Irina Bajanovna Solovyova

Irina Bajanowna Solovyova ( Russian Ирина Баяновна Соловьёва ; born September 6, 1937 in Kireevsk , Tula Oblast , Russian SFSR ) is a Soviet aspirant cosmonaut who did not make it to space flight. She was a replacement for Valentina Tereschkowa on the flight from Vostok 6 .

Irina Solovyova graduated from the Polytechnic Institute in Sverdlovsk with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1959. Then she worked in the design office of the Uralenergomontash Association. In her free time, she was engaged in skydiving. From 1960 to 1962 she was a member of the Soviet national team. In March 1962 she was selected as a cosmonaut trainee and completed basic training from April to November 1962. She was then appointed second lieutenant and selected as a substitute pilot for Valentina Tereschkowa for the flight from Vostok 6 . She was also scheduled as the second female pilot for Woßchod 5 , who should have carried out a 10 to 15 day flight with an all-female crew including an exit. The flight was canceled after the death of Sergei Korolev . In 1967 she graduated from the Military Academy for Air Force Engineers “Prof. NJ Schukowski ” in Monino . On October 1, 1969, like all female cosmonauts, she retired from the active cosmonaut corps and then worked in various functions at the Juri Gagarin cosmonaut training center . In 1980 she received her doctorate as a candidate in psychological sciences. In February 1988 she took part in an Antarctic expedition of women. In 1991 she retired from the Air Force with the rank of colonel.

Irina Solovyova is married and has two children.

Web links

• spacefacts.de: Short biography