-6 re-entry module was located via a the harness… What did you say in Kamanin laments that everybody on the beacon, and coordinates of the landing point connection to the ship? ground desperately wanted to hear were precisely identified. Both Vostok-5 and Vostok-6 evidently Chayka [Tereshkova] [to Vesna-2]: [Please] confirmations from Tereshkova herself, but landed two degrees north of the computed communicate to Zarya-1 that on the 47th orbit, apparently she remained silent. point, an error that some claimed was due to I oriented the ship in the landing [mode] for a The following indicates that Tereshkova’s imprecision in issuing the backup command full 20 minutes along all three axes. Turned the reports to the ground during this critical for re-entry, a suggestion that Kamanin ship. Did everything as one should. phase were via telegraph key, ie, she did not report on direct voice communications to the dismissed. Instead, he suggested that the Kamanin confirms as such in his diaries, ground about any of her actions. As a result, off-course landing was due to failures and noting that Tereshkova carried out the attitude ground control had to hear about her re-entry errors in the work of the communications control in the ‘landing’ mode, although his from other indirect sources. and search services. notes suggest that she kept the in Ground control had no word on the health correct mode for about 15 minutes rather than Chayka [Tereshkova] [to Vesna-2]: At nine of the cosmonauts for several hours after the 20-25 reported by Tereshkova. According hours 42 minutes Spusk-I [ie, re-entry landing. Tereshkova called with word of her to Kamanin, Tereshkova was ‘delighted’ to instruction no. 1] was turned on [18]. Burn safety via ground communications systems report on the results of her piloting. Korolev aperture on KRU. Index passed. Ready for who reported on Tereshkova’s safe return. and other members of the State Commission descent. Loose equipment fastened. The commander of an aviation division which were also satisfied (at least at the time) with flew over the landing site and saw Bykovskiy Chayka [Tereshkova]: nine hours 47 her performance and believed that if the did the same for the Vostok-5 pilot. minutes. This is Chayka. Locks checked. automatic system failed, Tereshkova would be Tereshkova landed at 1120 hours Catapult toggle switch ‘On’. At nine hours 51 able to manually orient the vehicle for re-entry Time on June 19 about 620km minutes Spusk-II was turned on. The first [17]. northeast of in after command passed. a two day 22 hour 50 minute . Her Re-entry Chayka [Tereshkova]: 39 minutes. Re-entry. descent was not trouble-free. After she Transcripts from the landing phase are Vesna-4, over. The ship is turning, turning safely ejected from her capsule at 6.5km illuminating. Kamanin notes that at 0939 quite fast, turning, starting to burn. In [my] altitude, while she was parachuting down, in hours 40 seconds on June 19, the command field of vision I see the burning ship. Such violation of the training procedures, she was issued (from the ground) to begin the reddish light, reddish. The ship is turning and looked up to the side of the parachute

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canopy at the upper line of the pressure [sic] for 20 minutes I manually oriented the suit’s helmet, when a piece of metal hit her spaceship. I think that there was no failure in straight on the nose. State Commission the orientation system. Working with the Chairman Georgiy Tyulin later remembered equipment was difficult: I could not stretch to that for the following two days, Tereshkova [reach] Globus and other instruments… had to powder her nose a “a little more than I took movie films of cities, clouds usual” to hide the injury [19]. and the … To shoot and record what Both cosmonauts spent the night of June you took was very difficult. I did not carry out 19 near their landing sites. Bykovskiy was in the biological experiments - I wasn’t able to Kustanay while Tereshkova was in reach the objects. The dosimeter remained Karaganda. On the morning of June 20, both at zero. The sanitary napkins had been flew separately to Kuybushev to debrief moistened poorly and were very small. Need members of the State Commission who flew to have something to clean teeth. I carried in from Moscow. Film footage from her plane out observations with light filters. On the trip to Kuybushev clearly shows the injury on horizon there is a luminous belt. Over South her nose. America I observed storms. At night time, At Kuybushev, Bykovskiy and Tereshkova the cities were easily identified. The lunar formally reported on the completion of their illumination of the Earth and clouds were assignments, first to State Commission very beautiful. It was difficult to identify the chairman Tyulin, and then to Korolev (who constellations. I did not see the solar corona. she gave a bouquet of flowers). Hundreds of On the first day, I didn’t feel the [SK-2] people gathered around her and there was spacesuit. On the second day, there was a an emotional meeting with Bykovskiy; both nagging pain in my right shin, and on the cosmonauts walked around as a flock of third day this was already worrisome. The cameramen swarmed around them. At 1300 helmet obstructed [me], and pressed against hours, there was an official meeting of the my shoulder. The earpiece pressed against State Commission presided by Tyulin at my left ear. The sensors mounted around which Bykovskiy and Tereshkova gave the waist belt did not bother me. [However] formal reports (which were recorded) on their the sensor on my head gave me itches and experiences. headaches. During the whole time, the air conditioning system worked well. During Postflight analysis launch, the temperature in the ship’s cabin During Bykovskiy’s lengthy report, he was 30 degrees, and at the end of the first admitted that, despite his attempts, he did flight day 23 degrees, and at the start of the not see Vostok-6 with the naked eye. second day it lowered down to 12 degrees Tereshkova’s report, as included in an edited and then maintained this level. version in Kamanin’s diaries is reproduced Radio communications worked well. below. During switch-on of the UKV [VHF] there were disturbances. The best Tereshkova’s report communications were in the second The launch of Vostok-6 was excellent. communications zone. At the equator, there Communications were good, and I heard all were many disturbances. Vesna-1 and the commands. The g-loads were light, and Vesna-4 were heard well in the extreme less then five. I saw the Earth with the Vzor south. On the first day of the flight, and lateral illuminator [porthole]. With the communications with Yastreb were excellent right illuminator [porthole] I saw the third and in the first part of the second day were stage [of the launch vehicle]. During satisfactory, and then [I] had no transition to weightlessness there were no communications with him, but I heard unpleasant sensations. I worked according transmissions to him from Earth. I was very to the [flight] programme. happy to realise that I was flying alongside Communications with Yastreb were Yastreb. established [while] in the shadow of the Weightlessness did not arouse Earth. I saw a star about three times brighter unpleasant sensations. My arms floated and than [the star] Vega, which I took for Vostok- you want to out them away under the 5. During switch-on of the orientation harness system. During physical exercises, I [system], I heard a crack similar to the blow wanted to lean against the seat. The bread These are a series of stills from the was very dry, and so I didn’t eat it, I wanted documentary Multi-day Joint Spaceflight of an empty can. showing Tereshkova from suit-up all the The first [time I] wasn’t able to do the some black bread, potatoes and onions. way to the launch of her 8K72K rocket orientation. I was warned that on the 38th The cold water was pleasant. The juice carrying the Vostok-6 spacecraft. orbit 20th [Korolev] would talk to me about and the cutlet were pleasing. I threw up once the manual orientation. On the 45th orbit but this was due to the food, and not due to

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a vestibular disorder. Making use of the ASU [human waste disposal system] was easier in space than on Earth. The psychological tests were no different [than it was] on Earth. With the photometer I did two measurements. Both pencils broke, and there was nothing to write with. [The lack of pencils - absurdly so - apparently prevented Tereshkova from writing much in her onboard journal]. I carried out all the preparations for re- entry and reported on my preparations. Already, [when I was] in the Earth’s shadow, the solar orientation was activated. The ignition of the TDU was heard only barely. I transmitted the passage of the command by telegraph. [I flew] with my back to the Earth. There was a jolt during the Still from a documentary showing Tereshkova writing place and time of landing in the mission separation of the compartments. The ship logbook. The woman on the right is often identified as a fellow woman cosmonaut but may also be was stable at first, but then rocked back-and- the doctor Lyubova Maznichenko. RIA Novosti forth. The g-loads were no more than eight. Yazdovskiy’s plan to include this paragraph felt well throughout the flight, maintaining full When the ship’s coating burned, flakes flew in the public briefing, and it was never working capacity without difficulties. She by the illuminator. After operation… the included. Kamanin wrote in his diary that he said that on the morning of her third day, she [ejection] seat separated from the ship very reminded those in attendance that had small pirozhki (pies) with sprat and smoothly and quickly. After the parachute Tereshkova had the assignment for only a lemon which made her feel nauseous and opened, [I could] see the ship below [me]. one day flight, and that the continuation of eventually throw up. She didn’t eat all that The ship, the [ejection] seat and I landed in her flight to a second and third day was was planned for her during the mission but each other’s vicinity. taken without her agreement. He noted that, she claimed that she ate no less than 60 per It’s necessary to control the parachute’s “Tereshkova, without doubt, felt some cent of the standard level stipulated for three cupola since I landed on my back. People fatigue, especially at the end of the first and days. came running and helped me. The ship was second days of [her] flight… but she found in Kamanin appeared to be on Tereshkova’s located 400m from me. After an hour, an herself the strength to continue the flight and side in this debate, noting that Yazdovskiy airplane and two parachutists landed [near complete the maximum schedule”. [22] and other doctors “for some reason” believed me]. After three hours I reported to N. S. At the actual press conference, there was that Tereshkova had experienced significant Khrushchev by telephone on the satisfactory no hint of any troubles on the Vostok-6 difficulties during her mission and was still completion of the flight. [20] mission. Speaking of communications, for not revealing everything to them. According example, Tereshkova noted that conversing to rules, she should have reported on her Tereshkova’s health with Bykovskiy over the shortwave channel bout with nausea in orbit but she didn’t As regards to Tereshkova’s state and was like talking in the same room. About her report that event to the ground-the State performance during the mission, it is clear time in space, she added that “I endured the Commission only knew about it after she that opinion was divided. The most state of weightlessness well. I quickly got landed. vociferous critic of her was Soviet Air Force accustomed to it”. [23] What neither side could deny was that physician Vladimir Yazdovskiy, one of the Yazdovskiy’s own presentation at the right after landing, contrary to specific leading space biomedicine specialists in the press conference provided no details of any instructions, she divvied up her remaining . On the morning of June 25 at possible problems faced by Tereshkova [24]. food rations to local residents. As a result, 0900 hours, academician Mstislav Keldysh The official Soviet report on the Vostok-5 doctors were deprived of the possibility of (president of the Academy of Sciences), and Vostok-6 mission submitted by the objectively evaluating her food intake during Georgiy Tyulin (chairman of the State Academy of Sciences to COSPAR was the mission [26]. Commission), and Kamanin arrived at similarly non-committal about any problems About this incident, Chertok has his own Korolev’s office to discuss the impending although careful scrutiny of the text shows unique perspective. In his memoirs, he writes formal press conferences of Bykovskiy and that while Bykovskiy is singled out for praise that: “I have kept a rare photograph. A Tereshkova planned for later that day [21]. for his performance (including with medical correspondent had showed up at Tereshkova’s The plan was for the two cosmonauts’ experiments), Tereshkova isn’t [25]. landing site before the colonels and generals presentations to be preceded by short There continued to be concerns about who were responsible for her safety. Tossing statements from Keldysh, Yazdovskiy, and Tereshkova’s performance in the weeks after aside all medical instructions, she made short academician Anatoliy Blagonravov. her mission. Kamanin notes that on July 2, work of the local foodstuffs that had been Yazdovskiy’s report included a paragraph on Air Force doctors Aleksandr Babiychuk, conveniently laid out on a parachute. During the “poor state of Tereshkova in space, on Vladimir Yazdovskiy and several others met her three days in space, Chayka had had no her great emotional suffering, fatigue and the with Tereshkova to “clarify” how she was appetite.” [27] sharp drop in her working ability “. feeling during her spaceflight. A Soviet-era journalist described the All at the morning meeting rejected Tereshkova continued to claim that she scene: “The cameramen filmed Tereshkova

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presence of several rescue team workers, including doctors and military officials who clearly could have forbidden her to do so. Kamanin admits that he could not forgive her for her apparent post-landing violation of instructions as well as her obvious reluctance to reveal details of her experience to the doctors. He believed, with some justification, that Tereshkova’s furtive nature on this issue may have had to do with the cosmonauts’ general guarded relations with doctors in general. As with their American counterparts, Soviet cosmonauts had a very strained relationship with doctors, since physicians had the power to take them off flight status for the most minor of infractions. A unique line-up of cosmonauts (from left): Yuri Gagarin, German Titov, Andriyan Nikolayev, Pavel Popovich, Valery Bykovsky, Valentina Nikolayeva-Tereshkova, , Vladimir It is clear that if Tereshkova initially weakly Komarov, , Pavel Belyaev and . RIA Novosti defended her performance in the light of accusations from Yazdovskiy, she became drinking fresh milk from a bottle as she stood Curiously, the documentary film Multiday more firm later on. Kamanin notes that “after a beside her spacecraft in the steppe. People Joint Spaceflight puts a very different spin number of careless and unintelligible reports from neighbouring kolkhozes [collective on the post-landing food incident. The from Prof Yazdovskiy… claiming that farms] surrounded the metallic sphere [of the footage shows Tereshkova soon after Tereshkova felt poorly during the flight (very descent module] and peered in through the landing sitting next to the Vostok-6 descent tired and lost her working ability), Valya hatch. They asked Valentina about her flight module, speaking to a woman doctor from decided to defend herself”. She gave herself a and offered her cheese, lepeshki (flat the recovery team and looking rather happy. very high and positive evaluation for her work cakes), kumiss (fermented mare’s milk), and The doctor examines her briefly while in orbit, albeit much higher than was reflected bread. From every direction, herdsmen on Tereshkova appears to be complaining in the flight record [31]. horsemen came galloping up to see the about discomfort on her left shoulder. The controversy over Tereshkova’s flight spaceship. [28] As further members of the rescue team continued and eventually involved chief Yazdovskiy also later commented on arrive, Tereshkova is seen picking out food designer Korolev himself, who wanted to Tereshkova’s post-landing behaviour: “In the products from her flight kit (in the form of personally clarify the ambiguities about her area where Tereshkova landed, our toothpaste containers) and handing them out performance. Korolev evidently had been [institute] employee-doctor, world record to local farm people who were gathered very worried by Yazdovskiy’s statement on holder in parachuting Lyubova Maznichenko around the descent module. In other words, Tereshkova’s poor condition on the 32nd [also] landed. She objected to Valentina Tereshkova’s distribution of food from her and 42nd orbits, on her vomiting, poor Tereshkova in connection with her violation capsule appears to have been done in the appetite, and “weak cardiac activity”. of the established regime of Yuri Gagarin (left), Valentina Nikolayeva-Tereshkova, Andriyan Nikolayev, Valery Bykovsky and at the landing site. Pavel Popovich at the Kremlin wall in on 7 November 1963. RIA Novosti “Tereshkova took all the onboard reserve of food products from the cosmonaut’s rations and divvied them up to local inhabitants who were surrounding her. She wrote in the cosmonaut’s onboard journal hurriedly at the landing site and not in flight [apparently finishing her notes on the ground because her pencils broke in orbit]. Some hygienic procedures were directed in the ship after landing. This action distorted the true picture of the landing on the ground. Scientists were prevented from the possibility of objectively evaluating Tereshkova’s condition and the condition of the inside of her vehicle. [29] In a statement of clarification about the food that she ate during her mission, Tereshkova noted to training personnel at the Cosmonaut Training Centre (TsPK) on July 16, exactly a month after her launch, that the bread was like “rubber” and the meat was very “tough” [30].

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According to Kamanin, Korolev continually spoke about his wishes to ‘open the doors’ to space for ordinary simple people [32]. At some point, a few weeks after the mission (probably on July 13), Tereshkova visited Korolev’s OKB-1 design bureau to debrief the attitude control system designers about the system’s performance as well as to convey her impressions about her own experience using the system. Chertok reported that Tereshkova arrived at the Moscow suburb of Kaliningrad (now Korolev), escorted by Korolev’s personal assistant and was received by about a dozen senior engineers at OKB-1, including Chertok and Raushenbakh, the two men responsible for Vostok’s attitude control system. Chertok remembers that before she had a chance to candidly reveal her The Frunze health resort in Sochi. Pictured (front from left): Valentina Gagarin (Yuri’s wife), Yuri experience, Korolev walked in and Gagarin, Valentina Tereshkova and Andrian Nikolayev. interrupted the proceedings and asked to RIA Novosti privately talk to Tereshkova for ten minutes. the conclusions” of the medical commission, assignments, demanded from the State When the private conversation, which lasted Tereshkova was chosen to fly first, Commission [that it] terminate the flight and about half-an-hour, ended, Korolev first apparently because of her social begin re-entry of the Vostok-6 ship to Earth. exited the room, and “after glancing at the background. Yazdovskiy adds that “this was, “The chairman of the State Commission assembled crowed, he flashed a devilish of course, not the best variant of the L. V. Smirnov [sic] replied that the question smile and quickly left”. selection” [34]. of terminating the flight on medical evidence Tereshkova emerged several minutes As far as Terershkova’s actual is the prerogative of the chief of the medical later and could not conceal her teary eyes performance on the mission, Yazdovskiy programme [35]. I considered the pros and and state of dejection. The engineers half- contrasts it with Bykovskiy’s performance: cons [of the situation] and took a decision to heartedly tried to begin their own “During orbital flight cosmonaut Bykovskiy ask the State Commission to continue the interrogations of her, but when they realised completed the whole volume of flight flight. that Tereshkova was about to burst into assignments and scientific experiments.” “Thus, I took on myself the full tears they quickly let her go. Chertok added Yazdovskiy’s comments from 1996 on responsibility for continuing Tereshkova’s that “none of us had any idea why [Korolev] Tereshkova’s mission are worth reproducing spaceflight to three days. To Sergey needed to reduce Tereshkova to tears” [33]. in full: “Tereshkova’s orbital flight was Pavlovich’s retort [criticising] the quality of Since he has been the most senior and planned [to last] three days. Based on selection and preparation of cosmonauts I persistent critic of Tereshkova for decades, telemetry data and television monitoring, responded that we were now reaping the Yazdovskiy’s position requires some Tereshkova carried out her flight for the most fruits of the interference of Korolev, Keldysh clarification. Unlike many others, he has part satisfactorily. [She carried out] and Kamanin in a matter in which they were been unwilling to moderate his comments communications with ground stations not competent [ie, in the selection of and his authority in the space medicine field sluggishly. She acutely limited her Tereshkova as the prime candidate]. in the Soviet Union (and later ) has movements. [She] sat almost immobile. She “The flight continued and Tereshkova’s ensured that his opinions have significantly had a clearly noted health changes of a condition and working ability did not improve. influenced the discussion of Tereshkova’s vegetative nature. She did not complete part After sleep, [her] emotional stress reduced performance. of her assignment and work in her ship, and Tereshkova’s working capacity In his own memoirs, published in 1996, which forced the technical flight leader increased only marginally. Her pulse varied he provides a devastating critique of the first Korolev to assign Raushenbakh to put between 58 and 84 per minute. There were woman cosmonaut. He notes that after the together additional instructions for significant fluctuations in the frequency of selection of the first women candidate Tereshkova on work connected with the heart rates in short time intervals, [and] cosmonauts, the Institute of Aviation and ship’s systems. breathing frequency ranged from 16 to 22 Space Medicine (where Yazdovskiy was a “The deterioration of Tereshkova’s per minute.” senior official) ranked the five women in the condition and reduction of her working ability As a comparison, Yazdovskiy noted following order based on medical analysis were connected with the adverse effects of Bykovskiy’s vital signs: “Cosmonaut and theoretical preparations - Ponomareva, weightlessness. When I proposed for her to Bykovskiy’s pulse in flight varied between 46 Solov’yeva, Kuznetsova, Sergeychik (née take a meprobromat tablet (a sedative) from and 80 per minute, and frequency of Yerkina) and Tereshkova. the pharmacy, Tereshkova responded in the breathing [varied] between 12 and 22 per In other words, Tereshkova ranked last. negative and replied: ‘Doctor, don’t worry, I’ll minute. The daily variation in frequency of Yazdovskiy claims that with Khrushchev’s carry out the assignment fully.’ Korolev, heart contractions was similar to data “intervention” and the “silent agreement” of seeing the television image of Tereshkova, recorded in extended ground experiments.” Korolev, Keldysh and Kamanin, “contrary to sitting immobile and not fully carrying out her [36]

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The numerical data that Yazdovskiy provides actually shows not much variation with that of Bykovskiy. Possibly the most impartial evaluation of Tereshkova’s flight performance was issued by the Institute of Aviation and Space Medicine and published in 2001 in a book on the history of the institute. In describing the Vostok-6 mission, the authors (all prominent Soviet space biomedicine specialists) provide a little detail on the special nature of Tereshkova’s pre- mission training. “In the process of preflight training, an examination of the level of Tereshkova’s physical preparedness showed underdeveloped strength capability, physical working ability and motion coordination. Because of these [factors], an individual programme was developed for her which envisaged training for the development of the muscles of the upper shoulder zone, abdominal press and lower extremities, and also for increasing endurance to extended physical stresses and training the vestibular analyser. The accomplishment of this programme allowed Tereshkova to achieve a sufficiently high level of physical preparedness and training.” As far as her mission performance, the authors noted that: “Tereshkova subjectively evaluated her condition in flight as good. However, from a certain point of time, in the majority of the communications sessions her face appeared lost in concentration, her facial expressions were minimal, [and] head movement was noticeably limited. This unusual picture shows Valentina Tereshkova in a EVA suit and probably dates from “While listening to radio conversations, the 1965-66 period when several of the women cosmonauts trained for an EVA mission. [her] slow speech and slurred words were noted, especially at the end of specific claims of her less than stellar carried out in flight did not have critical communications; [her] replies were performance. Yet, there are those who still significance, although of course, they were monosyllabic, speech was somewhat believe that she was unfairly maligned. also very important.” [38] monotonous. [Her] appetite during the flight In her own memoirs, fellow cosmonaut Similarly, Tereshkova’s backup Irina was reduced, as testified by the low use of Valentina Ponomareva writes emphatically Solov’yeva remained generous to food stuff from the onboard [stores]. She that: “[By the time of her postflight mission Tereshkova. Writing on the 35th anniversary herself mentioned [her] lack of appetite for report] we already knew that Valya didn’t feel of the Vostok-6 mission in 1998, she noted: sweet foods… and desire for savoury food.” that well during her flight, after all, from “Due should be given to Valentina - even in The authors noted that Tereshkova’s telemetry, we knew she was not able to fulfil uncomfortable conditions she continued her heart rate rose to a peak of 192 beats per all the items on her flight assignment. flight, continued to perform the necessary minute during re-entry, peaking again right “I think that she made a mistake by not operations. before catapulting at 172 beats per minute. saying so directly and earnestly. The press “Moreover, with vivaciousness, she By comparison, Bykovski’s figures were 174 then announced victoriously - the job was sang songs, with a clear voice and 157 respectively. Yet, unlike many of done completely, the cosmonaut feels good, communicated with the commander of the her sharpest critics (including Yazdovskiy), but some things filtered out, rumours began Vostok-5 spaceship, Valeriy Bykovskiy. the authors ended on an upbeat note. to emerge, [and as they always do, there] The results of her flight added to the “Despite the above-mentioned there were various fantasies… storehouse of knowledge on the influence peculiarities, Tereshkova successfully “I would argue that Tereshkova did all of weightlessness on the human organism. fulfilled the flight assignment, [and] showed that was required of her. For those that flew Valentina Tereshkova proved her right to that extended spaceflight was possible not first, it was [only] to know what would the flight not only with its results but in all only for men but also for women.” [37] happen to humans [in space]. There was no her future work. After the flight, she was Over the years, Tereshkova herself has more important task for the first six drawn to help hundreds of people, made hardly any direct comment on the cosmonauts… All other research which was especially women.” [39]

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Gender discrimination and was unable to be fully alert during his The newly accessible mission transcripts (as flight, yet he was not made a pariah or well as the other primary source information) penalised for such failings. And, despite provide a fairly substantial account of many incidents of philandering after his Tereshkova’s Vostok-6 mission. Clearly, the flight, he remained eligible for future space two main points of contention, each missions until his resignation from the connected the other, related to her condition cosmonaut corps in 1970. during the mission and her performance Besides gender discrimination, a second during the flight. equally important factor was Tereshkova’s On the first issue, it’s clear that inconsistency about honestly communicating Tereshkova felt reasonably well during the to ground authorities, both during and after early portion of the mission but began to feel her mission. During the mission, she was not bad by the end of her second day and was candid about her difficulties (for example, generally unwell on her last day in orbit. She her vomiting and general feelings of appears to have felt well after landing, and sickness). After the mission, she was too there is no evidence to suggest that she candid about the shortcomings of the Vostok landed in terrible condition. cabin and of her poorly designed spacesuit - On the second issue, her performance many designers no doubt resented her blunt appears to have been affected by her assessments. Her unusual openness about An official portrait of Tereshkova with many of deteriorating condition. Yet, her inability to these problems contrasted sharply with the her medals and honours. This picture is conduct the orientation experiments on the evaluations of her male colleagues who probably from the late 1970s. NASA first day, remains unexplained. It is possible seemed less reticent to criticise the that nervousness affected her judgment. Zvezda) admitted in their ‘official’ history handiwork of the designers. More plausibly, during the latter part of the that, “in their debriefs after their long-term On some level, all of this is moot. Valentina mission, her second attempt to carry out the , both Bykovskiy and Tereshkova... Tereshkova was the first woman to venture orientation exercise can be explained by her noted that sitting in the same posture for into space. As such, whether she was unwell condition. several days caused discomfort and pain indisposed through much of her mission, as Yet it is important to note that she due to suit element and medical sensor some Russian doctors continue to claim, the managed to perform the experiment pressure on the body” [40]. importance of her singular achievement cannot successfully just prior to re-entry, ie, in the As I have noted elsewhere, negative be denied. She may not have been the best end, she carried out the experiment. And, in reactions to Tereshkova’s less-than-perfect choice for a professional cosmonaut, but she fairness to her, it is clear that the pilot- performance were severely exacerbated by was clearly competent, well-prepared, and a control panel interface on the Vostok was considerations about her gender [41]. brave young woman when she set off on her poorly designed. Bykovskiy also complained In a highly patriarchal society, the historic journey almost 46 years ago. of not being able to easily reach the controls standards by which women were judged on the main control panel. (especially when they did activities typically Acknowledgement Tereshkova’s suit also appears to have associated with men) were far higher than The author wishes to thank Bart Hendrickx and been poorly designed, affording her very for men. Cosmonaut German Titov, for Ralph Gibson, of RIA Novosti, for their kind poor comfort. The designer of the suit, example, had suffered from some form of assistance. Part 1 of this article appeared in Factory No. 918 (now known as NPP space sickness during his Vostok-2 flight Spaceflight, January 2009, p18.

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