The Explorers' Club, № CMLVIII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 60th Anniversary of Vostok 5 & Vostok 6, Part II
17-19 June 1963: Tereshkova was "evasive" in her communications with mission control about her physical condition; she was the only Vostok cosmonaut whose in-flight performance was rated "fair" rather than "outstanding;" Bykovsky set a new endurance record: five days in orbit; both cosmonauts ejected from their respective capsules after re-entry & parachuted to earth, her hours before him.

Commentary: Bykovsky stills holds the record for the longest solo spaceflight; he would fly two Soyuz missions in the 1970s. Tereshkova would never return to space, but became a celebrity & a politician.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: Vostok 5 & Vostok 6
Guster, "Parachute" from Parachute (Space Comrade Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.