Valentina Leonidovna Ponomaryova, née Kovalevskaya (Russian: Валентина Леонидовна Пономарёва, Ковалевская; 18 September 1933 – 8 November 2023) was a Soviet cosmonaut, pilot and scientist.
In February 1962, Ponomaryova was selected in a group of five female cosmonauts to be trained for a Vostok flight.
The group spent several months in intensive training, concluding with examinations in November 1962, after which the four remaining candidates were commissioned Junior Lieutenants in the Soviet Air Force.
Ponomaryova established herself as one of the leading candidates with Valentina Tereshkova and Irina Solovyova, and a joint mission profile was developed that would see two women launched into space, on solo Vostok flights on consecutive days.
[2] She was also to lead an all-female crew on a ten-day mission aboard Voskhod 5 but the program was cancelled before she had a chance to fly.