<Tr> <Th> Missions </Th> <Td> Vostok 6 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Awards </Th> <Td> Hero of the Soviet Union Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" Order of Lenin (2) Order of the October Revolution Order of Alexander Nevsky Order of Honour Order of Friendship </Td> </Tr> <P> Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (Russian: Валенти́на Влади́мировна Терешко́ва, IPA: (vɐljɪnjˈtjinə vlɐˈdjimjɪrəvnə tjɪrjɪʂˈkovə) (listen); born 6 March 1937) is a retired Russian cosmonaut, engineer, and politician . She is the first woman to have flown in space, having been selected from more than 400 applicants and five finalists to pilot Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963 . </P> <P> In order to join the Cosmonaut Corps, Tereshkova was honorarily inducted into the Soviet Air Force and thus she also became the first civilian to fly in space . </P>

Who was the first woman to be sent into space