This book is the second edition of Women Spacefarers and tells the fascinating stories of the valiant women who broke down barriers to join the space program. Beginning with the orbital flight of USSR cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 and continuing to the present day, it covers the many female players who have had a central role in the greatest adventure of our time.
The book includes the biographies of, and in some cases interviews with, the brave women who have flown in space. For each entry, the author contextualizes the spacefarer's accomplishments in light of the political and cultural climate of the time. The second edition features fifteen additional profiles on figures such as Jessica Meir and Wally Funk; new interview material; a new thematic structure based on each woman's science specialty and role; an expanded glossary; and more.
The result is a gallery of pioneering women who reached for the stars: women who, with exceptional skill, hard work, and dedication, reached impressive careers as accomplished pilots, researchers, engineers and managers, and left a legacy of strength for all aspiring spacefarers.
Author(s): Umberto Cavallaro
Series: Springer-Praxis Books in Space Exploration
Edition: 2
Publisher: Springer-Praxis
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 624
City: Chichester
Foreword
Preface
Stereotypical Beginnings
Prejudices, Stereotypes, or Gender-Diverse Obsession?
What of the Near Future?
Introduction
Women in Space: A Soviet Record
The Right Stuff14 but the Wrong Sex
FLATs (Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainees)
NASA Opens to Women
The Long Road to Integration in the East
Full Integration in the West
“Female Quotas” Are Rising
Women, Space, and Philately
Sources for the Biographies
Contents
Acronyms
1: The First Ladies of Space
1.1 VALENTINA TERESHKOVA: THE ALL-SOVIET GIRL
1.2 SALLY RIDE: AMERICA’S PIONEERING WOMAN IN SPACE
1.3 HELEN SHARMAN: THE FIRST BRITON IN SPACE
1.4 CHIAKI MUKAI: JAPAN’S FIRST FEMALE ASTRONAUT
1.5 ROBERTA BONDAR: PIONEER OF SPACE MEDICINE RESEARCH
1.6 CLAUDIE HAIGNERÉ: ESA’S FIRST FEMALE ASTRONAUT
1.7 KALPANA CHAWLA: UNABLE TO VISIT HER HOMELAND OFFICIALLY
1.8 YI SO-YEON: KOREAN “SPACEFLIGHT PARTICIPANT”
1.9 LIU YANG: FIRST FEMALE TAIKONAUT
1.10 SAMANTHA CRISTOFORETTI: THE FIRST EXTRATERRESTRIAL TIKTOKER
2: Performing Science and Engineering in Space
2.1 ANNA LEE FISHER: THE FIRST MOTHER IN SPACE
2.2 MARGARET RHEA SEDDON: THE FIRST WEDDING OF NASA ASTRONAUTS
2.3 SHANNON LUCID: AMERICA’S FIRST FEMALE LONG-DURATION ASTRO-COSMONAUT
2.4 BONNIE DUNBAR: THE FIRST FEMALE ASTROCOSMONAUT
2.5 MARY CLEAVE: FLYING AT AGE 14
2.6 ELLEN BAKER: AN INTERNIST PHYSICIAN ON THE SHUTTLE
2.7 MILLIE HUGHES-FULFORD: THE FIRST FEMALE PAYLOAD SPECIALIST
2.8 MAE JEMISON: OUR LIMITS ARE THE STARS
2.9 ELENA KONDAKOVA: THE FIRST FEMALE LONG-DURATION MISSION
2.10 DOROTHY METCALF-LINDENBERGER: FROM SPACE CAMP TO SPACE STATION
2.11 ELENA SEROVA: THE FIRST RUSSIAN FEMALE COSMONAUT ON ISS
2.12 KATHLEEN RUBINS: LABORATORY MICROBIOLOGIST TURNED ASTRONAUT
2.13 SERENA AUÑÓN-CHANCELLOR: PHYSICIAN AND ASTRONAUT
2.14 JESSICA WATKINS: THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN ON A LONG-DURATION SPACE MISSION
3: Outside the Spacecraft
3.1 SVETLANA SAVITSKAYA: TWICE IN SPACE; A SECOND SOVIET “FIRST”
3.2 KATHRYN SULLIVAN: THE “MOST VERTICAL PERSON IN THE WORLD”
3.3 KATHRYN THORNTON: THE “SPACEWALKER MOM”
3.4 LINDA GODWIN: PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
3.5 TAMARA JERNIGAN: AN ASTROPHYSICIST AMONG THE STARS
3.6 TRACY CALDWELL DYSON: LEAD VOCALIST FOR MAX Q
3.7 NICOLE STOTT: A STEADY FLYING PASSION
3.8 WANG YAPING: FIRST CHINESE WOMAN TO WALK IN SPACE
3.9 CHRISTINA KOCH: A NEW SPACEFLIGHT DURATION RECORD
3.10 JESSICA MEIR: FROM THE SEA TO THE STARS
4: Madam Robotics Expert
4.1 JUDITH RESNIK: THE SECOND “SHUTTLENAUT”
4.2 MARSHA IVINS: ASPIRING ASTRONAUT AT 19
4.3 NANCY JAN DAVIS: GROWING UP WITH THE SATURN ROCKETS
4.4 ELLEN OCHOA: “REACH FOR THE STARS AND LET NOTHING LIMIT YOUR POTENTIAL”
4.5 JANICE VOSS: VISITED THE ISS AS A CYGNUS CRAFT
4.6 MARY ELLEN WEBER: FROM SKYDIVING TO STELLAR STRATEGIES
4.7 JANET KAVANDI: THE REWARDS OF PERSEVERANCE AND TENACITY
4.8 JULIE PAYETTE: “TO ASSEMBLE A SHIP IN THE OCEAN DURING A STORM”
4.9 SANDRA MAGNUS: SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS
4.10 STEPHANIE WILSON: “MADAM ROBOTICS EXPERT”
4.11 JOAN HIGGINBOTHAM: AN UNPLANNED ADVENTURE
4.12 BARBARA MORGAN: “I’LL FLY WITH THE EYES, EARS, THE HEART AND MIND OF A TEACHER”
4.13 KAREN NYBERG: MARATHON RUNNING ENGINEER
4.14 MEGAN MCARTHUR: 50TH BIRTHDAY PARTY IN SPACE
4.15 NAOKO YAMAZAKI: ASTRONAUT FOR 4,088 DAYS
5: The Right Stuff
5.1 EILEEN COLLINS: THE FIRST FEMALE “SHUTTLENAUT” IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT
5.2 SUSAN STILL KILRAIN: THE SECOND FEMALE SHUTTLE PILOT
5.3 PAMELA MELROY: THE LAST WOMAN TO COMMAND A SHUTTLE
5.4 PEGGY WHITSON: NASA’S MOST EXPERIENCED ASTRONAUT
5.5 SUNITA WILLIAMS: FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA TO THE HEIGHTS OF SPACE
5.6 SHANNON WALKER: A DRAGON SPACEFARER ON FALCON WINGS
6: Military Women Astronauts
6.1 SUSAN HELMS: THREE-STAR GENERAL
6.2 NANCY CURRIE-GREGG: A PASSION FOR FLYING AND A CONCERN FOR SAFETY
6.3 WENDY LAWRENCE: THE US NAVY’S FIRST FEMALE ASTRONAUT
6.4 CADY COLEMAN: THE FLUTE-PLAYING COLONEL IN SPACE
6.5 KATHRYN HIRE: THE FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN ASSIGNED TO A COMBAT AIRCREW
6.6 LAUREL CLARK: FROM DEEP OCEANS TO THE STARS
6.7 LISA NOWAK: THE FIRST FEMALE ASTRONAUT EVER DISMISSED BY NASA
6.8 HEIDEMARIE STEFANYSHYN-PIPER: FROM DIVER TO ASTRONAUT
6.9 ANN MCCLAIN: FROM EAGLE TO ASTRONAUT
6.10 KAYLA BARRON: A PIONEERING SUBMARINER TURNED ASTRONAUT
7: Spaceflight Participants
7.1 CHRISTA MCAULIFFE: “NASA TEACHER IN SPACE”
7.2 ANOUSHEH ANSARI: THE FIRST IRANIAN SPACEWOMAN
7.3 BETH MOSES: THE FIRST WOMAN TO FLY ON A PRIVATE SPACECRAFT
7.4 SIRISHA BANDLA: FROM GUNTER TO THE EDGE OF SPACE
7.5 WALLY FUNK: NO ONE HAS WAITED LONGER
7.6 HAYLEY ARCENEAUX: THE HOPE ON INSPIRATI④N
7.7 SIAN PROCTOR: ASTRONAUT BY LOTTERY
7.8 YULIA PERESILD: THE FIRST ACTRESS IN SPACE
7.9 AUDREY POWERS: THE FIRST ATTOURNEY TURNED ASTRONAUT
7.10 LAURA SHEPARD CHURCHLEY – THE FIRST DAUGHTER OF AN ASTRONAUT TO FLY IN SPACE
Appendix I: Women Spacefarers in Order of First Mission
Appendix II: Extravehicular Activities
Appendix III: Military Astronauts
Appendix IV: Women Spacefarers Married to Astronauts
Glossary
Index
