Back In History: Svetlana Savitskaya Became The First Woman To Walk In Space

Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya (born 8 August 1948) is a Russian former aviator and Soviet cosmonaut who flew aboard Soyuz T-7 in 1982, becoming the second woman in space

On July 25, 1984, Savitskaya became the first woman to spacewalk, conducting EVA outside the Salyut 7 space station for 3 hours and 35 minutes, during which she cut and welded metals in space along with her colleague Vladimir Dzhanibekov

She set several FAI world records as a pilot

Savitskaya is married, with one child, a son Konstantin born in October 1986. In February 1986, she graduated from the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School. From 1983 to 1994 Savitskaya held a position of Deputy Head of NPO Energia

Savitskaya retired in 1993 from the Russian Air Force with the rank of Major

In 1994-95, she worked as an Assistant Professor in Economics and Investment at the Moscow State Aviation Institute. In 1996, she was elected a deputy of the State Duma representing the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and has been re-elected four times since then

She presently serves as Deputy Chair of the Committee on Defence and is also a member of the Coordination Council Presidium of the National Patriotic Union