When Valentina Tereshkova blasted off aboard Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963, she became the first woman to rocket into space. It would be nineteen years before another woman got a chance—cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982—followed by American astronaut Sally Ride a year later. By breaking the stratospheric ceiling, these women forged a path for many female astronauts, cosmonauts, and mission specialists to follow. Women in Space profiles twenty-three pioneers from around the world, including Eileen Collins, the first woman to command the space shuttle; Peggy Whitson, who orbited aboard the International Space Station for more than a year; and Mae Jemison, the first African American woman in space. Their story, and the stories of the pilots, physicists, and doctors who followed them, demonstrate the vital role women have played in the quest for scientific understanding. " This illuminating gathering of role models is also bolstered with sheaves of source notes and useful references to further resources." -Booklist "An informative and hopeful overview of underrecognized scientists and explorers in a male-dominated field." - Publisher's Weekly "valuable... an informative introductory overview of the many important contributions women have made to space exploration." - Kirkus Reviews " an important addition to women's-history collections." -School Library Journal When Valentina Tereshkova blasted off aboard Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963, she became the first woman to rocket into space. It would be 19 years before another woman got a chance--cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982--followed by American astronaut Sally Ride a year later. By breaking the stratospheric ceiling, these women forged a path for many female astronauts, cosmonauts, and mission specialists to follow.Women in Space profiles 23 pioneers, including Eileen Collins, the first woman to command the space shuttle; Peggy Whitson, who logged more than a year in orbit aboard the International Space Station; and Mae Jemison, the first African American woman in space; as well as astronauts from Japan, Canada, Italy, South Korea, France, and more. Readers will also learn about the Mercury 13, American women selected by NASA in the late 1950s to train for spaceflight. Thought they matched and sometimes surpassed their male counterparts in performance, they were ultimately denied the opportunity to head out to the launching pad. Their story, and the stories of the pilots, physicists, and doctors who followed them, demonstrate the vital role women have played in the quest for scientific understanding. On June 18th, 1983, the space shuttle Challenger blasted off from Kennedy Space Center at 7:33 in the morning. This Challenger mission, STS-7, was the seventh space shuttle flight and the second flight for the Challenger.After eight and a half minutes, the five astronauts heard the shuttle's engines cut off. They all knew what that meant. They were officially in orbit.. Sally Ride undid the straps on her seat and floated over to look out the window. Her first view of the planet left her speechless: coral reefs off Australia, a dust storm in northern Africa, and a huge storm churning in the ocean. She said to hersef, Spectacular! Karen Bush Gibson is the author of dozens of children’s books, including Native American History for Kids and Women Aviators . She lives in Norman, Oklahoma.