The documentary, Makers: Women in Space, portrays the history of women pioneers in the U.S space program. When the space program first came to be in the 1950s, women had to overcome many obstacles in order to prove to NASA and society that they are capable of doing anything, especially within the space program. The documentary goes in depth into the problems, struggles, and perseverance of these women astronauts.
Today, it is very common to have a variety of people become astronauts and work for NASA. Although, back in the late 1950s it was a struggle for many to be accepted into the space program, especially women. When women were first working in the space program, they were simply computer technicians, engineers, or secretaries.
Still being a long process, things began to shift in the late 1960s when the first man was to land on the moon. He managed to get back to Earth thanks to a female systems engineer, Poppy Northcutt, who established equations on how to get astronauts from the moon back to Earth. She was the first women in the NASA staff room and the only to help all throughout Apollo. During the 1970s, NASA finally reached it’s peak in including women because other corporations and companies began opening things up to women due to the impacts of women movements, political pressure, and the fear of possible lawsuits. Also, advanced technology made space orbit a better, safer routine. Therefore, women and minorities were finally wanted by NASA. In fact, Michelle Nichols, an African American woman, became the face of NASA in order to bring in women and minorities. Then in 1973 with a team of 35 astronauts about to go into space, 6 of them were women. This was a huge milestone for women in society, but the press seemed to ask questions about the women’s families and responsibilities at home. They never wanted to ask them about their job, what NASA was doing, and their accomplishments. Finally, after years of training, in 1982 Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly into space. She couldn’t believe all of the hype and press she was receiving because she quotes, “women in this country can do any
In the 17th and 18th centuries women in science emerged that regarded themselves correct in doing so. Also there were those who announced their opinions to the world that women should not practice science and some who believed the women can and should practice science.
Blasting off into space was once an all-male’s game. But on the heels of such trailblazers as Sally Ride, engineer and inventor Ellen Ochoa became part of growing breed of NASA female astronauts who have since helped change all that. Ellen Ochoa, a veteran astronaut, is the 11th director of the Johnson Space Center. She is JSC’s first Hispanic director, and its second female director. In 1993, she made history by becoming the first Hispanic woman from any country to travel in space. She would follow up this journey with three more space flights in 1994, 1999 and 2001, logging more than 700 hours in space. Despite being rejected two times from NASA’s Training Program,
Sally Kristen Ride, an American astronaut, made history when she became the first woman and youngest person to travel in space. To educate children, she enjoyed writing books concerning travel and discoveries in space. Ride was born on May 26, 1951 in Encino, California and passed away from pancreatic cancer on July 23, 2012 in La Jolla, California. Ever since she was a young girl, Ride had always been curious about the world around her. Ride’s various accomplishments led her to receive many prestigious honors such as being inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame and recognized as a renowned American leader. Two vital influences in Sally Kristen Ride’s life were her high school physiology teacher and her mother.
The Sally Ride Science program is based in San Diego, California and is also partnered with the University of California at San Diego. Well after Ride’s passing, this company has thrived to help encourage and educate the generation of tomorrow. The Sally Ride Science website states that, “The goal is to help educators build students’ STEM literacy and make connections between what students are learning and the STEM fields that are expected to experience rapid job growth in the coming decades” (Sally Ride Science). In addition to the main program, the Sally Ride Science Junior Academy was launched in 2016 to help middle and high school students participate in STEAM organizations and activities throughout the San Diego area. Sally Ride’s influence not only helped to benefitted these student, but she helped to break down a barrier for women everywhere. In a USA Today article written by Mary Marklein, “Since her historic mission, 55 women have flown in space with NASA” (Marklein). Thanks to Ride making history as the first woman to lift off into space, she opened the door many other women to do the same. Not only that, but she set the standard for future generations of female teachers, physicists and
"There's a field of opportunities for Hispanic women in space," says Ellen Ochoa, the only Latina astronaut in NASA and a veteran of four space flights. "The key is learning more about what jobs are available out there, what kinds of things you do when you are on the job, and what kind of education you need to get in order to get those jobs. When I started college I didn't select physics right away, partly because I had no idea what a physicist would do." (Hispanic, 14).
Reinhold, Robert. "Behind Each Astronaut Stand The 'Other' Women of NASA." New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
An astronaut is person who is trained to travel in a spacecraft, they’re also known as Cosmonaut. Astronauts are usually trained by human spaceflight programs by governments or by civilian space agencies to command, pilot or even serve as a crew member of the spacecraft. The word “Astronaut” is derived from Greek words meaning “space sailor”, space sailors are all those who are launched by NASA as crew members. However, NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency used the term “spaceflight participant” to distinguish between space travelers and professional astronauts.
Even to this day there seems to be barriers which continue to slow down the opportunities for women. There seem to be many women who have occupied with teaching and nursing. Only 5% of the women's population seem to be interested in engineering and computing. The pay equity has dropped over the years causing men to earn more for the same amount of work and responsibility.
The Scientific Revolution marked a major shift in Western thought between the 1500s and 1700s. Modern science emerged as a way of gaining true knowledge about the natural world. During the time, science was a field dominated by men. Women were believed to be incapable of anything outside their domestic sphere. There was a social stigma regarding women in science. Society had varying reactions toward women working in the sciences, the majority of which were negative. However, some were accepting of women and their contributions to science. The Scientific Revolution had little impact on the way society viewed women. Women continued to be subject to restrictive gender roles.
The role of American women has changed significantly from the time the nation was born, to the modern era of the 1950s and 1960s. Many people, "... believed that women's talent and energies ... would be put to the better [use] in the new republic." (Clinton 3) Clearly showing that society has seen the importance of the women's talents and that their skills can be very useful, exploited this and thus, the change of the women's role was inevitable. Society has understood that the roles of women played an important role on all parts of life.
During the age of space exploration, many new types of technology were created and introduced for public usage based on technology used for space exploration related research. These types of technology include artificial limbs, anti-icing systems for planes, firefighter gear, enriched baby food, and portable cordless vacuums4. These forms of technology became popular due to how useful they were and became essential parts of people's lives across the world. Another way that space exploration influenced social change was is how it created unity amongst the world. Events such as the moon landing in 1969, the first American women astronaut by the name of Sally Ride being launched into space in 1981, or even the tragic event that happened in 1986 where Challenger burned up and killed all crew members on board in a mere 73 seconds after lift off inspired the entire world to put aside their differences and unite together in order to fully appreciate the accomplishments and advances in technology and information that had been being made rapidly right before their very eyes5, 6. Space exploration led to many new discoveries about the world around us and outside our reach, and led to the creation of many new forms of technologies that are now essential parts of our lives, thus having a major impact on social change both during the past and in the
“The Space Race”. Newseum: From the Earth to the Moon. Stories of the Century. 9 March 2010.
The roles of women changed drastically between 1950’s and 1970’s due to the political, economic, and social issues, but women’s lives also stayed close to the way they had always been. The lives of women changed in a plethora of ways throughout the years. “We believe that women can achieve such equality only by accepting to full the challenges and responsibilities they share with all other people in our society, as part of the decision-making mainstream of American political, economic, and social life” (Statement of Purpose, 1966).
Within living memory, young women who have wanted to study engineering faced such dissent that in 1955, Penn State’s dean of engineering declared, “Women are NOT for engineering,” asserting that all but a few “unusual women” lacked the “basic capabilities” necessary to succeed in this profession (Bix par. 2). Although the number of women in social sciences and humanities has grown steadily, women remain underrepresented in science and engineering. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that “women remain underrepresented in engineering constituting only 10 percent of full-time employed engineers and 7.7 percent of engineering managers...” Although this is the case, social norms, culture and attitudes play a significant role in undermining the role of women in the aforementioned fields in addition to the gendered persistence and their individual confidence in their ability to fulfill engineering roles.
Valentina Vladimora Nikolayeva Tereshkova was the first woman to enter into space. She joined a Soviet training program in the year 1961 and two years later she successfully orbited the earth 48 times in the Votsok 6.