On this day July 25 1984, Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya made history as the first woman to perform a spacewalk. While aboard the Salyut 7 space station, she spent over three hours outside the spacecraft conducting welding experiments in orbit.
Savitskaya had already become the second woman in space in 1982, following in the footsteps of Valentina Tereshkova. Her spacewalk in 1984 was a groundbreaking achievement not only for the Soviet space program but also for women in science and technology across the world.
This moment helped pave the way for greater female involvement in space exploration and highlighted the Soviet Union's ongoing ambitions during the later stages of the Cold War space race.
80s insight: While the US space program saw increased visibility with the shuttle missions, the Soviets quietly continued to break new ground with long-duration missions and historic milestones like Savitskaya's spacewalk.
Savitskaya had already become the second woman in space in 1982, following in the footsteps of Valentina Tereshkova. Her spacewalk in 1984 was a groundbreaking achievement not only for the Soviet space program but also for women in science and technology across the world.
This moment helped pave the way for greater female involvement in space exploration and highlighted the Soviet Union's ongoing ambitions during the later stages of the Cold War space race.
80s insight: While the US space program saw increased visibility with the shuttle missions, the Soviets quietly continued to break new ground with long-duration missions and historic milestones like Savitskaya's spacewalk.
