 The couple divorced in 1982, and Tereshkova went on to become a prominent member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.The second woman to fly to space was aviator Svetlana Savitskaya, aboard Soyuz T-7 on August 18, 1982.Sally Ride became the first American woman in space when she flew aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-7 on June 18, 1983.