Who was the first woman in space?

The U.S.S.R. sent Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova-Nikolaeva into space on June 16, 1963, aboard the Vostok 6. She orbited 48 times in three days. She had very little cosmonaut training, but had been a parachutist. The United States’ space program did not send a woman into space until June 18, 1983, when Sally Ride flew on the space shuttle Challenger mission STS-7. Ms. Ride was later instrumental in the investigation of the Challenger explosion disaster.