Women In Space

By Author: Candy Mnemonic
Total Articles: 1
Comment this article

(MS) -- Over the years, women have played a significant role in the success of NASA. In addition to providing strong role models for young women as well as young men, female astronauts have continued to break down barriers while contributing more and more to the success of the space program.

Sally K. Ride

If it weren't for newspapers, the name Sally Ride might not be as recognizable as it is today. After reading an ad in a newspaper calling for applicants to NASA, Dr. Ride applied for the space program and the rest is history. Dr. Ride was one of more than 8,000 respondents to that fateful newspaper ad, and ended up being one of just six female respondents accepted into the program. Accepted into the astronaut corps in 1978, Dr. Ride made history on June 18, 1983, as she became the first woman to orbit the Earth when she flew aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. Despite leaving the astronaut corps in 1987, Dr. Ride continues to inspire younger generations through Sally Ride Science, which aims to create fun science experience for young learners.

-----------------------

(MS) -- Over the years, women ...
... have played a significant role in the success of NASA. In addition to providing strong role models for young women as well as young men, female astronauts have continued to break down barriers while contributing more and more to the success of the space program.

Mae Jemison

Born in Decatur, Alabama on October 17, 1956, Dr. Mae Jemison made history shortly before her 36th birthday when she became the first African-American woman to enter space. As a mission specialist aboard the Shuttle Endeavour, Dr. Jemison entered space in September of 1992, four years after completing her training as a NASA mission specialist. The trip into space was just one of many stops along the way for Dr. Jemison, whose remarkable career in medicine has taken her to a Cambodian refugee camp, where she worked as a volunteer, and to West Africa, where she worked as a volunteer medical officer with the Peace Corps.

------------------------

(MS) -- Over the years, women have played a significant role in the success of NASA. In addition to providing strong role models for young women as well as young men, female astronauts have continued to break down barriers while contributing more and more to the success of the space program.

Eileen Collins

Growing up, Eilieen Collins' parents nurtured her love of space and dreams of becoming a pilot with frequent trips to the airport to watch planes take off and land. Little did her parents know that on February 2, 1995 those trips would pay off in a big way, as Lt. Col. Collins became the first woman to pilot a Space Shuttle less than four years after becoming an astronaut. Remarkably, that 1995 trip would not be Lt. Col. Collins' only historical mission, as just four years later she became the first woman to command a Space Shuttle mission.

----------------------------

(MS) -- Over the years, women have played a significant role in the success of NASA. In addition to providing strong role models for young women as well as young men, female astronauts have continued to break down barriers while contributing more and more to the success of the space program.

Anna L. Fisher

As any Mom can attest, being a mother is a full-time job. That only makes Anna L. Fisher's accomplishments all the more impressive. On November 8, 1984, Dr. Fisher became the first mother in space when she joined Captain Frederick Hauck, Captain David M. Walker, and fellow mission specialists Dr. Joseph P. Allen and Dale H. Gardner aboard the STS-51A. A native of San Pedro, California, Dr. Fisher received the Exceptional Service Medal in 1999 from NASA, where she continues to work and is currently awaiting an assignment as either a Space Shuttle crewmember on a Space Station assembly mission or as a crewmember aboard the International Space Station.

----------------------------

(MS) -- Over the years, women have played a significant role in the success of NASA. In addition to providing strong role models for young women as well as young men, female astronauts have continued to break down barriers while contributing more and more to the success of the space program.

Kathryn D. Sullivan

While Dr. Sullivan has logged more than 500 hours in space, it's one particular moment that makes her stand out among the many American women who have been in space. While on a mission that launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on October 5, 1984, Dr. Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space when she joined the ship's commander and conducted a successful Extravehicular Activity (EVA) that lasted 31/2 hours. While that might be among the more memorable moments in American female astronaut history, it's just one of many such moments in Sullivan's decorated career, which includes two NASA Exceptional Service Medals (1988 & 1991) and a 2004 induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame.

----------------------------

(MS) -- Over the years, women have played a significant role in the success of NASA. In addition to providing strong role models for young women as well as young men, female astronauts have continued to break down barriers while contributing more and more to the success of the space program.

Nancy Jan Davis

Married couples are often close, but Nancy Jan Davis and her husband Mark Lee took that to new heights on September 20, 1992. While on the mission STS-47, a joint mission between NASA and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), Davis, a mission specialist, and Lee, a payload commander, became the first married couple to fly on the same space mission. That was one of many illustrious moments in Dr. Davis' NASA career, which included her role as team leader in the Structural Analysis Division, where her team was responsible for the structural analysis and verification of the Hubble Space Telescope, among other things.

----------------------------

(MS) -- Over the years, women have played a significant role in the success of NASA. In addition to providing strong role models for young women as well as young men, female astronauts have continued to break down barriers while contributing more and more to the success of the space program.

Kathryn Ryan Thornton

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. Kathryn Ryan Thornton might never have imagined that those same two feet that walked the streets of Montgomery would one day be walking on another planet. But that's precisely what they would end up doing, as Dr. Thornton holds the record among female astronauts for number of spacewalks and total time spent on spacewalks. Among those trips includes her time aboard the maiden voyage of the Space Shuttle Endeavour from May 7-16, 1992. During that voyage, Dr. Thornton participated in a record four EVA's (Extravehicular Activities) as the crew worked to retrieve, repair and deploy the International Telecommunications Satellite (INTELSAT).

----------------------------

(MS) -- Over the years, women have played a significant role in the success of NASA. In addition to providing strong role models for young women as well as young men, female astronauts have continued to break down barriers while contributing more and more to the success of the space program.

Ellen Ochoa

Born in Los Angeles but raised in La Mesa, California, Ellen Ochoa made history on April 4, 1993 when she became the first Hispanic woman in space. The mission was conducted to better understand the effect of solar activity on the Earth's climate and environment. An inspiration to Hispanics and women alike, Ochoa counts a Distinguished Service Medal, an Exceptional Service Medal, and four Space Flight Medals among her many commendations.