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Kathryn Sullivan Sets Altitude Record Main Content
NASA Center: Headquarters
Image # : 79H-586
Date : 07/01/1979


Title

Kathryn Sullivan Sets Altitude Record

Full Description

An unofficial sustained American aviation altitude record for women was set July 1, 1979, by astronaut candidate Kathryn D. Sullivan in a NASA WB-57F reconnaissance aircraft.
The record altitude of 63,300 feet was reached during a four-hour flight. Sullivan, in a high altitude pressure suit, operated color infrared cameras and multispectral scanning equipment as the WB-57F spent one and one-half hours of the Big Bend area of West Texas.
Piloting the aircraft was Jim Korkowski, one of the NASA Airborne Instrumentation Research Program Pilots. The flight was out of Ellington AFB near Houston.
Sullivan, who has a doctorate in geology, was selected in 1978 as one of 35 astronaut candidates training for the Shuttle program. She trained to be a mission specialist and flights in the WB-57F were training in preparation for her assignments on the Shuttle. Sullivan later served as a mission specialist on STS-41G, STS-31, and STS-45.

Keywords

Kathryn Sullivan Jim Korkowski WB-57F Ellington AFB STS-41G STS- 31 STS-34

Subject Category

Aeronautical Research, Astronauts, Women, Earth Science,

Reference Numbers

  • Center: HQ
  • Center Number: 79H-586
  • GRIN DataBase Number: GPN-2002-000199

Source Information

  • Creator/Photographer: NASA
  • Original Source: DIGITAL

Image Information ( Copyright Notification )

ResolutionFormatWidth
(Pixels)
Height
(Pixels)
Size
(KBytes)
Thumbnail JPEG 89 90 9
Small JPEG 633 641 169
Medium JPEG 1484 1503 709
Large JPEG 1 3006 2,502


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Updated October 31, 2002
• History Questions: NASA History Office
• Responsible NASA Official: Steve Garber
• Author: Michael Hahn.  Editor: Dwayne A. Day
• Curator & Technical Questions: Erin Needham
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