-
First Class of Female Astronauts The first female astronaut candidates accepted in 1978. From left to right are Shannon W. Lucid, Margaret Rhea Seddon, Kathryn D. Sullivan, Judith A. Resnik, Anna L. Fisher, and Sally K. Ride. They were part of the group known as the 'Thirty-five New Guys' since it was NASA's first astronaut program in eight years.
-
Jacqueline Cochran Jacqueline Cochran was the first woman to break the sound barrier. Known as the "Speed Queen" she was a well known racing pilot and was part of the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). She later worked as a consultant for NASA.
-
Pearl I. Young Pearl Young was the first woman to work in a professional capacity for NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics,) the preceding organization to NASA. She designed and implemented a technical writing system that is still used today.
-
Astronaut Eileen Collins at the Pilot's Station on Shuttle Discovery Eileen Collins was the first woman to pilot a space shuttle in 1995. She flew on mission STS-63 on the shuttle Discovery.
-
Women Scientists at NASA in January 1959 From left to right: Lucille Coltrane, Jean Clark Keating, an aerospace engineer, Katherine Collie Speegle, a mathematician, Doris 'Dot' Lee, Ruth I. Whitman, an engineer and Emily Stephens Mueller. Both Lucille Coltrane and Emily Mueller were known as "Computers," people who performed mathematical calculations by hand.
-
Astronauts Jan Davis & Mae Jemison on STS-47 Mission Specialists Jan Davis & Dr. Mae C. Jemison on board the space shuttle Endeavor. Dr. Jemison was the first African American woman in space.
-
Ride on the Flight Deck In 1983, Mission Specialist Sally K. Ride was the first American woman in space on the space shuttle Challenger.
-
Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, Astronomer Dr. Roman was the first Chief of Astronomy in NASA's Office of Space Science. She was also the first female to hold an executive position at NASA. Many know her as the "Mother of Hubble" for role in the planning of the Hubble Space Telescope.
-
Annie Easley, Computer Scientist and Mathematician Annie Easley was a mathematician, computer scientist and rocket scientist. She was one of the first African American women to work at NASA as a computer scientist. Her career spans 34 years and involves being a team leader in the software development for the Centaur high-energy upper rocket stage. She also helped develop and implement computer code that analyzed alternative power technologies.
-
Rocket Girls and the Advent of the Space Age The "human computers" at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) campus. Among them is Janez Lawson, the first African American hired into a technical position at JPL. The work of these women helped launch the first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1.