Women Spacefarers : Sixty Different Paths to Space This book tells the fascinating stories of the valiant women who broke down barriers to join the space program. Beginning with the orbital flight of USSR cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 they became players in the greatest adventure of our time. The author contextualizes their accomplishments in light of the political and cultural climate from the Cold War in the background to the changing status of women in society at large during the Seventies. The book includes the biographies of and in some cases interviews with the sixty women who flew in space in the first half century of space history. It reports their achievements and some little known details. The result is a gallery of pioneering women who reached for the stars: women who with exceptional skill hard work and dedication reached impressive careers as accomplished pilots researchers and engineers; many are now in high level managerial positions both at NASA or in public and private organizations and all left a legacy of strength. Foreword Preface 1 Valentina Tereshkova: the icon of Soviet female emancipation 2 Svetlana Savitskaya: twice in space – the second Soviet first 3 Sally Ride: America’s pioneering woman in space 4 Judith Resnik: the second “Shuttlenaut” 5 Christa McAuliffe: “NASA Teacher in Space” 6 Kathryn D. Sullivan: the first American spacewalker 7 Anna Lee Fisher: the first mother in space 8 Margaret Rhea Seddon 9 Shannon Lucid: the first American woman to participate in a long duration mission 10 Bonnie J. Dunbar: the first female astrocosmonaut in history 11 Mary L. Cleave: flying at age 14 12 Ellen Baker: an internist physician on the Shuttle 13 Kathryn Thornton: the “Space Walker Mom” 14 Marsha Ivins: aspiring astronaut at 19 15 Linda M. Godwin 16 Helen Sharman: the first Briton in space 17 Tamara Jernigan: an astrophysicist out among the stars 18 Millie Hughes Fulford: the first female payload specialist 19 Roberta Bondar: the pioneer of space medicine research 20 Nancy Jan Davis: growing up with the Saturn rockets 21 Mae Jemison: our limits are the stars 22 Susan J. Helms: three star General 23 Ellen Ochoa: “Reach for the stars and let nothing limit your potential!” 24 Janice Voss: visits the International Space Station as a Cygnus Craft 25 Nancy Currie Gregg: a passion for flying and concern for safety 26 Chiaki Mukai: the first Japanese astronaut 27 Elena Kondakova: the first woman to take part in a long duration space mission 28 Eileen Collins: the first woman “Shuttlenaut” in the driver’s seat 29 Wendy Lawrence: the first woman astronaut of the US Navy 30 Mary E. Weber: from skydiving to Stellar Strategies 31 Cady Coleman: the colonel playing the flute in space 32 Claudie Haigneré: the first European Space Agency female astronaut 33 Susan Still Kilrain: the second woman to ever pilot the Shuttle 34 Kalpana Chawla: the regret of not officially visiting her native country 35 Kathryn Hire: the first American woman assigned to a combat aircrew 36 Janet Kavandi: the rewards of perseverance and tenacity 37 Julie Payette: “to assemble a ship in the ocean during a storm” 38 Pamela Melroy: “try to be true to yourself” 39 Peggy Whitson: the first woman commander of the International Space Station 40 Sandra Magnus: soaring to new heights 41 Laurel B. Clark: from deep oceans to the stars 42 Stephanie Wilson: “Madam Robotics Expert” 43 Lisa Nowak: the first woman astronaut ever dismissed from NASA 44 Heidemarie Stefanyshyn Piper: from diver to astronaut 45 Anousheh Ansari: the first Iranian spacewoman 46 Sunita Williams: a marathon runner in space 47 Joan Higginbotham: an unplanned adventure 48 Tracy Dyson: the lead vocalist for the all astronaut band Max Q 49 Barbara Morgan: “I’ll fly with the eyes ears the heart and mind of a teacher” 50 Yi So yeon: Korean “spaceflight participant” 51 Karen Nyberg: the marathoner engineer who competes with the space station 52 Megan McArthur: an aerospace engineer riding a pedal powered submarine 53 Nicole Stott: a steady flying passion 54 Dorothy Metcalf Lindenburger: from Space Camp to space station 55 Naoko Yamazaki: astronaut for 4 088 days 56 Shannon Walker: the first native Houstonian astronaut to fly into space with Russians 57 Liu Yang: the first taikonaut 58 Wang Yaping: a live lesson from the “Heavenly Palace” 59 Elena Serova: the first Russian woman cosmonaut on the International Space Station 60 Samantha Cristoforetti: a new record for endurance in space for a woman Appendix 1: List of space missions participated in by Women spacefarers Appendix 2: Extravehicular activities Appendix 3: Military astronauts Appendix 4: Astronauts married to astronauts Glossary Bibliography Index. .