Svetlana Savitskaya: First Woman To Spacewalk And Fly To Space Twice

Astronaut Svetlana's journey began at a very tender age of 16 where her first inspiration was her father, Yeveniy Savitsky who was the Commander of the Soviet Air Defense Forces and earned several accolades for his services during World War II. Seeing him fight for his country everyday and wear a uniform that showed off his name along with his nations' was Svetlana's first step towards her extraordinary life. To this date, Svetlana Savitskaya holds 18 world records alone in aviation! 

Making Records Since 18!

Eager to learn how to fly and reach for the stars, Savitskaya applied to a flying school at just 16 years of age and was rejected due to not meeting the eligibility criteria for the age. She took up parachuting for the time being and after almost a year she had completed 450 parachute jumps. At 18, Svetlana was enrolled in Moscow  Aviation Institute and took flying lessons in the Central United Flight Technical School at the Central Committee of the DOSAAF. She soon graduated but further wanted to refine her skills and so she went to the Flight Research Institute (LII) of the Ministry of Aviation Industry while finally completing her doctorate in 1986. She was also an active member of the Soviet National Aerobotics Team and had exemplary talent at a very young age. 

In 1979 the Soviet Union set up a recruitment process for female cosmonauts and Svetlana applied to be one considering her impeccable flying skills and aeronautics knowledge. Svetlana was not the first woman to go to space, but it was another Russian woman, Valentina Tereshkova and it was her steps that Savitskaya followed. In 1982, Svetlana Savitskaya geared up for her first flight to space on Soyuz T-7 spacecraft where the cosmonauts stayed for 7 days and 21 hours in space.

While she globally became the second woman to go to space, she was yet to break some records. It was in 1984 just two years after her first flight when she decided to go again. Svetlana went on a Soyuz T-12 mission and made two records, she became the first woman in the world to go to space twice and she was the first woman to spacewalk. She conducted various experiments as part of her mission along with her fellow cosmonaut when she space walked, which lasted for more than three hours. 

Astronaut Svetlana Receives Badges of Honor 

While there were plans in 1986 for an all female crew of cosmonauts to go to space in lieu of International Women's Day,it got cancelled but Svetlana Savitskaya still maintained quite an electric image. After her retirement she currently runs a political career as the Deputy Chair of the Committee on Defense in Russia.

Due to her years of devotion and work in science, asteroid 4118 Sveta is named after her. She received two Orders of Lenin and the Order of the Badge of Honor for her services to her nation. Her life has inspired multiple women across the globe and especially female astronauts. It was her zealous passion that drove her to space, not once but twice!