List of female spacefarers
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 crewed space exploration, it would not be until almost twenty years later that another flew. Female astronauts went on to become commonplace in the 1980s. This list includes both cosmonauts and astronauts.
History
As of December 2019, of the 565 total space travelers, 65 have been women.[1] There have been one each from France, Italy, South Korea, and the United Kingdom; two each from Canada, China, and Japan; four from the Soviet Union/Russia; and 50 from the United States. The time between the first male and first female astronauts varied widely by country. The first astronauts originally 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, dual-citizen Iranian-American and South Korean women have all flown as part of the Soviet and Russian space programs. Similarly, women from Canada, 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, as well as the first and second Chinese women in space, taking place on consecutive missions, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10.
Spacefarers with completed spaceflights
# | Image | Name Birth date |
Country | Comment | Missions (Launch date) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Valentina Tereshkova Mar. 6, 1937 |
Soviet Union | First woman in space. Youngest woman in space (aged 26). Only woman to make a solo spaceflight. |
Vostok 6 (June 16, 1963) | |
2 | Svetlana Savitskaya Aug. 8, 1948 |
Soviet Union | First woman to fly on a space station (Salyut 7, 1982). First woman to perform a spacewalk (July 25, 1984). First woman to make two spaceflights. |
Soyuz T-5 (July 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. | STS-7 (June 18, 1983) STS-41-G (October 5, 1984) | |
4 | Judith Resnik Apr. 5, 1949 died Jan. 28, 1986 |
United States | Fourth woman in space, second American woman 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 | Second woman to perform a spacewalk and the first American to do so (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 | First mother in space.[3] | 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, 1996). First Chinese-born woman in space. 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 (January 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 British citizen in space. Second woman to fly on a space station (Mir, 1991). | 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) | |
17 | 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. First Ukrainian Canadian woman in space. | STS-42 (Jan. 22, 1992) | |
19 | Jan Davis Nov. 1, 1953 |
United States | Went to space with her husband, Mark C. Lee in 1992. They were the first married couple to go to space together. | STS-47 (Sep. 12, 1992) STS-60 (Feb. 3, 1994) STS-85 (Aug. 7, 1997) | |
20 | 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 | The sixth woman to walk in space (March 11, 2001). The longest duration EVA by a woman (8h 56m).[4] | 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) | ||
24 | Nancy J. 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 | First Russian woman to travel in 2 different spacecraft, Soyuz TM-20 and STS-84 both were on trips to Mir Space Station, and 1st Russian woman to travel on the Space Shuttle. | 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 B. 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. 1996 flight as Claudie André-Deshays | 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 | First Indian-Origin (naturalized U.S. citizen) woman in space. Died in the Columbia disaster. | STS-87 (Nov. 19, 1997) STS-107 (Jan. 16, 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 | Second Canadian woman in space. First French Canadian woman in space. | 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 | Most time in space (cumulative) for a US astronaut (665 days) Seventh woman to walk in space (Aug. 16, 2002, Nov. 9, 2007, Nov. 20, 2007, Nov. 24, 2007, Dec. 18, 2007, Jan. 30, 2007, Jan. 6, 2017, Mar. 30, 2017, May 12, 2017, May 23, 2017). Most EVAs (10) and most time spent on EVA (60 hrs 21 min)[5] of all female space travelers. First female ISS commander (ISS Expedition 16). Oldest female in space (aged 57). |
STS-111/113 (Jun. 5, 2002) Soyuz TMA-11 (Oct. 10, 2007) Soyuz MS-03/04 (Nov. 17, 2016) | |
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 (Jan. 16, 2003) | |
41 | Stephanie Wilson Sep. 27, 1966 |
United States | STS-121 (Jul. 4, 2006) STS-120 (Oct. 23, 2007) STS-131 (Apr. 5, 2010) | ||
42 | Lisa Nowak May 10, 1963 |
United States | STS-121 (Jul. 4, 2006) | ||
43 | Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper Feb. 7, 1963 |
United States | Eighth woman to walk in space (Sep. 12, 2006, Sep. 15, 2006, Nov. 18-19, 2008, Nov. 20-21, 2008, Nov. 22-23, 2008). First Ukrainian American woman in space. | STS-115 (Sep. 9, 2006) STS-126 (Nov. 14, 2008) | |
44 | 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[6] |
United States | Ninth woman to walk in space (Dec. 16, 2006, Jan. 31, 2007, Feb. 4, 2007, Feb. 8, 2007, Aug. 30, 2012, Sep. 5, 2012).[6] | STS-116/117 (Dec. 9, 2006)[6] Soyuz TMA-05M (July 15, 2012) | |
46 | 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). First astronaut born after Apollo 11 flight.[7] | STS-118 (Aug. 8, 2007) Soyuz TMA-18 (April 2, 2010). | |
48 | Barbara Morgan Nov. 28, 1951 |
United States | First educator astronaut (Teacher in Space Project) Oldest woman in space by the time of first flight (aged 55). |
STS-118 (Aug. 8, 2007) | |
49 | Yi So-yeon Jun. 2, 1978 |
South 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) Soyuz TMA-09M (May 28, 2013) | ||
51 | K. Megan McArthur Aug. 30, 1971 |
United States | STS-125 (May 11, 2009) | ||
52 | Nicole P. Stott Nov. 11, 1962 |
United States | Tenth woman to walk in space (September 1–2, 2009). | STS-128/129 (August 28, 2009) STS-133 (February 24, 2011) | |
53 | Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger May 15, 1975 |
United States | First Space Camp alumna to become an astronaut. | STS-131 (April 5, 2010) | |
54 | Naoko Yamazaki Dec. 27, 1970 |
Japan | STS-131 (April 5, 2010) | ||
55 | Shannon Walker Jun. 4, 1965 |
United States | First Native Houstonian to go aboard the International Space Station. She returned to space for her second long duration mission on 15 November 2020, onboard SpaceX Crew-1, the first operational flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. | Soyuz TMA-19 (June 15, 2010) SpaceX Crew-1 (November 15, 2020) | |
56 | Liu Yang Oct. 6, 1978 |
China | First Chinese woman in space. | Shenzhou 9 (June 16, 2012) | |
57 | Wang Yaping Jan. 27, 1980 |
China | Shenzhou 10 (June 11, 2013) | ||
58 | Yelena Serova Apr. 22, 1976 |
Russia | Member of ISS Expedition 41. First Russian woman to visit the ISS.[8] | Soyuz TMA-14M (September 25, 2014) | |
59 | Samantha Cristoforetti Apr. 26, 1977 |
Italy | ESA Astronaut. First Italian woman in space and first Italian woman on ISS. Expedition 42/43. | Soyuz TMA-15M (November 23, 2014) | |
60 | Kathleen Rubins Oct. 14, 1978 |
United States | Twelfth woman to walk in space (Aug. 19, 2016, Sep. 01, 2016) during ISS Expedition 48. | Soyuz MS-01 (July 6, 2016)
Soyuz MS-17 (October 14, 2020) | |
61 | Serena Auñón-Chancellor Apr. 9, 1976 |
United States | Soyuz MS-09 (June 6, 2018) | ||
62 | Anne McClain June 7, 1979 |
United States | Thirteenth woman to walk in space (Mar. 22, 2019, Apr. 08, 2019) during ISS Expedition 59. | Soyuz MS-11 (December 3, 2018) | |
63 | Beth Moses |
United States | The first woman to make a spaceflight (US Department of Defense classification i.e. >50 mi (80.47 km)) on a commercially launched vehicle. The maximum altitude achieved was 295,007 ft (55.87 mi, 89.92 km).[9] | VSS Unity VF-01 (February 22, 2019) | |
64 | Christina Koch Feb. 2, 1979 |
United States | Fourteenth woman to walk in space (Mar. 29, 2019) during ISS Expedition 59. Jointly with Jessica Meir, became the first two women to undertake an all-female EVA during ISS Expedition 61. Location: ISS (11:38 UTC, Oct 18, 2019)[10] Greatest continuous number of days in space for a female. She returned to Earth on Thursday, February 6, 2020 after 328 days in space. [11][12] | Soyuz MS-12/13 (March 14, 2019) | |
65 | Jessica Meir July 15, 1977 |
United States / Sweden | Fifteenth woman to walk in space (Oct. 18, 2019) during ISS Expedition 61. Jointly with Christina Hammock Koch, became the first two women to undertake an all-female EVA. Location: ISS (11:38 UTC, Oct 18, 2019) | Soyuz MS-15 (September 25, 2019) |
Other astronauts and astronaut candidates
# | Image | Name | Birth date Death date |
Country | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nicole Aunapu Mann | June 27, 1977 | United States | NASA Astronaut Group 21, "The 8 Balls", 2013. Currently set to travel on Boe-CFT. | |
2 | Jeanette J. Epps | Nov. 2, 1970 | United States | NASA Astronaut Group 20, "The Chumps", 2009. Epps had been selected for Expedition 56, set to travel by Soyuz MS-09 to the International Space Station in May 2018, but on January 16, 2018, NASA announced that Epps had been replaced by her backup Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor. Currently set to travel on Boeing Starliner-1. | |
3 | Patricia Robertson | Mar. 12, 1963 Died May 24, 2001. |
United States | NASA Astronaut Group 17, "The Penguins", 1998 | |
4 | Nadezhda Kuzhelnaya | Nov. 6, 1962 | Russia | Retired May 27, 2004. | |
5 | Marianne Merchez | Nov. 25, 1960 | Belgium | Retired 1995. | |
6 | Yvonne Cagle | Apr. 24, 1959 | United States | Retired with the rank of Colonel in 2008.[13] | |
7 | Christa McAuliffe | September 2, 1948 died Jan. 28, 1986 |
United States | Died on the Challenger, January 28, 1986. Mission launched, but did not cross the Kármán line. The crew cabin peaked approx. 70,000 ft (above the Armstrong limit) | |
8 | Tatyana Kuznetsova | Jul. 14, 1941 | Soviet Union | Retired 1969. | |
9 | Zhanna Yorkina | May 6, 1939 | Soviet Union | Retired 1969. | |
10 | Irina Solovyova | Sep. 6, 1937 | Soviet Union | Retired 1969. | |
11 | Valentina Ponomaryova | Sep. 18, 1933 | Soviet Union | Retired 1969. | |
12 | Jennifer Sidey-Gibbons | August 3, 1988 | Canada | 2017 CSA Group | |
13 | Kayla Barron | September 19, 1987 | United States | NASA Astronaut Group 22, "The Turtles", 2017 | |
14 | Zena Cardman | October 26, 1987 | United States | NASA Astronaut Group 22, "The Turtles", 2017 | |
15 | Jasmin Moghbeli | June 24, 1983 | United States | NASA Astronaut Group 22, "The Turtles", 2017 | |
16 | Loral O'Hara | May 3, 1983 | United States | NASA Astronaut Group 22, "The Turtles", 2017 | |
17 | Jessica Watkins | May 14, 1988 | United States | NASA Astronaut Group 22, "The Turtles", 2017 |
See also
- Chinese women in space
- Mercury 13—the Women in Space Program (WISP)
- List of space travelers by name—all people who have flown in Space
- List of space travelers by nationality
- List of astronauts by name—people trained to serve as spaceflight crew
References
- List of space travelers by name
- "Women in Space: Timeline of Achievements and Events".
- "NASA - First Mother in Space, Mars Team to Be at NASA Langley Open House". www.nasa.gov.
- "Astronaut/Cosmonaut Statistics". www.worldspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- Spacefacts (2017). "Astronauts and Cosmonauts with EVA Experience (sorted by "EVA Time")". Spacefacts. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
- NASA (2009). "Sunita L. Williams (Commander, USN)". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
- "Astronaut Tracy Caldwell & "Officer Phil" Konstantin's KUSI TV 9/51 Page". americanindian.net.
- "Privyet, Elena Serova! Space Station Welcomes Its First Russian Woman". NBC News. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
- "Virgin Galactic Makes Space for Second Time In Ten Weeks with Three On Board, Reaching Higher Altitudes and Faster Speeds, as Flight Test Program Continues". Virgin Galactic. 22 February 2019.
- "NASA Astronauts Make History with 1st All-Woman Spacewalk". Space. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- Northon, Karen (2020-02-06). "Record-Setting NASA Astronaut, Crewmates Return from Space Station". NASA. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
- Pearlman 2019-12-29T00:29:47Z, Robert Z. "Astronaut Christina Koch Breaks Record for Longest Space Mission by a Woman". Space.com. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
- Mars, Kelli (2015-02-11). "Johnson Space Center Home". NASA. Retrieved 2020-01-28.