June 9, 2022
On this date in 1963, the Soviet spacecraft Vostok 5 is rolled out to its launch pad, near Vostok 6. After final testing, both spacecraft are declared ready for launch of the very first mission to rendezvous two spacecraft. Vostok 5 is flown by cosmonaut Valeri Bykovsky, and Vostok 6 by Valentina Tereshkova who was about to become the first woman in space.
The reentry capsule and the pilot ejection seat of the Vostok 5 spacecraft on display at the K. E. Tsiolkovsky Museum of the History of Cosmonautics. Image credit: Stolbovsky