From June 16-19, 1963, the first woman in space, was which Russian, and from June 18-24, 1983, who was the first American woman in space?

On June 16, 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova made history when she launched into orbit aboard Vostok 6. A former textile factory worker and amateur parachutist, her expertise in skydiving was a key factor in her selection for the Soviet space program. During her mission, which lasted nearly three days, she orbited the Earth 48 times and remains the only woman to have flown a solo mission in space. At just 26 years old, she also became the youngest woman to travel to space. Tereshkova's spacecraft was controlled automatically, and upon re-entry, she ejected from the capsule and parachuted safely back to Earth.

Twenty years later, on June 18, 1983, physicist Sally Ride became the first American woman to journey into space. She joined NASA after responding to a newspaper advertisement seeking astronauts and was chosen from a field of 8,000 applicants. As a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, the 32-year-old was the youngest American astronaut in space at the time. During the six-day mission, Ride's responsibilities included operating the shuttle's robotic arm to deploy communications satellites. She flew a second shuttle mission in 1984, further cementing her place in the history of space exploration.