WOMEN IN TRANSPORTATION |
Changing America's History |
Space
Travel
The National Advisory Committee for Aviation, forerunner of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), first considered women as potential astronauts in the late 1950s. Twelve women had completed the preliminary screening used for the Mercury astronauts. In 1959, Geraldine (Jerrie) Cobb was the first woman to report for astronaut testing. In 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. She was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978. She was a mission specialist on shuttle mission STS-7, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 18, 1983.
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