Back in 1963 Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova made history by becoming the first woman in space aboard Soviet Union’s Vostok 6 spacecraft. By 1997 it was Indian-origin astronaut Kalpana Chawla who became the first Indian woman to fly to space aboard NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia. Ever since, 66 women have flown to space in manned space exploration missions. These also include Indian-origin astronauts Sunita Williams and Sirisha Bandla, who was on board Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Unity 22 in 2021.
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