Yelena Serova set to be first female cosmonaut to reach space in 17 years

SHE is the first woman to venture into space in 17 years. But before blast-off, she faced a volley of condescending questions about her hair and family.

RUSSIA’S Yelena Serova has prepared to become the first woman cosmonaut in 17 years — but only after having to answer questions about her hairstyle and whether her daughter would cope while she was away.

The 38-year-old space engineer has spent seven years preparing for the role and her husband is also a former trainee cosmonaut.

She was due to blast off in a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan last night with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev and Barry Wilmore of NASA.

While the Soviet Union was the first to send a woman into space — Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 — it failed to build on that promising start and bring equality to the ranks.

On a mission: US astronaut Barry Wilmore (from left) with Russian cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyayev and Yelena Serova at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome. Picture: AFP

Serova will be just the fourth Soviet or Russian woman in space.

She has faced a volley of questions focusing on her gender and how she will bond with her 11-year-old daughter while she is away.

She even offered to give a demonstration of washing her hair in space.

But her patience appeared to run out at a pre-launch press conference on Wednesday when a journalist asked her to comment again on how she’d look after her hair and whether she would keep her current style.

Testing ... US astronaut Barry Wilmore (from left) with Russian cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyayev and Yelena Serova wait for testing of their space suits at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome. Picture: AFP

“Can I ask a question, too: Aren’t you interested in the hair styles of my colleagues?” she asked at the televised news conference, flanked by the male astronauts who will accompany her.

She stressed: “My flight is my job.”

“I’ll be the first Russian woman who will fly to the ISS. I feel a huge responsibility towards the people who taught and trained us and I want to tell them: We won’t let you down.”

Launch ... Yelena Serova will blast off in the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft. Picture: AFP