The First Spacewalk by a Woman

On this day in space! July 25, 1984: First spacewalk by a woman

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By Hanneke Weitering 

On July 25, 1984, the Russian cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to embark on a spacewalk, also known as an extravehicular activity (EVA).

She spent three hours and 35 minutes doing welding experiments outside Russia’s Salyut 7 space station with her colleague Vladimir Dzhanibekov. They were cutting and welding metal and testing out new tools during the EVA.

Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya performing a spacewalk during the Soyuz T-12 mission. (Image credit: TASS / Contributor via Getty Images)

During this mission, she also became the first woman to return to space for a second mission.

Onward and upward!

Sources:  www.space.com, TASS/Getty Images