The first woman in space was Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, who completed 48 orbits of Earth in the spacecraft Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963.
Tereshkova’s mission was a major milestone in space exploration, as it demonstrated that women were capable of space travel and could perform tasks as well as men. It also had a significant impact on the Soviet space program, as it led to the development of new spacecraft and training programs for female cosmonauts.