17 Facts About Zhanna Yorkina

Zhanna Dmitriyevna Yorkina was a Soviet citizen who received cosmonaut training, but never flew in space.

Zhanna Yorkina graduated from the Pedagogic Institute in the city of Ryazan with a degree in English.

Zhanna Yorkina was able to speak both German and French which greatly aided her in her selection as a cosmonaut.

In February 1962, Zhanna Yorkina was selected as a member of a group of five female cosmonauts to be trained for a solo spaceflight in a Vostok spacecraft.

Zhanna Yorkina was selected to be a cosmonaut on 4 March 1962.

Zhanna Yorkina was approved by the Soviet Medical Commission on 3 April 1962.

Zhanna Yorkina was a club parachutist at Ryazan while working as a high school language teacher.

Zhanna Yorkina launched into Earth orbit in June 1963 aboard Vostok 6.

Zhanna Yorkina suffered another setback when she suffered an ankle injury while parachuting.

Zhanna Yorkina had been taken out of the running for the mission as she had performed poorly in the simulator.

Zhanna Yorkina only ate a third of her rations and removed her boots on the first day of the simulation.

Zhanna Yorkina was very weak compared to the other female cosmonauts.

Zhanna Yorkina was appointed afterwards as backup commander for the Voskhod 4 mission.

Zhanna Yorkina was considered one of the least capable of the five female cosmonauts, and Nikolai Kamanin specifically complained that she was "too fond of chocolate and cakes".

Zhanna Yorkina was included in plans for Vostok 5, an all-female duration and spacewalk mission, but only as the secondary member of the backup crew.

Zhanna Yorkina retired from the space program on 1 October 1969, and from active military duty in 1989.

Zhanna Yorkina achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve.