Svetlana Savitskaya
Awards & Honours
5
Awards Won
6
Honours
1
Rankings
2
Covers
3
Records
Svetlana Savitskaya stands as a monumental figure in the annals of human spaceflight, shattering glass ceilings that had stood for decades. She is the only woman to have flown to space twice in the 1980s and the sole female cosmonaut to perform a spacewalk. Her dual distinction as a double Hero of the Soviet Union places her among the elite few who have received the USSR's highest honor twice. Beyond her technical feats, she bridged the gap between the Soviet space program and democratic Russia, serving in the State Duma to protect scientific funding. Her induction into the New Mexico Museum of Space Hall of Fame cements her status as a global icon, recognized not just by her own nation but by the international community for her courage and skill.
Awards
Honours & Distinctions
Hero of the Soviet Union
Awarded for performing the first spacewalk by a woman.
Hero of the Soviet Union
Awarded for successful participation in the Soyuz T-7 mission.
Order of Lenin
Conferred alongside the second Hero of the Soviet Union title.
Order of Lenin
Conferred alongside the first Hero of the Soviet Union title.
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Recognized for her aviation records and contributions to the Soviet Union.
New Mexico Museum of Space Hall of Fame
Inducted as the fifty-third cosmonaut honored.
Rankings & Lists
Greatest Female Astronauts
Magazine Covers
Pravda
July 1984
First Woman in Space
Komsomolskaya Pravda
August 1982
Second Woman in Space
Records & Feats
First Woman to Perform a Spacewalk
Completed a 3-hour, 35-minute EVA on July 25, 1984, testing welding tools in space.
Second Woman in Space
Became the second woman to travel to space on August 19, 1982, after Valentina Tereshkova.
Most Spaceflights by a Woman (1980s)
Held the record for the most spaceflights by a woman until the 1990s with two missions.