June 16

What happened on June 16 in aviation and space history.

• June 16, 1963

  Vostok 6: Valentina Tereshkova, first woman in space

  Space milestone — On 16 June 1963 Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova flew a solo mission aboard Vostok 6 and became the first woman in space. She orbited the Earth 48 times and spent almost three days in orbit. Twenty-six years old at the time, she remains the youngest woman to orbit Earth and the only woman to have flown a solo space mission.