@ARRAKIS
Of course VALENTINA TERECHKOVA was the first woman in Space. I was not clear enough. There is an old debate about Europe definitions.
- Having European culture and history
- Living East or West from Oural in the Continent Europe-Asia
- Being member from European Union(CECA, Rome Treaty, EU at 6, 12, 15, 27, 28, etc
- Being member of eurozone
- Being member of European Space Agency
- Being member of ICAO European Region
- Being member of OMS European Region
- Being member of UNO European Region,
When it was said during until vey recent years , here in France that Claudie André-Deshayes-Haigneré was the first "european female astronaut" another debate came on the table too about private finance.
Iself mentioned HELEN SHARMAN as it was question of women in British Airspace (she was not in the RAF and ATA pilots were not in the RAF but Sharman went in Space in the same period where first Fighter pilots were accepted in the RAF.
A part of the WWII sovietic female pilots were bombing during the night like NADEZHDA POPOVA, other were fighter pilots during the day (like Lydia LITVAK. When Svetlana SAVITSKAIA went in Space she had first been accepted as "free" student in the test pilot school because her father was a Marechal... But Savitskaia was the best ßtudent, so finaly she was accepted as test pilot at same level as the other students! She was also world recordwoman in freefall for highest altitude. SAVITSKAIA went in space because USA launched their first female astronaut Sally Ride.
The all women pilots regiments/group during WWII in sovietic Union has no equivalent in the history of women out and in airspace in the world. Courage and efficiency every day every night... Wonderful story winning against Nazism.