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List of women astronauts

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Blindman shady (talk | contribs) at 02:55, 11 August 2012 (→‎Astronauts with completed or scheduled spaceflights: How can she be openly gay if only after death. That boggles the mind!). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The following is a list of women who have traveled into space, sorted by date of first flight. Although the first woman flew into space in 1963, very early in manned space exploration, it would not be until almost twenty years later that another flew. Female astronauts went on to become commonplace in the 1980s.

History

The length of time between the first-ever man in space and first woman in space was just over two years between Vostok 1 and Vostok 6, whereas the length of time between the first American man and first American woman in space was 22 years between Freedom 7 and Space Shuttle Challenger STS-7. For China, this interval was almost eight and a half years between the Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 9 space missions.[1] The first Briton, the first South Korean, and the first Iranian in space were all women.

As of 2012, 56 women have flown in space, out of 525 total space travellers. By country of origin: one each from China, France, UK, South Korea; two each from Canada and Japan, three from Soviet Union/Russia, and 45 from the United States.

While the Soviet Union sent the first two women into space, only three of all the women in space have been Russian or Soviet. However, the French, British, South Korean and Iranian women all flew as part of the Soviet or Russian space program.

Astronauts with completed or scheduled spaceflights

# Image Name
Birth date 		Country Comment Missions (Launch date)
1 Valentina Tereshkova
Mar. 6, 1937 		 Soviet Union First woman in space. Vostok 6 (Jun. 16, 1963)
2 Svetlana Savitskaya
Aug. 8, 1948 		 Soviet Union First woman to walk in space (July 25, 1984) while on an expedition to the Salyut 7 space station. First woman to make two spaceflights. Soyuz T-7/T-5 (Aug. 19, 1982)
Soyuz T-12 (Jul. 17, 1984)
3 Sally Ride
May 26, 1951
died Jul. 23, 2012 		 United States First American woman in space. First gay astronaut, albeit posthumously. [2] STS-7 (Jun. 18, 1983)
STS-41-G (Oct. 5, 1984)
4 File:Judith Resnik.jpg Judith Resnik
Apr. 5, 1949
died Jan. 28, 1986 		 United States First Jewish-American in space. Died in the Challenger disaster. STS-41-D (Aug. 30, 1984)
STS-51-L (Jan. 28, 1986)
5 Kathryn D. Sullivan
Oct. 3, 1951 		 United States First American woman to walk in space (Oct. 11, 1984). STS-41-G (Oct. 5, 1984)
STS-31 (Apr. 24, 1990)
STS-45 (Mar. 24, 1992)
6 Anna Lee Fisher
Aug. 24, 1949 		 United States STS-51-A (Nov. 8, 1984)
7 Margaret Rhea Seddon
Nov. 8, 1947 		 United States STS-51-D (Apr. 12, 1985)
STS-40 (Jun. 5, 1991)
STS-58 (Oct. 18, 1993)
8 Shannon Lucid
Jan. 14, 1943 		 United States First American woman to fly on a space station (Mir). First woman to make a third, a fourth and a fifth spaceflight. STS-51-G (Jun. 17, 1985)
STS-34 (Oct. 18, 1989)
STS-43 (Aug. 2, 1991)
STS-58 (Oct. 18, 1993)
STS-76/79 (Mar. 22, 1996)
9 Bonnie J. Dunbar
Mar. 3, 1949 		 United States STS-61-A (Oct. 30, 1985)
STS-32 (Jan. 9, 1990)
STS-50 (Jun. 25, 1992)
STS-71 (Jun. 27, 1995)
STS-89 (Jan. 22, 1998)
10 Mary L. Cleave
Feb. 5, 1947 		 United States STS-61-B (Nov. 26, 1985)
STS-30 (May 4, 1989)
11 Ellen S. Baker
Apr. 27, 1953 		 United States STS-34 (Oct. 18, 1989)
STS-50 (Jun. 25, 1992)
STS-71 (Jun. 27, 1995)
12 Kathryn C. Thornton
Aug. 17, 1952 		 United States Third woman to walk in space. First woman to make multiple EVAs (May 14–15, 1992, Dec. 6, 1993, Dec. 8, 1993) STS-33 (Nov. 22, 1989)
STS-49 (May 7, 1992)
STS-61 (Dec. 2, 1993)
STS-73 (Oct. 20, 1995)
13 Marsha Ivins
Apr. 15, 1951 		 United States STS-32 (Jan. 9, 1990)
STS-46 (Jul. 31, 1992)
STS-62 (Mar. 4, 1994)
STS-81 (Jan. 12, 1997)
STS-98 (Feb. 7, 2001)
14 Linda M. Godwin
Jul. 2, 1952 		 United States Fourth woman to walk in space (March 27, 1996, Dec. 10, 2001) STS-37 (Apr. 5, 1991)
STS-59 (Apr. 9, 1994)
STS-76 (Mar. 22, 1996)
STS-108 (Dec. 5, 2001)
15 Helen Sharman
May 30, 1963 		 United Kingdom First Briton in space. Soyuz TM-12/TM-11 (May 18, 1991)
16 Tamara E. Jernigan
May 7, 1959 		 United States Fifth woman to walk in space (May 30, 1999) STS-40 (Jun. 5, 1991)
STS-52 (Oct. 22, 1992)
STS-67 (Mar. 2, 1995)
STS-80 (Nov. 19, 1996)
STS-96 (May 27, 1999)
16 Millie Hughes-Fulford
Dec. 21, 1945 		 United States First female Payload Specialist. STS-40 (Jun. 5, 1991)
18 Roberta Bondar
Dec. 4, 1945 		 Canada First Canadian woman in space. STS-42 (Jan. 22, 1992)
19 Jan Davis
Nov. 1, 1953 		 United States STS-47 (Sep. 12, 1992)
STS-60 (Feb. 3, 1994)
STS-85 (Aug. 7, 1997)
19 Mae Jemison
Oct. 17, 1956 		 United States First African-American woman in space STS-47 (Sep. 12, 1992)
21 Susan J. Helms
Feb. 26, 1958 		 United States 6th woman to walk in space (March 11, 2001) STS-54 (Jan. 13, 1993)
STS-64 (Sep. 9, 1994)
STS-78 (Jun. 20, 1996)
STS-101 (May 19, 2000)
STS-102/105 (Mar. 8, 2001)
22 Ellen Ochoa
May 10, 1958 		 United States First Hispanic woman in space. STS-56 (Apr. 8, 1993)
STS-66 (Nov. 3, 1994)
STS-96 (May 27, 1999)
STS-110 (Apr. 8, 2002)
23 Janice E. Voss
Oct. 8, 1956
died Feb. 6, 2012 		 United States STS-57 (Jun. 21, 1993)
STS-63 (Feb. 3, 1995)
STS-83 (Apr. 4, 1997)
STS-94 (Jul. 1, 1997)
STS-99 (Feb. 11, 2000)
23 Nancy Currie
Dec. 29, 1958 		 United States STS-57 (Jun. 21, 1993)
STS-70 (Jul. 13, 1995)
STS-88 (Dec. 4, 1998)
STS-109 (Mar. 1, 2002)
25 Chiaki Mukai
May 6, 1952 		 Japan First Japanese woman in space. STS-65 (Jul. 8, 1994)
STS-95 (Oct. 29, 1998)
26 Yelena V. Kondakova
Mar. 30, 1957 		 Russia Soyuz TM-20 (Oct. 3, 1994)
STS-84 (May 15, 1997)
27 Eileen Collins
Nov. 19, 1956 		 United States First female shuttle pilot and shuttle commander. STS-63 (Feb. 3, 1995)
STS-84 (May 15, 1997)
STS-93 (Jul. 23, 1999)
STS-114 (Jul. 26, 2005)
28 Wendy Lawrence
Jul. 2, 1959 		 United States STS-67 (Mar. 2, 1995)
STS-86 (Sep. 25, 1997)
STS-91 (Jun. 2, 1998)
STS-114 (Jul. 26, 2005)
29 Mary E. Weber
Aug. 24, 1962 		 United States STS-70 (Jul. 13, 1995)
STS-101 (May 19, 2000)
30 Catherine Coleman
Dec. 14, 1960 		 United States STS-73 (Oct. 20, 1995)
STS-93 (Jul. 23, 1999)
Soyuz TMA-20 (15 December 2010)
31 Claudie Haigneré
May 13, 1957 		 France First Frenchwoman in space Soyuz TM-24/TM-23 (Aug. 17, 1996)
Soyuz TM-33/32 (Oct. 21, 2001)
32 Susan Still Kilrain
Oct. 24, 1961 		 United States Second female Shuttle pilot. STS-83 (Apr. 4, 1997)
STS-94 (Jul. 1, 1997)
33 Kalpana Chawla
Jul. 1, 1961
died Feb. 1, 2003 		 United States Died in the Columbia disaster.
First Indian-American woman in space. 		STS-87 (Nov. 19, 1997)
STS-107 (Feb. 1, 2003)
34 Kathryn P. Hire
Aug. 26, 1959 		 United States STS-90 (Apr. 17, 1998)
STS-130 (Feb. 8, 2010)
35 Janet L. Kavandi
Jul. 17, 1959 		 United States STS-91 (Jun. 2, 1998)
STS-99 (Feb. 11, 2000)
STS-104 (Jul. 12, 2001)
36 Julie Payette
Oct. 20, 1963 		 Canada STS-96 (May 27, 1999)
STS-127 (July 15, 2009)
37 Pamela Melroy
Sep. 17, 1961 		 United States Second female Shuttle Commander. STS-92 (Oct. 11, 2000)
STS-112 (Oct. 7, 2002)
STS-120 (Oct. 23, 2007)
38 Peggy Whitson
Feb. 9, 1960 		 United States 7th woman to walk in space (Aug. 16, 2002, Nov. 9, 2007, Nov. 20, 2007, Nov. 24, 2007, Dec. 18, 2007, Jan. 30, 2007) As of March 2009, holds record for most EVAs and most time spent on EVA of all female space travellers.
First female ISS Commander (ISS Expedition 16) 		STS-111/113 (Jun. 5, 2002)
Soyuz TMA-11 (Oct. 10, 2007)
39 Sandra Magnus
Oct. 30, 1964 		 United States STS-112 (Oct. 7, 2002)
STS-126/119 (Nov. 14, 2008)
STS-135 (July 8, 2011)
40 Laurel B. Clark
Mar. 10, 1961
died Feb. 1, 2003 		 United States Died in the Columbia disaster. STS-107 (Feb. 1, 2003)
41 Stephanie Wilson
Sep. 27, 1966 		 United States STS-121 (Jul. 4, 2006)
STS-120 (Oct. 23, 2007)
STS-131 (Apr. 5, 2010)
41 Lisa Nowak
May 10, 1963 		 United States Became the object of media scrutiny after she was charged with attempted kidnapping. STS-121 (Jul. 4, 2006)
43 Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper
Feb. 7, 1963 		 United States 8th woman to walk in space (Sept. 12, 2006, Sept. 15, 2006, Nov. 18-19, 2008, Nov. 20-21, 2008, Nov. 22-23, 2008) STS-115 (Sep. 9, 2006)
STS-126 (Nov. 14, 2008)
44 File:Anousheh ansari spacesuit.jpg Anousheh Ansari
Sep. 12, 1966 		 Iran /  United States Fourth space tourist and first female space tourist. First Iranian in space. Soyuz TMA-9/8 (Sep. 18, 2006)
45 Sunita Williams
Sep. 19, 1965[3] 		 United States 9th woman to walk in space (Dec. 16, 2006, Jan. 31, 2007, Feb. 4, 2007, Feb. 8, 2007). As of 2007, holds records for female space travelers: longest spaceflight (195 days)[3] STS-116/117 (Dec. 9, 2006)[3]
Soyuz TMA-05M (July 15, 2012)
45 Joan Higginbotham
Aug. 3, 1964 		 United States STS-116 (Dec. 9, 2006)
47 Tracy Caldwell Dyson
Aug. 14, 1969 		 United States Eleventh woman to walk in space (Aug. 7, 2010, Aug. 11, 2010, Aug. 16, 2010). STS-118 (Aug. 8, 2007)
Soyuz TMA-18 (April 2, 2010)
47 Barbara Morgan
Nov. 28, 1951 		 United States First educator astronaut (Teacher in Space Project) STS-118 (Aug. 8, 2007)
49 Yi So-yeon
Jun. 2, 1978 		 Republic of Korea First Korean in space Soyuz TMA-12 (Apr. 8, 2008)
50 Karen L. Nyberg
Oct. 7, 1969 		 United States STS-124 (May 31, 2008)
51 K. Megan McArthur
Aug. 30, 1971 		 United States STS-125 (May 11, 2009)
52 Nicole P. Stott
Nov. 11, 1962 		 United States 10th woman to walk in space (September 1–2, 2009). STS-128 (August 28, 2009)
STS-133 (February 24, 2011)
53 Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger
May 15, 1975 		 United States STS-131 (April 5, 2010)
53 Naoko Yamazaki
Dec. 27, 1970 		 Japan STS-131 (April 5, 2010)
55 Shannon Walker
Jun. 4, 1965 		 United States Soyuz TMA-19 (June 15, 2010)
56 Liu Yang
Oct. 6, 1978 		 China First Chinese woman in space. Shenzhou 9 (June 16, 2012)

Other astronauts and astronaut candidates

Image Name Birth date
Death date 		Country Comment
Wang Yaping Apr. 1978  China Completed taikonaut training. In taikonaut corps.
Kathleen Rubins Oct. 14, 1978  United States Completed Astronaut Candidate Training in 2011.
Samantha Cristoforetti Apr. 26, 1977  Italy ESA Astronaut.
Yelena Serova Apr. 22, 1976  Russia Cosmonaut.
Serena M. Auñón Apr. 9, 1976  United States Completed Astronaut Candidate Training in 2011.
Jeanette J. Epps Nov. 2, 1970  United States Completed Astronaut Candidate Training in 2011.
Patricia Robertson Mar. 12, 1963
Died May 24, 2001. 		 United States
Nadezhda Kuzhelnaya Nov. 6, 1962  Russia Retired May 27, 2004.
Marianne Merchez Nov. 25, 1960  Belgium Retired 1995.
Yvonne Cagle Apr. 24, 1959  United States Retired 2008.
Christa McAuliffe September 2, 1948
died Jan. 28, 1986 		 United States Died on the Challenger, January 28, 1986
Tatyana Kuznetsova Jul. 14, 1941  Soviet Union Retired 1969.
Zhanna Yorkina May 6, 1939  Soviet Union Retired 1969.
Irina Solovyova Sept. 6, 1937  Soviet Union Retired 1969.
Valentina Ponomaryova Sept. 18, 1933  Soviet Union Retired 1969.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ http://womenshistory.about.com/od/aviationspace/a/timeline_space.htm
  2. ^ http://www.space.com/16735-gay-astronauts-sally-ride.html
  3. ^ a b c NASA (2009). "Sunita L. Williams (Commander, USN)". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
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