Svetlana Savitskaya

Svetlana Savitskaya was born on August 8, 1948, in Moscow. Moscow is a big city in the country we now call Russia. Back then, it was part of the Soviet Union. Svetlana's dad was an important pilot in the Soviet air force. He was a hero because he flew planes so well. Growing up, Svetlana learned all about planes and flying from her family.

When Svetlana grew up, she became a pilot too. Later, she became a test pilot. Test pilots fly new planes to see if they are safe. This job needs a lot of skill and courage. Svetlana was very good at it. She set many world records flying fast jets called MiGs. She also set records jumping out of planes with a parachute and a team.

Svetlana was so good at flying that the Soviet Union picked her to become a cosmonaut. A cosmonaut is what Russians call an astronaut, someone who flies into space. On July 30, 1980, she was chosen to train for space. This was a big deal because very few women got this chance.

On August 19, 1982, Svetlana flew into space for the first time. She rode in a spaceship called Soyuz T-7. She flew to a space station called Salyut 7. A space station is like a home in space where people can live and work. Svetlana became the second woman ever to go to space. She was also the very first woman to visit a space station! She came back to Earth on August 27, 1982, after eight days in space.

Two years later, Svetlana went to space again. On July 17, 1984, she launched on a spaceship called Soyuz T-12. This made her the first woman ever to fly to space two times. That was a huge accomplishment.

Her most famous moment happened on July 25, 1984. Svetlana went outside the space station for a spacewalk. A spacewalk is when an astronaut leaves the spaceship and floats outside in a special suit. Her spacewalk lasted about three and a half hours. She used tools to weld and cut metal in space. This made her the first woman ever to walk in space! It was very hard and brave work. She returned to Earth on July 29, 1984.

After her space missions, Svetlana stayed busy. She became a leader in Russian government. She worked on laws about space and the military. People respected her because she knew so much about flying and space.

Svetlana Savitskaya is remembered as one of the bravest and most skilled women in space history. She was the second woman in space. She was the first woman to visit a space station. She was the first woman to fly in space twice. And she was the first woman to walk in space. She proved that women could do every hard job in space travel, from flying rockets to walking outside them. Her story still inspires people today who dream of flying and exploring space.