List of women astronauts

The following is a list of women who have traveled into space, sorted by date of first flight. This list includes Russian cosmonauts, who were the first women in outer space. Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to go to space in 1963, very early in crewed space exploration, and it would be almost twenty years before another flew (Svetlana Savitskaya).

In 1963 Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on her Vostok 6 flight of 48 orbits, and is the only woman to fly solo in space.

By the end of the 1980s, women in space had become more common. By 2019, roughly 12% of all the space travelers were women. As of November 2024, 100 women had completed spaceflights.

History

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As of May 2023, of the 634 total space travelers (FAI),[1] 73 have been women. There have been one each from France, Italy, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom; two each from Canada and Japan; three from China; six from the Soviet Union/Russia; and 56 from the United States.[2] 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,[3] and for Italy, there was approximately twelve years between the STS-46 and Expedition 42 spaceflights.

A span of 19 years separated the first two 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 six 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,[4] as well as the first and second Chinese women in space, taking place on consecutive missions, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10.[5]

Spacefarers with current and completed spaceflights

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Other astronauts and astronaut candidates

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Astronaut/Cosmonaut Statistics". World Space Flight. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  2. ^ "Astronaut/Cosmonaut Statistics - More". World Space Flight. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  3. ^ "Women in Space: Timeline of Achievements and Events".
  4. ^ "Women's History Month 2023: Celebrating Women Astronauts - NASA". 2023-03-01. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  5. ^ "Shenzhou | Spaceflights & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  6. ^ "First Woman in Orbit - Red Spaceships May Be Aiming At Rendezvous". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. 17 June 1963. p. 1. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "NASA - First Mother in Space, Mars Team to Be at NASA Langley Open House". www.nasa.gov.
  8. ^ "Astronaut/Cosmonaut Statistics". www.worldspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  9. ^ Spacefacts (2017). "Astronauts and Cosmonauts with EVA Experience (sorted by "EVA Time")". Spacefacts. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  10. ^ a b c NASA (2009). "Sunita L. Williams (Commander, USN)". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
  11. ^ "Astronaut Tracy Caldwell & "Officer Phil" Konstantin's KUSI TV 9/51 Page". americanindian.net.
  12. ^ "Privyet, Elena Serova! Space Station Welcomes Its First Russian Woman". NBC News. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "NASA Astronauts Make History with 1st All-Woman Spacewalk". Space. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  15. ^ Northon, Karen (2020-02-06). "Record-Setting NASA Astronaut, Crewmates Return from Space Station". NASA. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  16. ^ Pearlman 2019-12-29T00:29:47Z, Robert Z. (29 December 2019). "Astronaut Christina Koch Breaks Record for Longest Space Mission by a Woman". Space.com. Retrieved 2019-12-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Chang, Kenneth (2021-07-11). "Who were the crew members aboard the flight?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  18. ^ Hadfield, Chris [@Cmdr_Hadfield] (August 10, 2023). "My apologies, Sian, you're right. Different type of piloting task, but you were absolutely the first to have that title, responsibility and honor" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Mongo, M. "The First Female Commercial Spaceship Pilot is also a Poet". Medium. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  20. ^ Manning, Catherine. "Dr. Sian Proctor". NASA. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  21. ^ Drake, Nadia. "Sian Proctor, first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft, opens up about her journey". National Geographic. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  22. ^ Clash, Jim. "Private-Sector Space Experiments Could Add To Mankind's Knowledge Bank. Keep An Open Mind". Forbes. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  23. ^ Mitib, Ali. "British-American adventurer makes triple triumph of space, land and sea records". The Times. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  24. ^ "NASA astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann will be the first Native American woman to travel to space". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  25. ^ Stallard, Esme (August 18, 2022). "First Native American woman to travel to space". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  26. ^ Amos, Jonathan; Stallard, Esme (October 5, 2022). "Nicole Mann: Astronaut becomes first Native American woman in space". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  27. ^ Bennett-Begaye, Jourdan (August 10, 2022). "First Native woman in space". Indian Country Today. IndiJ Public Media. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  28. ^ Bennett-Begaye, Jourdan (October 5, 2022). "First Indigenous woman launching into space". Indian Country Today. IndiJ Public Media. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  29. ^ Bennett-Begaye, Jourdan (October 5, 2022). "First Indigenous woman launches into space aboard SpaceX". APTN News. APTN. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  30. ^ "Space Station Assignments Out for NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 Mission - NASA". Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  31. ^ Mars, Kelli (2015-02-11). "Johnson Space Center Home". NASA. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  32. ^ "NASA Shares Assignments for its SpaceX Crew-9 Space Station Mission - NASA".
  33. ^ "Adelaide woman to become first female to train as astronaut under Australian flag". ABC News. 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  34. ^ Messier, Doug (2023-02-12). "Saudi Arabia to Send First Female Astronaut to Space Station as Part of Second Axiom Mission". Parabolic Arc. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  35. ^ "Policewoman Lai Ka-ying is Hong Kong's first to land prestigious space role". The Standard (Hong Kong). Retrieved 29 Jun 2024.
  36. ^ Kuthunur, Sharmila (2024-06-19). "China selects 4th batch of astronaut candidates as part of 2030 moon landing goal". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-09-27.