Women in NASA

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The role of women in and affiliated with NASA has varied over time. As early as 1922 women were working as physicists and in other technical positions.[1] Throughout the 1930s to the present, more women joined the NASA teams not only at Langley Memorial, but at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Glenn Research Center, and other numerous NASA sites throughout the United States.[2] As the space program has grown, women have advanced into many roles, including astronauts. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

1920s

As early as 1922 women like Pearl I. Young were working as physicists and other technical positions. Young was the second female physicist working for the federal government at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory building 1202 in Langley, Virginia. [4]

1960s

Dana Ulery, first woman engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Dana Ulery.jpg
Dana Ulery, first woman engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Apollo guidance computer lead programmer Margaret Hamilton with software that was written by her and her team Margaret Hamilton - restoration.jpg
Apollo guidance computer lead programmer Margaret Hamilton with software that was written by her and her team

Women first worked in support as administrators, secretaries, doctors, psychologists, and later engineers. In the 1960s, NASA started recruiting women and minorities for the space program. By the end of the 1960s, NASA had employed thousands of women. [5] Some of the women like Mary Shep Burton, Gloria B. Martinez (the first Spanish woman hired), Cathy Osgood, and Shirley Hunt worked in the computer division while Sue Erwin, Lois Ransdell, and Maureen Bowen worked as secretaries for various members of the Mission and Flight Control teams. [6] Dana Ulery was the first woman engineer to be hired at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of NASA. [5] Although she was only considered as a junior engineer, for more than seven years, no woman engineer got into JPL besides Ulery. [5] Another woman, Donna Shirley, worked in JPL as a mission engineer in the 1960s. [5] Also, Dr. Carolyn Huntoon, a woman, was a pioneer in researching astronaut metabolisms and other body systems. [7] Margaret Hamilton was the guidance computer lead programmer for the Apollo program. Judy Sullivan was the lead biomedical engineer for the Apollo 11 mission.

Although woman had a difficult time establishing themselves within the organization, NASA did have some women who charted unknown territory throughout the time period. For example, Katherine Johnson was one of the most prolific figures in NASA history. Johnson worked through the ranks as a black woman and made it as one of the top and most respected engineers on the Apollo mission. This was seen as a major step for blacks and women throughout NASA and the general public for others to look up to. Along with Katherine Johnson, who ended up playing a pivotal role as a computer for NASA, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson helped calculate integral equations and mathematical calculations to recheck and assure that the launching of spacecraft was calculated correctly. Overall, these figures stood as pioneers to the growing commonality of women working for NASA.

However, not everyone was accepting of this phenomenon. In 1962, George Low, NASA's Chief of Manned Spaceflight, fought against women by telling the congress that working with women would delay his work. Meanwhile, in the same year, John F. Kennedy signed the President's Commission on the Status of Women to encourage gender equality in the workforce. This eventually led to James Webb, a NASA administrator, creating an agency-wide policy directive stating that NASA provides equal opportunities for all kinds of people willing to work with NASA. [7] Despite this, no women were selected to join the astronaut corps in 1963/65/66/67. [7]

1970s

The 1970s was a stepping stone that lead women a step closer to becoming astronauts. At the same time, the military began accepting women for pilot training that eventually led to women astronauts. [8] In 1977, the recruitment of NASA skyrocketed because of Nichelle Nichols's help. [9] Part of the advantage Nichols had in the recruitment was that her role as Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek inspired young girls to become astronauts at NASA when they grow up. [9] One of these girls was Dr. Mae Jemison, the first black woman astronaut in 1992. [10] [11] Another important character in the 1970s was Dr. Carolyn Huntoon who turned down being an astronaut to serve on the astronaut selection committee. [7] NASA sent Huntoon around the United States to encourage women to apply as astronauts or to get into the STEM field. [7] In 1979, Kathryn Sullivan flew a NASA WB-57F reconnaissance aircraft to 63,300 feet altitude breaking an unofficial altitude record for American women. [7]

1980s

Sally Ride, America's first woman astronaut Sally Ride, America's first woman astronaut communicates with ground controllers from the flight deck - NARA - 541940.jpg
Sally Ride, America's first woman astronaut

On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride made history as the first American woman astronaut to go into space. [8] About more than a year later, Judith Resnik took the Space Shuttle Discovery into space and became the second American woman in space. [7] [8] In 1988, Ellen Ochoa joined NASA and became the first Hispanic woman astronaut. [12] Ochoa took on multiple missions that included Space shuttles Discovery, Atlantis, four flights, and almost 1,000 hours in space. In 1985, Shannon Lucid took on her first flight and by the end of her career she had spent 188 days in space. [7] Lucid set an American record, for both men and women, with the most number of days in space until 2002. [7]

1990s

By the 1990s, NASA was doing a lot of research in women's bodies and the effects of space to their bodies. Carolyn Huntoon gave a speech in 1994 at the 2nd Annual Women's Health and Space Luncheon by giving light to the unrecognized work of NASA. [7] On February 3, 1995, history was made when Colonel Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot an US spacecraft. [8] Meanwhile, Shannon Lucid, a board engineer, took on five missions in space and worked as chief scientist for NASA in Washington, DC. [8]

2000s

McAuliffe and Morgan in Teacher in Space Project Teacher in Space Project McAuliffe and Morgan.jpg
McAuliffe and Morgan in Teacher in Space Project

Starting year 2000, the number of women in NASA's planetary missions started to increase. Women were most given roles as Co-Investigators and Participating Scientists. [13] From below 10% of women selected until the 1990s, this percentage started to increase in the 2000s up to around 30% of women, particularly, the women being given the role as Co-Investigators. [13] Pamela Melroy, for example, took on several missions to the International Space Station on the shuttles Discovery and Atlantis. [8] Not only was Melroy an astronaut but she was also a veteran military pilot who has more than 5,000 hours of flight time. [8] In 2007, Peggy Whitson became the first woman to command the International Space Station. [8] Aside from commanding, Whitson conducted dozens of tests in space that furthered space technologies that are still being used today.

In the same year, Barbara Morgan became the first teacher in space; however, it was argued that Christa McAuliffe was announced in 1985 as the first teacher in space, and Barbara Morgan was only an alternate or secondary candidate. [8] In 1986, Christa McAuliffe died in Challenger accident and Morgan was unable to go to space until 2007. [8]

2010s

Sunita Williams is known for holding many records for women, including 322 total days in space, spent over 50 hours walking in space and being the second women to command the ISS. [8]

Women in space program

The unofficial program of Mercury 13 was considered as the start of inclusion of women in U.S space programs, wherein the first seven astronauts chosen for this project were all white men. [14] Randy Lovelace and Don Flickinger, who were involved in the selection process, considered including women for this project. [14] [15] [11] Lovelace thought that women can also do major tasks in space just like men. [16] [11] Through this, Lovelace and Flickinger met Jerrie Cobb, a woman, in 1960, who played a major role in recruiting and testing women. [14] [11]

Some members of the FLATs (Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainees) Seven Members of the First Lady Astronaut Trainees in 1995 - GPN-2002-000196.jpg
Some members of the FLATs (Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainees)

Women in Space Program (December 20, 1959) was the “revived” version of the Women in Space Earliest program that was cancelled in November 1959. [15] Similar to the program for men, this required candidate testings. [15] However, the parameters for these tests were varied to accommodate women. [15] In the screening phase, for example, men were required to be degree-holder jet pilots, went to military test pilot school, and with experience of minimum 1,500 hours of flying time. [15] Since women were deprived from some of these opportunities, screenings shifted to women with commercial pilot licenses, especially that women served as instructors during this time. [15] Cobb, who underwent the testing first, [11] became the leader of the FLATs (Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainees) with 12 other women, which made 13 women in total (hence, the media named it Mercury 13). [14] Even though Cobb was assigned as a NASA consultant and continued doing the testings, women were still not trained to be astronauts. [14]

During the examinations for women, some scientists thought that women showed advantages for being sent to space rather than men. [17] For example, internal organs of women were assumed to be more suitable in radiation and vibrations. [17] Due to the relatively smaller size of women, spacecraft and flights would be less expensive if women were to use spacecraft. [17] However, testing for women were cancelled after it was discovered that NASA did not issue an official request for such action. [15] Lovelace decided to not continue the program and ended up in an uncomfortable situation at NASA. [15] Meanwhile, Jerrie Cobb, who assumed leadership and facilitated the testings for women, was removed from her position at NASA. [15]

Today in NASA

Since the first astronaut, Sally Ride, there have been 43 American women who have gone to space by the year 2012. [18] Outside of the U.S. there have only been 12 other women astronauts that have been in space. [18] As of 2009, about 10 percent of astronauts in NASA are women. [5]

Major events

Active Women Astronauts [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Resnik</span> American engineer and astronaut (1949–1986)

Judith Arlene Resnik was an American electrical engineer, software engineer, biomedical engineer, pilot and NASA astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. She was the fourth woman, the second American woman and the first Jewish woman of any nationality to fly in space, logging 145 hours in orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peggy Whitson</span> American astronaut and biochemistry researcher (born 1960)

Peggy Annette Whitson is an American biochemistry researcher, and astronaut working for Axiom Space. She retired from NASA in 2018, after serving as Chief Astronaut. Over all her missions, Whitson has a total of 665 days in space, more than any other American or woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon Lucid</span> American biochemist and astronaut (born 1943)

Shannon Matilda Wells Lucid is an American biochemist and retired NASA astronaut. She has flown in space five times, including a prolonged mission aboard the Russian space station Mir in 1996, and is the only American woman to have stayed on Mir. From 1996 to 2007, Lucid held the record for the longest duration spent in space by an American and by a woman. She was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in December 1996, making her the tenth person and the first woman to be accorded the honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-76</span> 1996 American crewed spaceflight to Mir

STS-76 was NASA's 76th Space Shuttle mission, and the 16th mission for Atlantis. STS-76 launched on 22 March 1996 at 08:13:04 UTC from Kennedy Space Center, launch pad 39B. STS-76 lasted over 9 days, traveled about 6,100,000 km (3,800,000 mi) while orbiting Earth an estimated 145 times, and landing at 13:28:57 UTC on 31 March 1996 at Edwards Air Force Base, runway 22.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen Ochoa</span> American astronaut and engineer (born 1958)

Ellen Ochoa is an American engineer, former astronaut and former director of the Johnson Space Center. In 1993, Ochoa became the first Latina woman to go to space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. Ochoa became director of the center upon the retirement of the previous director, Michael Coats, on December 31, 2012. She was the first Latina director and the second female director of Johnson Space Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerrie Cobb</span> American aviator and astronaut (1931–2019)

Geraldyn M. Cobb , commonly known as Jerrie Cobb, was an American pilot and aviator. She was also part of the Mercury 13, a group of women who underwent physiological screening tests at the same time as the original Mercury Seven astronauts, and was the first to complete each of the tests.

Shuttle–<i>Mir</i> program 1993–1998 collaborative Russia–US space program

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA Astronaut Group 2</span> 2nd group of NASA astronauts

NASA Astronaut Group 2 was the second group of astronauts selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Their selection was announced on September 17, 1962. The group augmented the Mercury Seven. President John F. Kennedy had announced Project Apollo, on May 25, 1961, with the ambitious goal of putting a man on the Moon by the end of the decade, and more astronauts were required to fly the two-man Gemini spacecraft and three-man Apollo spacecraft then under development. The Mercury Seven had been selected to accomplish the simpler task of orbital flight, but the new challenges of space rendezvous and lunar landing led to the selection of candidates with advanced engineering degrees as well as test pilot experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Randolph Lovelace II</span> American physician

William Randolph Lovelace II was an American physician who made contributions to aerospace medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunita Williams</span> American astronaut and Navy officer (born 1965)

Sunita Lyn "Suni" Williams is an American astronaut, retired U.S. Navy officer, and former record holder for most spacewalks by a woman (seven) and most spacewalk time for a woman. Williams was assigned to the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 14 and Expedition 15. In 2012, she served as a flight engineer on Expedition 32 and then commander of Expedition 33. In 2024, she returned to the ISS on the Boeing Crew Flight Test, the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner; her return to Earth has been delayed until February 2025. As such, from August 2024 until February 2025, Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore are pivoting ahead to undertake various scientific experiments and maintenance tasks aboard the International Space Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercury 13</span> Group of American women who passed astronaut screening tests

The Mercury 13 were thirteen American women who took part in a privately funded research program run by NASA physician William Randolph Lovelace II in 1959-1960, which aimed to test and screen women for spaceflight. The first participant, pilot Geraldyn "Jerrie" Cobb helped Lovelace identify and recruit the others. The participants successfully underwent the same physiological screening tests as had the astronauts selected by NASA for Project Mercury. While Lovelace called the project Woman in Space Program, the thirteen women decades later became known as the "Mercury 13"— a term coined in 1995 as a comparison to the Mercury Seven astronauts. The Mercury 13 women were not allowed in NASA's official astronaut program, and at the time, never trained as a group, nor flew in space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Rowland Nichols</span> American aviator

Ruth Rowland Nichols was an American aviation pioneer. She is the only woman yet to hold simultaneous world records for speed, altitude, and distance for a female pilot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Behnken</span> US Air Force officer, NASA astronaut and former Chief of the Astronaut Office (born 1970)

Robert Louis Behnken is an American engineer, a former NASA astronaut, and former Chief of the Astronaut Office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA Astronaut Group 8</span> 1978 American astronaut group

NASA Astronaut Group 8 was a group of 35 astronauts announced on January 16, 1978. It was the first NASA selection since Group 6 in 1967, and was the largest group to that date. The class was the first to include female and minority astronauts; of the 35 selected, six were women, one of them being Jewish American, three were African American, and one was Asian American. Due to the long delay between the last Apollo lunar mission in 1972 and the first flight of the Space Shuttle in 1981, few astronauts from the older groups remained, and they were outnumbered by the newcomers, who became known as the Thirty-Five New Guys (TFNG). Since then, a new group of candidates has been selected roughly every two years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael S. Hopkins</span> NASA astronaut, and Colonel in the U.S. Space Force

Michael Scott "Mike" Hopkins is a United States Space Force colonel and a former NASA astronaut. Hopkins was selected in June 2009 as a member of the NASA Astronaut Group 20. He made his first spaceflight as a Flight Engineer on Soyuz TMA-10M/Expedition 37/Expedition 38, from September 2013 until March 2014. He is the first member of his astronaut class to fly in space. Hopkins is the first astronaut to transfer to the U.S. Space Force, participating in a transfer ceremony on the International Space Station. Prior to his transfer, he served over 27 years in the United States Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in space</span> Women who travel to space

Women have flown and worked in outer space since almost the beginning of human spaceflight. A considerable number of women from a range of countries have worked in space, though overall women are still significantly less often chosen to go to space than men, and by June, 2020 constitute only 12% of all astronauts who have been to space. Yet, the proportion of women among space travelers is increasing substantially over time. The first woman to fly in space was Soviet Valentina Tereshkova, aboard the Vostok 6 space capsule on June 16–19, 1963. Tereshkova was a textile-factory assembly worker, rather than a pilot like the male cosmonauts flying at the time, chosen for propaganda value, her devotion to the Communist Party, and her years of experience in sport parachuting, which she used on landing after ejecting from her capsule. Women were not qualified as space pilots and workers co-equal to their male counterparts until 1982. By October 2021, most of the 70 women who have been to space have been United States citizens, with missions on the Space Shuttle and on the International Space Station. Other countries have flown one, two or three women in human spaceflight programs. Additionally one woman of dual Iranian-US citizenship has participated as a tourist on a US spaceflight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicole Aunapu Mann</span> American astronaut

Nicole Victoria "Duke" Aunapu Mann is an American test pilot and NASA astronaut. She is an F/A-18 Hornet pilot and a graduate of the US Naval Academy, Stanford University, and the US Naval Test Pilot School. She has over 2,500 flight hours in 25 types of aircraft and 200 carrier landings, and has flown 47 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mann completed astronaut training in 2015 and was assigned in August 2018 to Boe-CFT, the first crewed test flight of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner, but subsequently reassigned to the SpaceX Crew-5, becoming the first female commander of a NASA Commercial Crew Program launch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Flickinger</span> American military flight surgeon

Don Davis Flickinger was a military flight surgeon and pioneer in aerospace medicine who retired from the United States Air Force as a brigadier general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolyn Huntoon</span> American scientist

Carolyn Leach Huntoon is an American scientist and former government official. She was the director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, a position which she held from 1994 to 1996, and was the first woman in the role. She was an assistant secretary at the Department of Energy from 1999 to 2001.

References

  1. ↑ Dunbar, Brian (29 March 2021). "Women Astronauts and the International Space Station". NASA.gov. Archived from the original on 29 March 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021. Alt URL
  2. ↑ Betz, Eric (30 October 2020). "11 female Astronauts who pioneered Spaceflight". Astronomy. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2021. Alt URL
  3. ↑ Krishna, Swapna (24 July 2020). "The Mercury 13: The women who could have been NASA's first female astronauts". Space.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2021. Alt URL
  4. ↑ Allen, Bob (10 August 2015). "Pearl I. Young". NASA. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Sage, Daniel (2009). Space Travel and Culture: From Apollo to Space Tourism. Blackwell Publishing. pp. 146–163.
  6. ↑ Kranz, Gene (2000). Failure is Not an Option . New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN   9780743200790.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Foster, Amy E. (2011). Integrating women into the astronaut corps : politics and logistics at NASA, 1972-2004. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   9781421403946. OCLC   794700367.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Gibson, Karen Bush. (2014-02-01). Women in space : 23 stories of first flights, scientific missions, and gravity-breaking adventures. Chicago, Illinois. ISBN   9781613748442. OCLC   840465083.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. 1 2 Edwards, Sue Bradford (2016). Hidden Human Computers: The Black Women of NASA. Minneapolis, MN: ABDO Publishing. pp. 90–92.
  10. 1 2 Nichols, Nichelle (1994). Beyond Uhura . New York, NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN   9780399139932.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Edwards, Sue Bradford (2016). Hidden Human Computers: The black women of NASA. Minneapolis, MN: ABDO Publishing. pp. 84–87.
  12. ↑ Posada-Swaffert, Angela (June 2003). "A Place in the Stars; Ellen Ochoa relentlessly pursued her dream". Hispanic Publishing Corporation. Hispanic.
  13. 1 2 Niebur, Susan M. (November 2009). "Women and mission leadership". Space Policy. 25 (4): 257–263. Bibcode:2009SpPol..25..257N. doi:10.1016/j.spacepol.2009.08.003. ISSN   0265-9646. S2CID   153553553.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Lathers, Marie (2009). ""No Official Requirement": Women, History, Time, and the U.S. Space Program". Feminist Studies. 35 (1): 14–40. ISSN   0046-3663. JSTOR   40607922.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Ryan, Kathy L.; Loeppky, Jack A.; Kilgore, Donald E. (September 2009). "A forgotten moment in physiology: the Lovelace Woman in Space Program (1960–1962)". Advances in Physiology Education. 33 (3): 157–164. doi:10.1152/advan.00034.2009. ISSN   1043-4046. PMID   19745040. S2CID   19540924.
  16. 1 2 Sage, Daniel (May 2009). "Giant Leaps and Forgotten Steps: NASA and the Performance of Gender". The Sociological Review. 57 (1): 146–163. doi:10.1111/j.1467-954x.2009.01822.x. ISSN   0038-0261. S2CID   142767254.
  17. 1 2 3 Kaszas, Rita (Fall 2010). "A space of their own: Women, the American Space Program and the emergence of Star Trek". Americana e-Journal of American Studies in Hungary. 6. Archived from the original on 2020-07-12. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gibson, Karen (2014). Women in Space: 23 Stories of First Flights, Scientific Missions, and Gravity breaking Adventures. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press Incorporated. ISBN   978-1-61374-844-2.
  19. ↑ Phelps, J. Alfred (1994). They Had A Dream . Novato, CA: Presidio Press. ISBN   9780891414971.
  20. ↑ "Johnson Space Center Directors". NASA. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  21. ↑ "NASA and NACA Center Directors". NASA History. NASA . Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  22. ↑ "30th Anniversary of Moon Landing Marked at Cape Space". Los Angeles Times. July 17, 1999.
  23. ↑ NASA.gov
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