Is Valentina Tereshkova the First Woman in Space? Theory Says Cosmonaut Sent Before Her Returned Earth With Empty Ship

In November 1963, two brothers captured the voice of a Russian cosmonaut - the first woman allegedly sent to space - as her capsule burnt after re-entry.

It was the first of a string of enigmatic mayday calls intercepted from space, Vice News reported. They later captured a human heartbeat and sent it as biometric data, followed by a cryptic Russian broadcast pleading for assistance.

The recording was featured in a short film dramatizing the events. Whether or whether it's real, the little film is disturbing.

Throughout it all, the Soviet Union only declared one successful crewed flight, Yuri Gagarin's, on April 12, 1961. The brothers' previous (presumably crewed and tragic) trips were never acknowledged.

It appeared to lead to one thing for the brothers - the Soviets were sending people into space, losing them, and covering up their mistakes.

Astronaut William (Bill Mcarthur Appears Suspended Over The Blue And White Earth October
381298 08: Astronaut William (Bill) Mcarthur, Appears Suspended Over The Blue And White Earth October 15, 2000 During Space Walk Activities Near The Longerons Of The Space Shuttle Discovery. Getty Images

Another Female Cosmonaut Allegedly Sent To Space Before Valentina Tereshkova

In 1961, the Soviets allegedly launched an unidentified woman into space. However, her intended return to Earth went awry when her effort to re-enter the atmosphere failed miserably.

As she attempts to re-enter, the cosmonaut's last remarks were allegedly shared in an audiotape circulating on the Internet from a dubious source, Daily Star reported.

In the disturbing audio shared on YouTube, the cosmonaut said, "Listen... listen! Come in! Come in. Come in. Talk to me! talk to me! I am hot. I am hot! What? Forty-five. What? Forty-five, Fifty. Yes. Yes. Breathing. Breathing. Oxygen. Oxygen. I am hot; isn't this dangerous?"

The ominous sound continues, "It's all... yes... how is this? What? Talk to me! How should I transmit [it]? Yes. What? Our transmission begins now. Forty-one. This way. Yes. I feel hot. I feel hot. It's all... it's hot. I feel hot."

As the tape progresses, the woman grows increasingly upset. She repeatedly said she saw a flame. The cosmonaut added, "Am I going to crash? Yes. Yes. I feel hot. I feel hot! I will re-enter."

The signal was cut off, and the cosmonaut was not heard from again. According to the conspiracy theory, her heavily damaged ship was located three days later. Still, the cosmonaut was nowhere to be found.

However, one should take the report with a grain of salt. Russia didn't acknowledge it. Also, the first known woman cosmonaut was Valentina Tereshkova, who was sent to space as part of the Vostok 6 mission on June 16, 1963.

Who Recorded the Audio?

The audio was reportedly captured by two Italian amateur radio engineers, Achille and Giovanni Battista, also known as the Judica-Cordiglia brothers. They allegedly picked up a transmission signal from a Soviet Space frequency on May 23, 1961, and published it in November 1963.

The brothers also claimed that many more Russian cosmonauts had gone missing. They released several similar tapes, albeit their validity has been questioned.

According to Gizmodo, there's no proof that this is accurate, even if it seems natural. The brothers claim to have recorded several Soviet space missions from their Torre Bert radio station, which are part of the Lost Cosmonauts conspiracy theory.

The rumor claims that the Soviet Union had all these fatal crewed mission malfunctions repressed during the Cold War to avoid negative publicity.

Check out more news and information on Space in Science Times.

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