Russian Cosmonautics Urges Women To Join Ranks - Cosmonaut Unit Commander

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th April, 2023) The Russian cosmonautics industry is calling on women to join the ranks so that there will be as many females as males during the selection process, commander of the Russian cosmonaut unit Oleg Kononenko told Sputnik on Tuesday, noting that so far this requirement has not been met.

"Every time (the industry leadership) discusses the requirement that at least half of the (cosmonauts) should be women. But, unfortunately, it is just guys," Kononenko said on the eve of Cosmonautics Day, which is celebrated in Russia and other post-Soviet republics on April 12.

Anna Kikina is currently the only active female cosmonaut in the Russian space team. She made her first flight to the International Space Station (ISS) from October 5, 2022 to March 12, 2023, departing and returning from there aboard the US Crew Dragon spacecraft.

A total of six women have been in space in the history of Russia and the former USSR. The first, and also the world's first woman in space, was Valentina Tereshkova, whose only flight took place on June 16, 1963. The second was Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya, who flew to the Salyut-7 station in 1982 and 1984.

Russia's Yelena Kondakova was in space twice, in 1994-1995 and 1997. In 2014-2015, Yelena Serova worked at the ISS. In 2021, Russian actress Yulia Peresild spent 12 days at the ISS starting October 5 to shoot the first-ever movie made in space called "The Challenge."