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Historic Russian Spacecraft To Go On Display in London

The Science Museum will host a major exhibition on cosmonauts, including the spacecraft that carried the first woman in space

A poster celebrating Yuri Gagarin's flight in 1961 (Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics)
A poster celebrating Yuri Gagarin's flight in 1961 (Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics)

Vostok-6, the spacecraft in which Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in 1963, is to go on display at The Science Museum in London as part of a major new exhibition.

Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was on hand to announce the exhibition in London, 50 years after he became the first person to walk in space.

The 'Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age' exhibit will feature the the most comprehensive collection of Russian spacecraft and artefacts ever to be shown in the UK.

Artefacts will include Tereshkova's history-making spacecraft, a dog ejector seat from early Russian test flights and the spacesuit worn by British astronaut Helen Sharman when she visited the Mir space station as part of the Soviet Juno Mission in 1991.

Vostok 6, in which Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space (State Museum and Exhibition Centre ROSIZO)
Vostok 6, in which Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space (State Museum and Exhibition Centre ROSIZO)


While the USA made it to the moon first, the Russians led the 'space race' for many years with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first man in space in 1961.

Director of the Science Museum Ian Blatchford said: 'The Russian space programme is one of the great intellectual, scientific and engineering successes of the 20th century and I am thrilled that we have been able to bring together such an outstanding collection of Russian space artefacts to celebrate these achievements. I want to thank all our partners and funders who have made this exhibition possible.'

On early test flights, dogs were jettisoned on ejector seats and parachuted safely back down (State Museum and Exhibition Centre ROSIZO)
On early test flights, dogs were jettisoned on ejector seats and parachuted safely back down (State Museum and Exhibition Centre ROSIZO)



Supported by BP, the show represents a major collaboration between the Science Museum, the State Museum Exhibition Centre ROSIZO, the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics and the Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos - Russia's equivalent of NASA.

The exhibition runs 18 September 2015 – 13 March 2016, with tickets priced at £14.