Women in NASA's Space Program

• In 1959, NASA introduced the first seven U.S. astronauts, who were all male test pilots, to the public with fanfare, resulting in instant acclaim.
• 1978 saw a new group of astronaut trainees at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, which included scientists, engineers, and medical doctors, and six of the thirty-five were women.
• Some older men held a condescending attitude toward women in the space program, believing they lacked "the right stuff" to be astronauts.
• The women had to perform as well as or better than their male counterparts to dispel prejudices and had to be smart, tough, highly educated, and meticulous.
• Physical strength was not as important as being smart, tough, highly educated, and meticulous.
• The six women met challenges and proved their mettle during their year of basic training.
• Astronaut trainees studied subjects like astronomy, meteorology, geology, mathematics, navigation, and human anatomy.
• Trainees spent hundreds of hours in the classroom to comprehend the inner workings of the space shuttle.
• Trainees received hands-on experience in a detailed replica of the space shuttle, to be familiar with the shuttle itself when boarding.
• Astronaut trainees spent time underwater to simulate weightlessness.
• They experienced weightlessness on K-135 planes that flew almost vertically upward before curving back to earth, which produced a sensation of weightlessness
• The nauseated trainees dubbed the aircraft "the vomit comet."

Survival Training

• Survival training was critical in the program both on land and at sea.
• The chance of rocket engine and backup system failure while in orbit was negligible, but astronauts had to be prepared.
• Astronauts practiced climbing inside fabric rescue balls, thirty inches in diameter, rapidly inflated with oxygen.
• In emergencies the astronaut sat inside to be transferred to safety.
• Climbing into the thirty inch ball was unpleasant, especially for those with claustrophobia, so it was decided that the ball was not a good solution and the inflatible balls never flew on any shuttles.

Sally Ride

• In the spring of 1982, Sally Ride was chosen for Space Transportation System 7.
• She was a scientist with an advanced degree in physics from Stanford University.
• Her expertise was in X-ray astronomy and lasers.
• After the announcement NASA was flooded with interview requests.
• Ride answered even the most inane questions with patience and good humor.
• Ride trained for a year to meet the requirements of the mission.
• On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride began her five-day flight aboard the space shuttle Challenger with four male colleagues.