MOSCOW -- Svetlana Savitskaya, a 34-year-old champion pilot and parachutist, became the second woman in space Thursday, rocketing into orbit aboard the Soviet capsule Soyuz T-7.
Ms. Savitskaya, a test pilot married to a pilot, was launched into orbit with space rookie Alexander Serebrov, 38, and mission commander Leonid Popov, 36, an experienced cosmonaut who holds the endurance record of 185 days in orbit.
The only other woman ever to travel in space is Valentina Tereshkova, also a Soviet, who spent nearly three days in orbit in June 1963 aboard Vostok 6.
Western space experts said it appeared the Soyuz T-7 mission was a Soviet attempt to snatch headlines away from the United States' plan to send its first woman astronaut, 31-year-old Sally Ride, into orbit on the space shuttle in April.
'The liftoff took place without a hitch,' Radio Moscow said of the launch Thursday night at the country's Baikonur cosmodrome in central Asia.
The radio said Ms. Savitskaya is the daughter of a prominent Soviet military commander and pilot. She graduated from an aviation college, holds a world title in aerobatics and has taken part in about 500 parachute jumps, the broadcast added.
Soviet television broadcast a still photograph of the woman flier and her crewmates during the national evening newsprogram, which began shortly before Soyuz T-7 was launched. An announcer promised viewers a space special would be aired later.
The Soyuz T-7 crew was headed for link-up with the Salyut 7 research laboratory. Such space stations have been the focus of the Soviet space program for the past five years.
Two Russian cosmonauts who have been aboard the space station for the past 98 days will greet the newcomers after docking, expected late Friday.
Western space experts said Ms. Savitskaya and her two comrades will likely remain in space for about a week after a series of joint exercises with cosmonauts Anatoly Berezovoy and Valentin Lebedev, who were launched May 13.
Berezovoy and Lebedev also acted as hosts in orbit to the first French spaceman, Jean-Loup Chretien, launched June 24.
Ms. Tereshkova's flight 19 years ago lasted 70 hours and 50 minutes, a record that Ms. Savitskaya seems certain to break.
