Soviet Union Launched First Woman Into Space Without a Toothbrush

Vostok-6, complete with the scorched remains of its heat shield, is one of 150 exhibits on show, along with an ejector seat for a dog, a lunar lander whose existence was kept secret, a toilet designed for the Mir space station, and a gold mannequin made in the image of Gagarin that was flown around the moon to test the effects of radiation.

The exhibition follows five years of planning and talks with museums and the Russian space industry.

Science Museum director Ian Blatchford said it was one of the biggest ever exhibitions at the institution and political relations between the nations had made it challenging.

The 78-year-old cosmonaut embarked on a mission via Vostok-6 spacecraft on June 16, 1963, making her the first woman to ever be sent to the cosmos, twenty years before the first American woman astronaut, named Sally Ride, was sent to space.

The history of Russia’s space programme has often been underplayed in the West, but it kick-started the space age when it became the first to launch an artificial satellite – Sputnik in 1957 – then the first animal, man and woman into space all within six years. “I’m coming to see you”, she recalled herself shouting during the spacecraft’s launching.

“The exhibition demonstrates the essentiality and interest factor that space and ground people’s works have on humanity”, says Tereshkova.

“I believe this exhibit shows how interesting and important for mankind is the work of people both on the ground and in space”, Tereshkova stated. “The potentiality to think about the future collaboration of experts and young scientists who would want to fly to space are all created through this exhibition”.

For decades, Tereshkova’s Vostok 6 capsule has been on display in the private museum of its builder, Rocket and Space Corporation (RSC) Energia, located near Moscow. In her mission, Tereshkova was able to orbit around the planet for 48 times.

Regarding the toothbrush problem, she said: “I had tooth paste, and water, and my hands”.

Another of the exhibition’s featured relics is the 16-foot-tall (5 m) LK-3 lunar lander.

The turning point came in 1969 when United States astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. “These are the objects that with the help of which we conquered space, step by step”.

“Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age” opens on Friday and runs until March 13.