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Two Soviet Cosmonauts Return Safely to Earth

June 19, 1963 - Valentina Tereshkova, 26, the first woman in space, and cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky, 28, holder of all records for manned spaceflight, returned safely to Earth today while Russia jibed at U.S. efforts to catch up. Miss Tereshkova told Premier Khrushchev in a phone call that she bruised her nose slightly when she landed, apparently by parachute, but otherwise was unscratched. Mr. Bykovsky landed approximately two hours after Miss Tereshkova. The Russians said they landed in a “prearranged area” north of Karaganda in Kazakhstan in the heart of the Soviet Union. Mr. Bykovsky, who completed just over 81 orbits in a flight just short of 5 days, shattered the previous record of 64 orbits, completed in 94 hours and 22 minutes, by Major Andrian Nikolayev in last August’s twin flight with Colonel Pavel Popovich.

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