NASA and the entirety of the space industry was not always a welcome place for women. From the beginning of the program until recent years, women were shunned or disadvantaged in the male dominated field.
The American space program began after the launch of Sputnik from Russia during the Cold War period. This struck fear into Americans and resulted in the interest of launching not only satellites, but also humans, into space. However, no one had any way of knowing what conditions would be like in space and what effects space travel would have on the human body. Randy Lovelace developed the Mercury Program to begin running experimental tests on human subjects who were interested in going into space.
NASA only recruited for these tests from jet test pilots in the military, which were exclusively men. Lovelace independently decided to include women, and found that they were overall more fit to go into space physically and emotionally. Out of the 19 women that Lovelace tested, 13 passed with flying colors, one being Wally Funk. Unfortunately, when these women were to complete the final phase of testing in Pensacola, they were barred from entry because they weren’t cleared by NASA. Funk and the others would never get their chance to go to space. Two women in …show more content…
After seeing how women had impacted the world with their appearance, their progress could no longer be held back. In 1995, Eileen Collins became the first woman pilot astronaut. In 1999, she became the first woman astronaut commander. Just a short 12 years later, NASA’s shuttle program would come to a sad, and seeming premature, end. Space travel itself, however, has not finished yet. The future holds independent private space travel companies using the opportunity of the open frontier to create a new industry of leisure space travel, where women will once again have the opportunity to make
The American space program began after the launch of Sputnik from Russia during the Cold War period. This struck fear into Americans and resulted in the interest of launching not only satellites, but also humans, into space. However, no one had any way of knowing what conditions would be like in space and what effects space travel would have on the human body. Randy Lovelace developed the Mercury Program to begin running experimental tests on human subjects who were interested in going into space.
NASA only recruited for these tests from jet test pilots in the military, which were exclusively men. Lovelace independently decided to include women, and found that they were overall more fit to go into space physically and emotionally. Out of the 19 women that Lovelace tested, 13 passed with flying colors, one being Wally Funk. Unfortunately, when these women were to complete the final phase of testing in Pensacola, they were barred from entry because they weren’t cleared by NASA. Funk and the others would never get their chance to go to space. Two women in …show more content…
After seeing how women had impacted the world with their appearance, their progress could no longer be held back. In 1995, Eileen Collins became the first woman pilot astronaut. In 1999, she became the first woman astronaut commander. Just a short 12 years later, NASA’s shuttle program would come to a sad, and seeming premature, end. Space travel itself, however, has not finished yet. The future holds independent private space travel companies using the opportunity of the open frontier to create a new industry of leisure space travel, where women will once again have the opportunity to make