All statistics valid as of December 2008.
General Facts
48 different women total including cosmonauts, astronauts, payload specialists, and foreign nationals have flown in space.
5 different female cosmonauts have flown on the Soviet/Russian program*
42 different women have flown with NASA*
*Yelena Kondakova has flown on both Soyuz TM-17 and on STS-84
First Woman in Space
Valentina Tereshkova - Vostok 6. June 16, 1963
First U.S. Woman in Space
Sally Ride - STS-7. June 18-24, 1983
(She was the third woman in space overall after Valentina Tereshkova, above, and Svetlana Savitskaya, who flew on Soyuz T-7 August 19, 1982)
First Woman Space Shuttle Commander
Eileen Collins - STS-93. July 23-27, 1999. She commanded for a second time on STS-114 July 26, 2005
Pamela Melroy was the second woman commander on STS-120 October 23-November 7, 2007
First Woman to Command the International Space Station (ISS)
Peggy Whitson - Whitson completed a six month tour of duty aboard the International Space Station as the ISS Commander for Expedition 16 in April 2008.
First Woman to participate in an Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA)
Svetlana Savitskaya - Soyuz T-12. July 17, 1984
First U.S. Woman to participate in an EVA
Kathryn (Kathy) Sullivan - STS 41-G. October 11, 1984
Women Space Shuttle Pilots
Eileen Collins - was first woman pilot on STS-63 February 3-11, 1995.
She returned as pilot on STS-84
Susan Still - STS-83, STS-94
Pamela Ann Melroy - STS 92, STS-112
Space Shuttle Missions With More than One Woman
STS 41-G Kathryn D. Sullivan, Sally K. Ride
STS 51-L Judith A. Resnik, Sharon Christa McAuliffe
STS-34 Shannon W. Lucid, Ellen S. Baker
STS-32 Bonnie J. Dunbar, Marsha S. Ivins
STS-40 Tamara E. Jernigan, M. Rhea Seddon, Millie Hughes-Fulford
STS-50 Bonnie J. Dunbar, Ellen S. Baker
STS-47 N. Jan Davis, Mae C. Jemison
STS-57 Nancy J. Sherlock, Janice E. Voss
STS-58 M. Rhea Seddon, Shannon W. Lucid
STS-63 Eileen M. Collins, Janice E. Voss
STS-67 Tamara E. Jernigan, Wendy B. Lawrence
STS-71 Ellen S. Baker, Bonnie J. Dunbar
STS-70 Nancy Jane Currie, Mary Ellen Weber
STS-73 Kathryn C. Thornton, Catherine G. Coleman
STS-76 Shannon W. Lucid, Linda M. Godwin
STS-83 Susan L. Still, Janice E. Voss
STS-84 Eileen M. Collins, Elena V. Kondakova
STS-94 Susan L. Still, Janice E. Voss
STS-91 Wendy B. Lawrence, Janet L. Kavandi
STS-96 Ellen Ochoa, Tamara E. Jernigan, Julie Payette
STS-93 Eileen M. Collins, Catherine G. Coleman
STS-99 Janet L. Kavandi, Janice E. Voss
STS-101 Mary Ellen Weber, Susan J. Helms
STS-112 Pamela Melroy, Sandra Magnus
STS-107 Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark
STS-114 Eileen M. Collins, Wendy Lawrence
STS-121 Stephanie D. Wilson, Lisa M. Nowak
STS-116 Sunita Williams, Joan Higginbotham
STS-118 Barbara R. Morgan, Tracy E. Caldwell
STS-120 Pamela A. Melroy, Stephanie D. Wilson
STS-126 Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper, Sandra H. Magnus
Women Astronauts from Astronaut Classes of 1998, and 2000 and 2004 who have not yet flown
K. MEGAN MCARTHUR, PH.D.
MISSION SPECIALIST CANDIDATE
ASTRONAUT CLASS OF 2000
Currently assigned to the final Space Shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, STS-125.
DOROTHY METCALF-LINDENBURGER
MISSION SPECIALIST CANDIDATE
ASTRONAUT CLASS OF 2004
Assigned to the crew of STS-131.
PATRICIA HILLIARD ROBERTSON (M.D.)
MISSION SPECIALIST CANDIDATE (Deceased)
ASTRONAUT CLASS OF 1998
Died May 24, 2001 of injuries sustained in the crash of a private plane
Served as the office representative for the Crew Healthcare System (CHeCS), and a
Crew Support Astronaut (CSA) for the ISS Expedition 2 Crew.
NICOLE PASSONNO STOTT MISSION SPECIALIST CANDIDATE
ASTRONAUT CLASS OF 2000
Assigned to Expedition-19 and is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station with the crew of STS-128 and return on a Soyuz flight.
SHANNON WALKER
MISSION SPECIALIST CANDIDATE
ASTRONAUT CLASS OF 2004
Assigned as a back-up Expedition 19 crew member.
Information about individual female astronauts may be found at Johnson Spaceflight
Center's Astronaut
Biographies page. Ames Research Center maintains a page
about current Women
of NASA. The History Office also maintains a page about
the First Lady Astronaut Trainees,
or Mercury 13.
Information about Eilene Galloway,
who helped create NASA.
Steven J. Dick, NASA Chief Historian
Steve Garber, NASA History Web Curator
Site design by NASA HQ Printing & Design
For further information email histinfo@hq.nasa.gov
|