The first female NASA astronauts qualify in Water Survival School at Turkey Point, Florida. NASA Astronaut candidate Anna L. Fisher as a boat pulls her through the water during an Air Training Command sea survival school "Drop-and-Drag" Exercise. The boat will pull her until she can stabilize herself and release the parachute risers. The exercise is designed to simulate being dragged through the water by a parachute. Fisher's classmates include Sally K. Ride, Shannon W. Lucid, Kathryn D. Sullivan, Margaret "Rhea" Seddon and Judith A. Resnik.
As of July 2016, of the 537 total space travelers, 61 have been women.[1] There have been one each from France, India, Italy, South Korea, and the United Kingdom; two each from Canada, China, and Japan; four from the Soviet Union/Russia; and 45 from the United States. The time between the first male and first female astronauts varied widely by country. The first astronauts from Britain, South Korea, and Iran were women, while there was a two-year gap in Russia from the first man in space on Vostok 1 to the first woman in space on Vostok 6. The time between the first American man and first American woman in space was 22 years between Freedom 7 and STS-7, respectively. For China, this interval was almost eight and a half years between the Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 9 space missions,[2] and for Italy, there was approximately twelve years between the STS-46 and Expedition 42 spaceflights. A span of 19 years separated the first and second women in space. They were cosmonauts on the Vostok 6 and Soyuz T-7 missions. Though the Soviet Union sent the first two women into space, only four of the women in space have been Russian or Soviet citizens. However, British, French, Italian, Iranian, and South Korean women have all flown as part of the Soviet and Russian space programs. Similarly, women from Canada, India, Japan, and America have all flown under the US space program. A span of one year separated the first and second American women in space. While the first American man in space was separated from the first woman in space by 20 years, a span of one year separated the first and second Chinese women in space, taking place on consecutive missions, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10.
Size: 6409px × 4211px
Location: Homestead Air Force Base, Turkey Point, Florida
Photo credit: © Ken Hawkins / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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