25 years ago today, retired Air Force Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman astronaut to pilot a Space Shuttle when the NASA Discovery shuttle blasted off. She also later became the first woman commander of a Space Shuttle in her distinguished 16-year career with NASA.
This achievement took place nearly 31 years after Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to go in space.
Valentina Tereshkova, blazed a trail for the many female spaceflyers who would follow. Tereshkova, a Soviet cosmonaut, was selected from more than 400 applicants to launch on the Vostok 6 mission June 16, 1963.
In June 1983, NASA astronaut Sally Ride became the first U.S. woman in space when she launched on the STS-7 mission of the space shuttle Challenger. She was the third woman in space, after Valentina Tereshkova and Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya, who flew on the Soyuz T-7 mission August 19, 1982.
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson was the first woman to command the International Space Station when she took the helm of the outpost in April 2008 during Expedition 16. On her next spaceflight in 2016, she became the first woman to command the space station twice when she took command of Expedition 51. She holds the record for being the oldest woman in space, having returned from her final mission at the age of 57.
The first woman to complete a spacewalk, or extravehicular activity (EVA), was Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya, who spacewalked during her second flight to orbit in July 1984. She also became the second woman to fly to space in 1982 with the Soyuz T-5 mission to the Salyut 7 space station.
NASA astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan became the first American woman to do a spacewalk when she floated outside the space shuttle Challenger during mission STS-41-G on Oct. 11, 1984.
British chemist and private citizen Helen Sharman became the first British person to fly in space when she visited the Mir space station aboard the Soyuz TM-12 in 1991. During this flight, she also became the first woman to visit the Mir space station
NASA astronaut Mae Jemison flew on space shuttle Endeavour in September 1992, becoming the first African-American woman to travel to space.
Roberta Bondar became Canada’s first female astronaut when she flew on the STS-42 space shuttle mission in 1992.
The first Japanese woman in space was Chiaki Mukai, representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). Mukai flew on the space shuttle Columbia during mission STS-65 in July 1994. At the time, she set the record for the longest flight to date by a female astronaut.
Doctor Claudie Haigneré became the first and only French woman to travel to space when she flew to the Russian space station Mir in 1996. In 2001, she became the first European woman to visit the International Space Station
The first female member of an International Space Station crew was NASA astronaut Susan Helms, who served as a flight engineer during the Expedition 2 mission from March to August 2001.
Iranian-American entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari became the first female space tourist when she funded her own way to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz space capsule in 2006 through the firm Space Adventures.
South Korean astronaut Yi So-yeon became her country’s first space traveler when she rode to the International Space Station on Russia’s Soyuz TMA-12 in April 2008.
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams became the first person to run a marathon in space during the Expedition 15 mission in 2007. She officially registered for the Boston Marathon and ran 26 miles in 4 miles and 26 minutes on the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT) in the Tranquility node of the International Space Station.
The woman who has spent the most total time in space is Peggy Whitson, who has logged 665 days, 22 hours and 22 minutes in orbit over the span of three trips to the International Space Station. When she returned from her final trip to space in 2017, she had logged more hours in space than any U.S. astronaut — male or female
China’s first female astronaut Liu Wang waves to supporters while clad in a spacesuit just before boarding the Shenzhou 9 space capsule for a successful June 19, 2012 launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
Four women serving together on the International Space Station on April 14, 2010, represented the highest number of women in space simultaneously. Clockwise from lower right are NASA astronauts Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson, both STS-131 mission specialists; and Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Expedition 23 flight engineer; along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Naoko Yamazaki, STS-131 mission specialist.
