THE SIX
Endnotes
Table of Contents: Endnotes by chapter
Prologue
Page 1. Anna Fisher sat alone: Lynn Sherr, Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015), chap. 5, Kindle.
2. Just one month away from giving birth: Anna Fisher, presentation (MILE Spring 2021 Presentations, April 20, 2021, virtual).
2. had been inside the cockpit: NASA, “Cape Crusaders are Shuttle Crew’s Eyes and Ears,” news release, December 19, 2003 https://www.nasa.gov/missions/shuttle/f_crusaders.html; Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
2. Anna loved it: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 5.
3. stepped through the open gray metal doors: “STS-7 Launch and Land,” NASA Video, posted to YouTube on December 28, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq8PAH0giKI.
4. This was where George: Michael Cassutt, The Astronaut Maker: How One Mysterious Engineer Ran Human Spaceflight for a Generation (Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2018), chap. 37, Kindle.
6. Oh my gosh, this is really going to happen: “Sally Ride Recalls ‘Spectacular View’ of Earth From Orbit,” NASA Video, posted to YouTube on May 17, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FaoSBc3HPo.
6. giant throngs of people: Frederic Golden, Sam Allis, Jerry Hannifin, “Toward A New Frontier,” Time, June 27, 1983.
6. Potentially, a half-million people: Ibid.
6. Shannon Lucid made her way: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
7. She didn’t much care: Ibid.
7. from the top of the Launch Control Center: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
7. stood nearby: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
7. Next to him stood Carolyn Huntoon: Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2020.
8. made her way to the roof’s edge: Rhea Seddon, Go For Orbit: One of America’s First Women Astronauts Finds Her Space (Your Space Press, 2015), pg. 147.
9. running through a checkout list: Kathy Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble: An Astronaut’s Story of Invention (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2019), chap. 3, Kindle; Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
9. it was a convenient way to escape the launch: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3.
10. A final judgment call from George Abbey: Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
CHAPTER 1: But Only Men Can Be Astronauts
Page 11. Margaret “Rhea” Seddon was already staring into the open abdomen: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 5–6.
12. her presence in the doctors’ lounge would have been a serious transgression: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
12. She’d grown up in a completely different world: Ibid; Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 7.
13. “People always followed in their parents’ footsteps”: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
13. “You are watching the beginning of a new era”: Rhea Seddon, Hoot Gibson, “An Astronaut Couple On Spaceflight, Marriage, and Family,” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, posted to YouTube on November 17, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riem9621FmU.
13. The launch of Sputnik would ultimately put Rhea on a different path: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021; Rhea Seddon, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 20, 2010, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SeddonMR/SeddonMR_5-20-10.htm.
13–14. She would eagerly dig through the innards of a dissected rat: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 9.
14. But the school felt as if it existed on another planet: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
14. the Free Speech Movement had erupted: Carol Pogash, “At Berkeley, Free (Though Subdued) Speech, 50 Years Later,” New York Times, October 1, 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/us/free-though-subdued-speech-50-years-later.html.
14. Rhea’s GPA struggled that first year: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 12; Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
15. “Came close to the time of the wedding”: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
15. she’d been one of just six women in a class of more than one hundred: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 13.
15. She wondered if it might lead to a future in space: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
15. Rhea contemplated if this was the life she really wanted: Ibid; Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 15.
15. “What would you do if you weren’t doing this?”: Ibid.
16. “Hey, some friends of mine say”: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021; Rhea Seddon, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 20, 2010, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SeddonMR/SeddonMR_5-20-10.htm.
16. she was about to graduate from the University of Oklahoma: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020; Shannon Lucid, “Biographical Data,” University of Houston-Clear Lake archives, November 1993.
16. “I’m graduating in two weeks”: Ibid.
17. but, rather, in Shanghai, China: Ibid.
17. “We’re going to end up getting married”: Ibid.
18. she and her family were captured by the Japanese army: Ibid; “Three Astronaut Facts about Dr. Shannon Lucid,” Space Center Houston blog, June 15, 2018, https://spacecenter.org/three-astronaut-facts-about-dr-shannon-lucid/.
18. had one diaper for Shannon the entire voyage: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
18. a large Swedish ocean liner in service to the US State Department: Brigette Kamsler, “The Gripsholm Exchange and Repatriation Voyages,” The Burke Library Blog, Columbia University Libraries, September 17, 2012, https://blogs.cul.columbia.edu/burke/2012/09/17/the-gripsholm-exchange-and-repatriation-voyages-2/.
18. the Wells family sailed around the globe twice: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
18. where Shannon received her first pair of shoes: “Three Astronaut Facts about Dr. Shannon Lucid.”
18. She figured that was just how most families lived: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
18. her family briefly moved to the mountainous village of Kuling: Ibid.
19. “I saw this figure, this person standing down there with a red scarf”: Ibid.
20. she saw seven men grace the cover of Life: Ibid. Shannon remembers them on the cover of Time magazine, but the Mercury Seven don’t appear on the cover together. It’s possible she’s referring to the cover of Life magazine.
21. I’m totally excluded: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
21. “You just had to take up the crumbs that were left”: Ibid.
21. a very important vehicle she owned: a Piper Clipper airplane: “Out of This World,” Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation blog post, https://omrf.org/findings/out-of-this-world/.
22. She sent out résumé after résumé: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020;
22. “People weren’t hiring women back in those days”: Ibid.
23. He’d originally thought the company was wrong to hire Shannon: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2021.
25. “I couldn’t put off the test”: Mary Lu Abbott, “Space Women: Men Astronauts Take Backseat in NASA’s Newest Crew Lineup,” Houston Chronicle, February 1, 1978. In her quote, Shannon said Shandara was born on a Thursday night, but her birthday was on a Tuesday.
25. It took four years for Shannon to achieve the pinnacle of academic rank: Shannon Lucid, “Biographical Data,” University of Houston-Clear Lake archives, November 1993.
25. when she spotted a short article toward the back: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2021.
26. She was in the midst of another twelve-hour day: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
26. She heard a familiar voice over the hospital’s PA system: Ibid.
26. her relationship with the hospital went back even further: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
27. “I’d really like to be an astronaut someday,” Anna admitted: Ibid.
27. A man by the name of Alan Shepard donned a silvery space suit: “Alan Shepard: Ambassador of Exploration,” NASA, posted to YouTube on May 4, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APwntCQ8Iiw.
27. Just before four in the morning: Associated Press, “Historic Day a Very Busy One For Astronaut Alan Shepard,” Ithaca Journal, May 5, 1961.
28. listened to the entirety of the flight on a transistor radio: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
28. The flight was originally supposed to take off at 7:20 a.m. EST: Michael Neufeld, “First American In Space: The Flight of Alan B. Shepard,” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum blog, May 5, 2021, https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/first-american-space-flight-alan-b-shepard .
28. her teacher paused the day’s fitness tests: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
28. “As he launched and I listened to him”: Ibid.
28–29. His career led him to Berlin after World War II: Elfriede Tingle obituary, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/dailybreeze/name/elfriede-tingle-obituary?id=16160266.
29. A shy little girl who enjoyed doing her math homework: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
30. that the school awarded her a merit scholarship: Interview with Augusta Gonzalez, 2021.
30. She was the first in her family to go to college: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
30. Her teachers didn’t exactly encourage women: Interview with Augusta Gonzalez, 2021.
30. Anna initially chose math as her route: “NASA Astronaut, Dr. Anna Fisher | Public Lecture,” University of Waikato, posted to YouTube on November 4, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0PG47LvUiw.
30. who turned out not to be the right partner for her: Interview with Sarah Favazza, 2021.
30. Anna decided she’d apply to medical school: “NASA Astronaut, Dr. Anna Fisher | Public Lecture,” University of Waikato, posted to YouTube on November 4, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0PG47LvUiw.
31. UCLA rejected her application: “Astronaut Anna Fisher Explains Why Getting Rejected from Medical School Paid Off – My Path,” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, posted to YouTube on March 26, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9Gnq8mEY2U.
31. Anna overheard a group laughing: Judy Klemesrud, “A Marriage That Was Made for The Heavens,” The New York Times, June 3, 1980.
31. Anna eventually found a phone to call her fiancé in Harbor General: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
CHAPTER 2: Far From Home
Page 33. She stood on the deck of the CSS Hudson: Andy Sherin, “From the seamounts to earth orbit and back,” The Newsletter of the BIO-Oceans Association, May 2016.
33. Kathy and her expedition team were headed to the Grand Banks: “Dalhousie Originals – Kathryn (Kathy) Sullivan,” Dalhousie Earth Sciences Blog, April 17, 2018 https://blogs.dal.ca/earthsciences/2018/04/17/dalhousie-originals-kathryn-kathy-sullivan/.
33. The goal was to gently scrape the tops of these mountains: Jessica Garcia, “Nevada Medal recipient: Science matters in daily life,” Nevada Appeal, March 25, 2021,
https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2021/mar/25/nevada-medal-recipient-science-matters-daily-life/.
34. nothing could compare to being out at sea like this: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 2.
34. Kathy had wanted to explore the unknown: Ibid; Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
34. her father accepted a job as an aerospace engineer at the Marquardt Corporation: Ibid.
35. She set a concrete goal for herself: Ibid.
36. such as oceanography and geology: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 2.
36. geologists had begun accepting the concept of plate tectonics and continental drift: “Open Dialogue Live: From Space to the Ocean Deep | Dalhousie University,” Dalhousie University, posted to YouTube on October 8, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ_wbdjPZ20.
37. she knew what she really wanted was to dive below: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 2.
37. she’d been on a vessel that had held the Alvin submersible: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
37. and she brought tales of her expeditions home: Ibid; Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 2.
37. “How many twenty-six-year-old female PhDs”: Ibid.
38. Sally Ride peered up at a volleyball coming over the net: Scene derived from interview with Bill Colson, 2021.
39. Standing on a burnt-orange clay court in Spain: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap.1.
39. Sally threw herself into tennis: Ibid; Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
39. It was a love she inherited from her father, Dale: Ibid; Susan Okie, “Fame Finds Astronaut Determined to Ignore It,” The Washington Post, May 8, 1983.
39. She revered the Los Angeles Dodgers above all: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 1; Tam O’Shaughnessy, Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America’s Pioneering Woman in Space (New York: Roaring Book Press, 2015), chap. 1, Kindle.
40. During one tournament in Redlands, California: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
40. the girls would usually listen to records to wind down: O’Shaughnessy, Sally Ride, chap. 2; Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 1.
41. She’d often blow off her commitments: Interview with Susan Okie, 2021.
41. but Sally wouldn’t budge: NBC Nightly News segment, June 13, 1983.
41. Secure her a place on the team at the ritzy Westlake School for Girls: Interview with Susan Okie, 2021.
41. “She was certainly able to get straight As”: Ibid.
41. after her parents had bought her a small Bushnell telescope: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap.1; O’Shaughnessy, Sally Ride, chap. 2.
42. Her favorite had been Orion’s belt: Interview with Susan Okie, 2021.
42. All these paths ultimately led to Sally choosing physics: Interviews with Tam O’Shaughnessy, Susan Okie, 2021.
42. a full scholarship to Swarthmore College: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 1.
43. But she grew homesick for California: Interviews with Susan Okie, Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
43. she joined the UCLA tennis team after transferring: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 1.
43. She found she couldn’t fully commit to the packed days: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
43. she’d taken a course in Shakespeare and another in elementary quantum mechanics: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 2.
44. Sally was home at the two-bedroom house: Interview with Bill Colson, 2021.
44. “This is really difficult,” she said: Ibid.
45. The two women had known each other as kids: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
45. Molly was shocked when she got a knock on the door: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 2.
46. Bill had never suspected anything: Interview with Bill Colson, 2021.
46. Molly and Sally were nearing the end of their relationship: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 2.
46. Molly also wanted to be more open: Ibid; Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
47. Bill Colson had started dating other women: Interview with Bill Colson, 2021.
47. “NASA to recruit women”: Will Nixon, “NASA to recruit women,” The Stanford Daily, January 12, 1977.
47. Judy Resnik sat in the passenger seat of a sleek Triumph TR6: Scene derived from interview with Michael Oldak, 2021; UPI, “Resnik died ‘doing what she wanted to be doing,’” The Daily Sentinel-Tribune, February 4, 1986.
48. Judy learned to read and solve math problems: Katherine Foran, “Specialist aimed high all her life,” The Kansas City Times, February 7, 1986.
48. studying under accomplished Ohio musicians Arthur Reginald and Pat Pace: Barbara Galloway, “‘I just want to be an astronaut…’” The Akron Beacon Journal, January 29, 1986.
48. She became the sole female member of her school’s math club: Barbara Galloway, “A Private Astronaut: There is one thing that Akron’s Judith Resnik does not talk about: herself,” The Akron Beacon Journal, June 17, 1984.
48–49. when she achieved a perfect score on the math portion of her SATs: Galloway, “‘I just want to be an astronaut.’”
49. They met during her freshman year at Carnegie Institute of Technology: Interview with Michael Oldak, 2021.
49. Judy’s grandfather, the Rav Jacob Resnik: Galloway, “A Private Astronaut.”
49. She accompanied him to a few of his electrical engineering classes: Interview with Michael Oldak, 2021.
50. through her sorority, Alpha Epsilon Phi: “Famous Phis,” Alpha Epsilon Phi, https://www.aephi.org/famous-phis.
50. looking for someone who’d be willing to keep a Kosher household: Interview with Fani Brown Brandenburg, 2021.
50. While Michael would stay up all night studying: Interview with Michael Oldak, 2021.
50. “She was just absolutely brilliant and extremely talented”: Ibid.
50. Sarah tried to instill in Judy a sense of order and discipline: Interview with Barbara Cheek, 2021; Scott Spencer, Chris Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik,” Esquire, December 1, 1986.
51. “All her time was structured, completely structured”: Interview with Barbara Cheek, 2021.
51. with Marvin accompanying her with his singing: Galloway, “A Private Astronaut.”
52. Judy also started dating the requisite bad boy: Interview with Michael Oldak, 2021; Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik.”
52. “When Judy was fourteen, all her friends were ice skating”: Interview with Michael Oldak, 2021; Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik.”
52. Marvin and Sarah’s marriage ended in divorce: The staff of The Washington Post, Challengers: The Inspiring Life Stories of the Seven Brave Astronauts of Shuttle Mission 51-L (New York: Pocket Books, 1986), pg. 86.
52. requesting to have custody switched from her mother to her father: State of Ohio Summit County, “Sarah P. Resnik, plaintiff, vs. Marvin Resnik, defendant: case no. 250416,” June 29, 1966.
53. periodically writing letters to him in Hebrew: Interview with Michael Oldak, 2021.
53. Judy’s dad remarried after she’d graduated high school: Galloway, “A Private Astronaut.”
53. Michael loved meeting the family: Interview with Michael Oldak, 2021.
53. she married Michael at Beth El Synagogue: Newspaper staff, “Honeymoon in Jamaica,” The Akron Beacon Journal, June 16, 1970.
53. she’d been confirmed during high school: Elizabeth Kolbert, “Judith Resnik’s Journey: Unhampered by Fear in Quest for Purposeful Work,” The New York Times, February 9, 1986.
53. spending much of their savings on an upright Steinway: Interview with Michael Oldak, 2021.
54. Judy left to pursue her PhD in electrical engineering: Foran, “Specialist aimed high.”
54. Frustrated, she asked a coworker: Washington Post staff, Challengers, pg. 91.
54. Eventually, Michael finished law school: Interview with Michael Oldak, 2021.
55. During her downtime, she’d visit the beach with friends: Interview with Fani Brown Brandenburg, 2021.
55. she mailed a postcard to Canada: Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik.”
55. Judy turned on the radio and heard an announcement: “NASA Picks Two Southland Women: Physician and Engineer Among the Six Pioneers,” Los Angeles Times, January 17, 1978.
55. an advertisement for it on a bulletin board at work: Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik.”
55. Or it’s possible she heard about the selection from Len: Ibid.
55. “Applying to be an astronaut”: Washington Post staff, Challengers, pg. 92.
CHAPTER 3: Still Warming Up the Bench
Page 56. Geraldyn “Jerrie” Cobb and Jane “Janey” Briggs Hart: “Qualifications For Astronauts,” Hearings Before the Special Subcommittee on the Selection of Astronauts of the Committee on Science and Astronauts, U.S. House of Representatives, 87th Congress, second session, July 17 and 18, 1962.
56. With her curly blond hair tucked behind her face: Joseph Hearst, “Women Pilots Urge: Give Us Role In Space,” Chicago Daily Tribune, July 18, 1962.
56. “How do you reconcile this emotional statement”: “Qualifications For Astronauts” hearings.
57. referring to it as a “small ball in the air”: “Official White House transcript of President Eisenhower’s Press and Radio Conference #123 concerning the development by the U.S. of an earth satellite,” Eisenhower Library, October 9, 1957, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/sputnik/10-9-57.pdf.
57. never really liked the idea of getting into some sort of “race”: William Burrows, This New Ocean (New York: Random House, 1998), chap. 6, Kindle.
57. fearing it would add bloat to the federal budget: Yanek Mieczkowski, Eisenhower’s Sputnik Moment: The Race for Space and World Prestige (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2013), chap. 1, Kindle.
57. his administration sent legislation to Congress: Burrows, This New Ocean, chap. 6.
57. the new space agency would be a civilian one: “National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958,” Public Law #85-568, 72 Stat., 426. Signed by the President on July 29, 1958, Record Group 255, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
58. actively wanted to keep the exploration of space peaceful: Mieczkowski, Eisenhower’s Sputnik Moment, chap. 2.
58. Eisenhower decided that only military-trained test pilots: Joseph D. Atkinson, Jay M. Shafritz, The Real Stuff: A History of NASA’s Astronaut Recruitment Program (New York: Praeger, 1985), pg. 36–37.
58. Test pilots were typically healthy and in good shape: Burrows, This New Ocean, chap. 8.
58. such as a propensity for booze, fast cars, and extramarital affairs: Margaret A. Weitekamp, Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America’s First Women in Space Program (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004), pg. 42.
58. a select few had even flown jets during World War II: Dorothy Cochrane, “Flying on the Homefront: Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP),” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum feature, May 20, 2020, https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/flying-homefront-women-airforce-service-pilots-wasp.
58. would come home to find their piloting jobs taken by women: Weitekamp, Right Stuff, Wrong Sex, pg. 48–49.
59. drafting their own preliminary requirements for candidates: John M. Logsdon, Roger D. Launius, Exploring the Unknown Volume 7: Selected Documents in the History of the U.S. Civil Space Program, Human Space Flight Projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo (Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2008), pg. 130.
59. women who sought employment outside of housework: Interview with Margaret Weitekamp, 2021; Elaine Tyler May, Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era (New York: Basic Books, 1988), chap. 3, Kindle.
59. listed jobs in two separate sections: Laura Tanenbaum, Mark Engler, “Help Wanted— Female,” The New Republic, August 30, 2017, https://newrepublic.com/article/144614/help-wantedfemale.
59. They’d be more than just “spam in a can”: Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1979), chap. 3, Kindle.
59–60. women represented about 1 percent of all people employed as engineers: Martha Sloan, “Women engineers in the United States,” Educational Horizons Vol. 53, No. 3, Realizing Human Potential: Alternatives for Women (spring 1975), pg. 102–105.
60. they made up between 9 and 11 percent of employed scientists: Alice S. Rossi, “Women in Science: Why So Few?,” Science, New Series, Vol. 148 No. 3674, May 28, 1965, pg. 1196–1202.
60. Jerrie Cobb had strolled down the sands of Miami Beach: Jerrie Cobb, Jane Rieker, Woman Into Space: The Jerrie Cobb Story (Barakaldo Books, 2020), chap. 19, Kindle.
60. Tom had been her ally: Ibid, chap. 18.
60. She’d been flying since the age of twelve: Martha Ackmann, The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight (New York: Random House, 2003), chap. 2, Kindle.
60. she’d accumulated seven thousand flying hours: Cobb, Rieker, Woman Into Space, chap. 19.
60. she’d be named “Woman of the Year in Aviation”: Weitekamp, Right Stuff, Wrong Sex, pg. 73.
60. it hadn’t been enough to obtain employment: Cobb, Rieker, Woman Into Space, chap. 18.
61. two attractive men emerged from the ocean: Ibid, chap. 19.
61. General Flickinger was Brigadier General Donald D. Flickinger: Kathy L. Ryan et al., “A forgotten moment in physiology: the Lovelace Woman in Space Program (1960–1962),” Advances in Physiology Education vol. 33, September 1, 2009, pg. 157–164. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/advan.00034.2009.
61. who’d developed an oxygen mask for pilots: Jake W. Spidle, Jr., The Lovelace Medical Center: Pioneer in American Health Care (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1987), pg. 57.
61. NASA had named Randy Lovelace chairman: Ryan et al., “A forgotten moment in physiology.”
62. Lovelace and his fellow doctors had poked, prodded, and nearly pulverized: Wolfe, The Right Stuff, chap. 4.
62. when Tom said the two men had just gotten back: Cobb, Rieker, Woman Into Space, chap. 19.
62. But research had started to suggest that women might be the ideal candidates: Weitekamp, Right Stuff, Wrong Sex, pg. 64–65.
63. Flickinger had already started planning a program: Ibid, pg. 71–72.
63. With tears filling her eyes: Cobb, Rieker, Woman Into Space, chap. 19.
63. Jerrie lay stiff as a board on a wooden table: “A Lady Proves She’s Fit for Space Flight,” Life magazine, August 29, 1960.
64. The road to testing hadn’t been a smooth one: Weitekamp, Right Stuff, Wrong Sex, pg. 74–75.
64. wrote a letter to Jerrie around Christmas telling her to get her affairs in order: Ibid. pg. 76.
64. Jerrie found herself breathing into strange tubes: Cobb, Rieker, Woman Into Space, chap. 20.
64. presenting the results of Jerrie’s tests during the Space and Naval Medicine Congress: Associated Press, “Feminie Astronaut Pass Test,” The Austin American-Statesman, August 19, 1960.
65. Newspapers and magazines ran stories about this curious “astronette”: “An ‘Astronette’s’ Only Fear,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 28, 1960.
65. call out her 36-26-34 figure: Jack Fox, “If Spacemen Can, She Can Too,” The Atlanta Constitution, August 24, 1960.
65. the seven pounds she lost: Associated Press, “Some Day I’ll Be There, Says Woman Astronaut,” The Boston Globe, August 24, 1960.
65. she was scared of grasshoppers: UPI, “Blonde Eager To Try Space: Passes Tests Given to U.S. Astronauts,” Chicago Daily Tribune, August 24, 1960.
65. “No. 1 Space Gal Seems a Little Astronaughty”: “No. 1 Space Gal Seems a Little Astronaughty,” New York Daily News, August 24, 1960.
65. He turned to a close friend, Jacqueline Cochran: Weitekamp, Right Stuff, Wrong Sex, pg. 79.
65. Jerrie handed over some names of women pilots: Cobb, Rieker, Woman Into Space, chap. 27.
65. Jerrie herself reached out to her friend Jerri Sloan Truhill: Sue Nelson, presenter, “Right Stuff, Wrong Sex,” BBC Radio 4, audio documentary, April 24, 1997.
65. eighteen additional women arrived at the Lovelace Clinic: Ryan et al., “A forgotten moment in physiology.”
66. Each swallowed a three-foot rubber hose: Nelson, “Right Stuff, Wrong Sex.”
66. undergo additional psychological testing at the Oklahoma City Veterans Hospital: Weitekamp, Right Stuff, Wrong Sex, pg. 109.
66. the consensus was that hallucinations would start: Ryan et al., “A forgotten moment in physiology.”
66. who appointed her as a special consultant to the agency: Joan Dark, “Jerrie Cobb May Be First Space Woman,” The Boston Globe, June 4, 1961.
66. having the women simulate the conditions of spaceflight: Nelson, “Right Stuff, Wrong Sex.”
67. “Now we who aspire to be women astronauts”: “Qualifications For Astronauts” hearings.
67. Rumors had intensified that the Soviet Union might launch a woman: Ackmann, The Mercury 13, chap. 1.
67. “No nation has yet sent a human female into space”: “Qualifications For Astronauts” hearings.
67. The Pensacola tests had always been on a shaky foundation: Weitekamp, Right Stuff, Wrong Sex, pg. 126–127.
67. Jerrie became determined to save the program: Ibid. pg. 133–135.
68. Kennedy had firmly set America on its quest: “Address at Rice University on the Nation’s Space Effort,” transcript, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/address-at-rice-university-on-the-nations-space-effort.
68. Outwardly, LBJ put on a cordial display for the two women: Weitekamp, Right Stuff, Wrong Sex, pg. 136–138. Weitekamp reveals a letter the vice president’s secretary had written from the politician addressed to NASA administrator James Webb, which asked for more clarification on when women could fly with NASA. But to show his true feelings on the matter, President Johnson had scrawled, “Let’s stop this now!” across the typed text.
68. “The Mercury astronauts had to have 1,500 hours of jet time”: “Qualifications For Astronauts” hearings. The rest of the hearings are derived from this document.
71. she’d been picked from a pool of five women finalists: David Shayler and Ian Moule, Women in Space: Following Valentina (Berlin: Spring-Praxis, 2005), pg. 46.
71. Valentina’s flight was mostly written off as a publicity stunt: Marvin Miles, “Valentina’s Orbiting Still Called Gimmick,” Los Angeles Times, July 7, 1963.
71. “We cannot allow that the first woman in space will be American”: Shayler and Moule, Women in Space, pg. 44.
71. she was a parachutist, not a pilot, after all: “Space Girl In Orbit, Ships May Link Up,” The Boston Globe, June 17, 1963.
71. Articles highlighted her plump figure: UPI, “Russia Sends Woman In Orbit for Expected Rendezvous in Space,” The Washington Post, June 17, 1963. 71. her infrequent application of lipstick: Associated Press, “Valentina Has Good Background—for a Russian Heroine,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 17, 1963.
71. Valentina had suffered some kind of emotional breakdown: Susan G. Butruille, “Mystery shrouds 1st woman in space,” Chicago Tribune, June 14, 1983; Robert Reinhold, “Americans In Space: Women Are Ready,” The New York Times, June 7, 1983.
72. “Their first woman was an absolute basket case”: Nelson, “Right Stuff, Wrong Sex.”
72. “the male astronauts are all for”: Ackmann, The Mercury 13, pg. 173.
72. “makes me sick at my stomach”: UPI, “U.S. Women Indignant: Why Weren’t We First?” The Boston Globe, June 17, 1963.
72. “I think we all look forward to the time when women”: Weitekamp, Right Stuff, Wrong Sex, pg. 158–159.
73. “The question of man’s sexual needs on flights”: Associated Press, “Is NASA for Coeds? Women’s Place in Outer Space,” The Washington Post, March 17, 1968.
73. He envisioned a time when space stations would dominate Earth: Weitekamp, Right Stuff, Wrong Sex, pg. 72.
73. “The U.S. Team Is Still Warming Up The Bench”: “She Orbits Over the Sex Barrier,” Life magazine, June 28, 1963.
CHAPTER 4: NASA Catches Up
Page 74. she said, smiling into the lens: “Space Shuttle Astronaut Recruitment Film with Nichelle Nichols,” NASA Video, filmed 1977, https://archive.org/details/2018-00917_Nichelle_Nichols_1977_Recruitment-Film_884550.mxf.
74. spring of 1977: Information provided by archive producer Stephen Slater to author, 2021.
75. “And this would require”: “Space Shuttle Astronaut Recruitment Film with Nichelle Nichols.”
75. NASA was recruiting a new class of astronauts: NASA JSC, “NASA To Recruit Space Shuttle Astronauts,” July 8, 1976.
75. NASA wanted women and people of color to apply: Ibid.
76. touted the “problem that has no name”: Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2013), chap. 1, Kindle.
76. A new wave of feminism: Constance Grady, “The waves of feminism, and why people keep fighting over them, explained,” Vox, March 20, 2018, https://www.vox.com/2018/3/20/16955588/feminism-waves-explained-first-second-third-fourth.
76. The agency dodged question after question: Joseph D. Atkinson, Jay M. Shafritz, The Real Stuff: A History of NASA’s Astronaut Recruitment Program (New York: Praeger, 1985), pg. 134.
76. James Fletcher began to address the problem openly: Al Marsh, “Job Bias Under Fire at NASA,” Florida Today, March 3, 1972.
76. she was demoted from director to deputy director: “NASA’s Equal Opportunity Program,” Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Constitutional Rights, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives, 93rd Congress, second session, March 13 and 14, 1974, pg. 80.
77. Ruth repeatedly pressured NASA management: Kim McQuaid, “‘Racism, Sexism, and Space Ventures’: Civil Rights at NASA in the Nixon Era and Beyond,” Societal Impact of Spaceflight, ed. Steven J. Dick and Roger D. Launius (Washington, D.C.: NASA Historical Relations Division, 2007), chap. 22, pg. 430.
77. compiled a report reviewing the state of diversity: “Space Missions, Payloads, and Traffic for the Shuttle Era,” Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, U.S. Senate, 93rd Congress, first session, October 30, 1973, pg. 200.
77. little more than 5 percent: Ibid, pg. 200.
77. “There have been three females sent into space”: Ibid, pg. 207.
77. “An entire generation of people”: Ibid, pg. 207.
77. claiming her to be a “disruptive force”: NASA Office of the Administrator, Memorandum to All NASA Employees, November 2, 1973.
77. transferred one of the other report authors: Tim O’Brien “NASA Official Fights Ouster,” The Washington Post, October 29, 1973.
77. Numerous headlines decried the decision: Associated Press, “Critic of Space Agency Hiring Policies Fired,” Los Angeles Times, October 29, 1973; Carl T. Rowan, “NASA fired black woman for trying to do her job,” Field Enterprises, Inc., The Minneapolis Star, December 28, 1973.
78. NASA rehired Ruth in a different role: NASA, “Mrs. Harris Assumes New Post at NASA,” news release, August 16, 1974.
78. a wider variety of individuals could be welcomed: Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
78. NASA still employed dozens of astronauts from previous selections: NASA JSC, “More than 8,000 applicants vie for 30-40 astronaut slots,” Roundup newsletter, July 22, 1977; Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
78. Candidates needed to have a bachelor’s degree: NASA JSC, “NASA Issues Recruiting Call for Shuttle Pilots, Mission Specialists,” Roundup newsletter, July 16, 1976.
79. sat down at a meeting to discuss these requirements: Atkinson and Shafritz, The Real Stuff, pg. 145.
79. ready for his crews to look more like America: Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
79. the first Black person to serve as a member: Atkinson and Shafritz, The Real Stuff, pg. 147.
79. Chris Kraft had asked her if she wanted to apply: Carolyn Huntoon, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Rebecca Wright, June 5, 2002, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/HuntoonCL/HuntoonCL_6-5-02.htm.
79. the first woman to serve: Duane Ross, Teresa Gomez, “Astronauts and the People who Selected Them: A Compendium,” Encyclopedia of Space Science and Technology, April 2003.
79. They weighed the merits of advertising: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 3; Atkinson and Shafritz, The Real Stuff, pg. 153–154.
80. it was all too much: Atkinson and Shafritz, The Real Stuff, pg. 155–156.
80. “I want no part of this”: Cassutt, The Astronaut Maker, chap. 29.
80. “There was definitely a feeling”: Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
80. “Then on July 8, 1976”: NASA JSC, “NASA To Recruit Space Shuttle Astronauts,” news release, July 8, 1976.
80. “I am going to bring you so many qualified”: Kelly Knox, “Star Trek Week: How Nichelle Nichols Changed the Face of NASA,” September 26, 2012, https://www.wired.com/2012/09/nichelle-nichols/.
80. “The Shuttle will be taking scientists and engineers”: “Space Shuttle Astronaut Recruitment Film with Nichelle Nichols,” NASA Video, filmed 1977, https://archive.org/details/2018-00917_Nichelle_Nichols_1977_Recruitment-Film_884550.mxf.
80. Carolyn and many of the other individuals: Atkinson and Shafritz, The Real Stuff, pg. 154; Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2020.
81. “I can’t imagine any woman”: Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2020.
81. standard-issue federal employment application form: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
81. About the only thing she did know: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021; Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 18.
81. a spark immediately ignited inside: Ron Laytner, Donald Mclachlan, “Ride, Sally Ride: Her place is space,” Chicago Tribune, April 24, 1983; Susan Okie, “NASA Appeal Gave A Physicist Wings,” The Washington Post, May 9, 1983.
82. a sheet of paper with Stanford’s Institute for Plasma Research letterhead: Scan of letter provided by Tam O’Shaughnessy, written in 1977.
82. A form arrived roughly a week later: Sally Ride, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Rebecca Wright, October 22, 2002, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm.
82. She already had the standard government form on hand: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
82. set about getting all the information together: “NASA Astronaut, Dr. Anna Fisher | Public Lecture,” University of Waikato, posted to YouTube on November 4, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0PG47LvUiw.
82. postmarked the day before the deadline: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
82. getting a response that asked if she was really sure: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
83. She and Len embarked on a small campaign: Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik.”
83. She cut her hair: Washington Post staff, Challengers, pg. 92.
83. began visiting the National Air and Space Museum: Interview with Michael Oldak, 2021; Mark Jones, “NASA Picks Two Southland Women: Physician and Engineer Among the Six Pioneers,” Los Angeles Times, January 17, 1978; People staff, “NASA Picks Six Women Astronauts with The Message: You’re Going a Long Way, Baby,” People, February 6, 1978.
83. “Hi, Mike, how are you?”: Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik.”
84. JSC’s data management system consisted of an IBM Selectric typewriter: Interview with Duane Ross, 2021.
84. “It was a pain”: Ibid.
84. NASA found that 1,544 women had applied: UPI, “NASA Breaks Two Barriers,” Philadelphia Daily News, January 16, 1978; Interview with Duane Ross, 2021.
84. That narrowed down the pool to 5,680: David Shayler and Colin Burgess, NASA’s First Space Shuttle Astronaut Selection: Redefining the Right Stuff (Switzerland: Springer, 2020), chap. 1, Kindle.
84. focused on finding up to forty people: NASA JSC, “NASA to Interview Astronaut Applicants,” July 29, 1977.
84. come up with a points system: Interviews with Duane Ross, Jay Honeycutt, 2021.
84. “You wind up with everyone with the same score”: Interview with Duane Ross, 2021.
85. settling on 208 candidates, including twenty-one women: NASA JSC, “Tenth Group of Astronaut Applicants Report to JSC November 14,” news release, November 11, 1977.
85. when she received a phone call from someone at NASA: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
85. “What will the week entail, sir?”: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 22.
85. “Will there be any other women?”: Ibid.
85. going over plans for what was going to be a busy few weeks: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
86. “It’s NASA”: Ibid.
87. rumor began to spread: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
87. “I’m going to Houston for an interview”: Interview with Susan Okie, 2021.
87. she’d accepted a job at the Xerox Corporation: NASA Biographical Data, Judith A. Resnik, University of Houston-Clear Lake archives, September 1984.
87. jogging along the beach across the highway: Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik.”
87. “Daddy, guess what? I’ve applied to NASA”: Katherine Foran, “Specialist aimed high all her life,” The Kansas City Times, February 7, 1986.
88. it was a professor at Columbia University: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 2.
88. “Hey, are you going to take my postdoc?”: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
88. “Haven’t we told you ‘no’ yet?”: Ibid.
89. “What exactly does this mean?”: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 2.
89. arrived in Houston on August 2, 1977: NASA JSC, “NASA to Interview Astronaut Applicants,” press release, July 29, 1977.
89. was made up entirely of mission specialist candidates: NASA JSC, “Third Group of 20 Astronaut Applicants Includes Eight Women,” press release, August 25, 1977.
89. Each interview week began on a Sunday: Multiple interviews with members of selection board and TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
90. “I felt very much out of place”: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
90. He wanted each of them to write an essay: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
90. “I’ve been fascinated with space”: scan of essay provided by Tam O’Shaughnessy, written in 1977.
90. “I also think it is time that women be allowed”: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 27.
90. “I realize that there will be certain significant sacrifices”: Scan of essay provided by Anna Fisher during virtual presentation, written in 1977.
90–91. A mob of journalists accosted them: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 27; NBC Nightly News segment, August 29, 1977.
91. Rhea politely answered more of the reporters’ questions: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021; NBC Nightly News segment, August 29, 1977.
91. whether there’d be romance in space: Linda Gillan, “A Space Age Equation: First Female Astronauts = X,” Los Angeles Times, August 30, 1977.
91. she was mortified by the journalists’ framing: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
91. The candidates ran on treadmills: NASA JSC, “Physicians explains scope of astronaut applicant physicals,” Roundup newsletter, December 9, 1977.
91. there were twenty-four different medical procedures: NASA JSC, “JSC’s medical team practices astronaut applicant screening,” Roundup newsletter, April 15, 1977.
92. There was a “good cop”: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
92. if they loved their mothers: Sara Sanborn, “Sally Ride, Astronaut: The World Is Watching,” Ms., January 1983.
92. “If you could come back as any animal”: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 32; Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
92. For Terry, it wasn’t what the candidates: Interview with Taibi Kahler, who collaborated with Terry McGuire, 2020.
92. Terry’s foil was Dr. Eddie Harris, the “bad cop”: Shayler and Burgess, NASA’s First Space Shuttle Astronaut Selection, chap. 1.
92. “Count backwards from one hundred by seven”: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
92–93. Eddie would declare it loudly and stare at them: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
93. step inside a “personal rescue sphere”: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
93. Everything felt like a test: Ibid.
93. “The implication was if you’re strolling aimlessly”: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
93. Sally discovered the racquetball court in the gym: Shayler and Burgess, NASA’s First Space Shuttle Astronaut Selection, chap. 1.
94. “She proceeded to destroy both of us”: Ibid.
94. she started to get a feeling that this place: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
94. everything was more or less pass-fail: Interview with George Abbey, 2021; Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2020.
94. felt a bit like walking into an inquisition: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
95. “Start in high school”: Interview with Duane Ross, 2021.
95. As the candidates spoke: Multiple interviews with members of selection board and TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
95. “What if, on the plane going back to Memphis”: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 31.
96. Anna also tried to be as honest as possible: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
96. “I want to have children”: Ibid.
96. Shannon waited for the question about family to come up: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
97. “Absolutely not. I travel now”: Ibid.
97. were asked their thoughts on the Panama Canal Treaty: Multiple interviews with members of selection board and TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
97. “Well, it’s ours, we built it, and we ought to keep it”: Interview with John Fabian, recalling another astronaut candidate, 2021.
97. “They asked me my thoughts on the Vietnam War”: Ibid.
97. such as if they wanted a Coke: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
97. “My father was an astronaut”: Interview with Rick Hauck, recalling another astronaut candidate, 2021.
97. “Have you ever had amnesia?”: Interview with Susan Okie, 2021.
97. “I don’t know. I can’t remember”: Jerry Adler, Pamela Abramson, “Sally Ride: Ready for Liftoff,” Newsweek, June 13, 1983.
98. the selection board wanted team players: Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2020; Interview with Jay Honeycutt, 2021.
98. The panel also sought people who could be flexible: Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
98. “We wanted to make sure that they understood”: Ibid.
98. The Shuttle’s inaugural flight was scheduled for 1979: Richard S. Lewis, The Voyages of Columbia: The First True Spaceship (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984), pg. 83.
99. “We didn’t want to go through the time and expense”: Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2020.
99. a barbecue dinner at Pe-Te’s Cajun BBQ House: Interview with Bob Crippen, 2021.
CHAPTER 5: Are You Still Interested in Coming to Work for NASA?
Page 100. “So can you tell me anything?”: Interview with Duane Ross, 2021.
101. questioned the need for so many pilots: Cassutt, The Astronaut Maker, chap. 29; Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
101. Candidates who’d met during their group interviews: “Intimate Portrait: Sally Ride,” VHS, Lifetime Tonight, 2000.
101. to trek down to Edwards Air Force Base: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 3.
101–102. NASA was conducting its last few landing tests: NASA JSC, “Fifth Shuttle Orbiter Free Flight Set for October 26,” press release, October 19, 1977.
102. the spacecraft’s massive tires: George Alexander, “Space Shuttle’s Test Flight Program Ends With a Bump,” Los Angeles Times, October 27, 1977.
102. “What the hell was that?”: Cassutt, The Astronaut Maker, chap. 30.
102. “Up until this morning”: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 3.
103. Rhea received a call from: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
103. “Would you believe you’ve been picked”: “New Astronauts,” interview by Jules Bergman for ABC News, January 16, 1978.
103. She thought it might be some kind of hypothetical question: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 38.
103. thinking she’d look ridiculous: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
104. Judy called Anna the same day of Rhea’s interview: Anna Fisher, “Ask an Astronaut Session,” Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, January 22, 2022.
104. Anna was getting the same weird requests: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
104. “We kind of had an idea”: Anna Fisher, “Ask an Astronaut Session,” Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, January 22, 2022.
104. George showed up at his office in Building 1: Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, “Legacy of the 35 New Guys,” Houston History Magazine, fall 2008.
105. It was around six thirty in the morning: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
105. wondering if something awful had happened: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 2.
105. “Are you still interested in coming to work for NASA?”: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts on how George offered them the position, 2020–2021.
105. “There was at least one who told me no”: Interview with George Abbey 2021.
106. Rhea was back at work that morning: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021; Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 40.
106. popped into the room where Shannon was working: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
106. “Your mommy might be like Mr. Spock in Star Trek”: James Hoffman and Mathew Tekulsky, “Adventurers in Space: Six extraordinary women look to the stars and see their futures,” Family Weekly, March 19, 1978.
106. Sally’s phone rang at around 5:00 or 6:00 a.m.: Sally Ride, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview with Rebecca Wright, October 22, 2002, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm.
107. Thinking this might all be a dream, she replied “Yes, sir!”: Ibid; Susan Okie, “NASA Appeal Gave A Physicist Wings,” The Washington Post, May 9, 1983.
107. “Hello, this is your friendly local astronaut”: Interview with Susan Okie, 2021.
107. Judy had just walked out the door: Mark Jones, “NASA Picks Two Southland Women: Physician and Engineer Among the Six Pioneers,” Los Angeles Times, January 17, 1978.
107. “I did it”: Washington Post staff, Challengers, pg. 93.
107. An NBC camera crew was standing with them: NBC Nightly News segment, January 16, 1978.
107. who then became the only person to ever receive a rejection: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
108. And they assumed that: Ibid; Sara Terry, “New astronaut set for move: Both Fishers welcome her selection by NASA,” The Christian Science Monitor, April 17, 1978.
108. embraced Anna when he hung up: NBC Nightly News segment, January 16, 1978.
108. “I think that in the last few years”: CBS Evening News segment, January 16, 1978.
108. Another reporter apologized for asking: Vivian Vahlberg, “State’s Astronaut Highly Visible,” The Daily Oklahoman, January 17, 1978.
108. forcing her employers to set up a press conference: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 41; CBS Evening News segment, January 16, 1978; Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
109. “What’s the highest you’ve ever been before?”: David Ansley, “New woman astronaut gets instant fame,” The Stanford Daily, January 31, 1978.
109. showed up at the Fisher home to interview Anna: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
109. “I think that when there are as many women astronauts as men”: Mark Jones, “NASA Picks Two Southland Women: Physician and Engineer Among the Six Pioneers,” Los Angeles Times, January 17, 1978.
109. “It’s fantastic that Anna was chosen”: Hoffman and Tekulsky, “Adventurers in Space.”
109. “One day I was a doctor working in medical training”: Anna Fisher, “Ask an Astronaut Session,” Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, January 22, 2022.
109. Bill took Judy and Anna out on the town: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
109. “Can you believe this is really happening?”: Ibid.
110. Requests rolled in from The Today Show: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 42.
110. A CBS News crew profiled Rhea and Shannon: CBS Evening News segment, January 30, 1978.
110. “I mean, this was my job”: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
110. NASA sent telegrams: Photographed telegram of Sally Ride’s invitation provided to author by Tam O’Shaughnessy, dated January 16, 1978.
111. a mixture of NASA employees and members of the press: NASA JSC, “Press Conference: Dr. Kraft introduces new astronauts to JSC personnel,” video provided to author via FOIA, recorded January 31, 1978.
112. Chris introduced the group as “a great bunch of guys”: UPI, “New Astronauts All ‘Great Guys,’” Los Angeles Times, February 1, 1978.
112. the astronauts would be available for interviews: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
112. NASA officials whisked away the women and minority astronauts: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
112. “ten interesting people and twenty-five standard white guys”: Kathy Sullivan, “STS Panel,” Spacefest in Tucson, Arizona, July 16, 2021.
113. gathered the Six together: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
113. Carolyn prepared them to get all manner of questions: Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2020.
113. “When someone gets the Nobel Prize”: Ibid.
113. the women strategized: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
113. “We all look at ourselves as just one of the guys”: Abbott, “Space women.”
114. “I just want to be a person going into space”: Associated Press, “Astronauts’ orientation begins,” The Shreveport Times, February 1, 1978.
114. “I think it had to do with the fact”: Ibid.
114. one of the Six recognized an opportunity: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm; Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3
115. “Now let’s have a high kick”: Associated Press, “Astronauts’ orientation begins,” The Shreveport Times, February 1, 1978.
115. “We’d like a picture of the white males, please”: Ibid.
115. Their jobs basically concluded about five minutes: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
115. finally leaving NASA after hours of interviews: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3
115. referred to them as “The Glamornauts”: Barry Hart, “The Glamornauts: America’s eye- popping space gals are really flying high,” The Midnight Globe, March 18, 1980.
115. one anchor read off their names one by one: CBS Evening News segment, January 30, 1978.
115. “girls” or “ladies in space”: Janis Williams, “Make Way for the Ladies in Space,” The Saturday Evening Post, September 1982.
115. ages, heights, and weights: Sharon Herbaugh, Associated Press, “Pioneers in space: 6 women in training for work aboard the trail blazing space shuttle,” The Austin American-Statesman, April 3, 1980; Barbara Strauch, “Women astronauts ready for space travel: the eight newcomers are a remarkable, intelligent bunch, hardly likely to scare easily,” The Houston Chronicle, May 8, 1983.
115. “You’re going a long way, baby”: People staff, “NASA Picks Six Women Astronauts.”
115–116. “I think that’s great; that ought to be interesting”: The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, NBC, January 17, 1978.
116. “Astronauts Hurdle Sex, Race Barriers”: UPI, “Astronauts Hurdle Sex, Race Barriers,” The Hartford Courant, January 17, 1978.
116. “Men astronauts take backseat in newest crew lineup”: Abbott, “Space women.”
116. the thirty-five astronauts gathered: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
116. “Hello, I’m Rhea”: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 44; Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
117. “I’d say maybe twenty percent of women”: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
117. She slightly deflated: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 44
117. that night he viewed the women and the other civilians: Mike Mullane, Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut (New York: Scribner, 2006), chap. 5; Interview with Mike Mullane, 2020.
117. The group was told to report for duty first thing July 10: Photographed telegram of Sally Ride’s invitation provided to author by Tam O’Shaughnessy, dated January 16, 1978.
CHAPTER 6: Jet-Setting
Page 118. Judy getting the very first taste: ABC Nightly News segments, July 10, 1978.
118. with Len remaining in Canada as a commercial pilot: Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik.”
118. been able to fly on NASA’s fleet of jets: ABC Nightly News segments, July 10, 1978.
118. Rick Hauck and Jim Buchli: Interview with Rick Hauck, 2021.
119. bringing her physicist boyfriend, Bill: Interview with Bill Colson, 2021.
119. they’d gone up to Muir Woods: Ibid.
119. Michael eventually landed a job at the Shell Oil Company: “One of the Few Who Got The Job–Astronaut,” The New York Times, Jun 29, 1979.
119. Bill Fisher continued his ER work: Aimee Lee Ball, “Anna Fisher: Bound for Space,” Redbook, April 1979.
119. he signed up for graduate courses in engineering: Klemesrud, “Made for The Heavens”; Jane Ulrich, “1 giant step… for womankind,” Austin American-Statesman, August 27, 1978.
119. “It is just so hot”: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
120. hardly believing she was driving to her first day: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
120. pop out of the driver’s seat of a Corvette Silver Anniversary: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
120. salaries would range from $11,000 to $34,000: NASA JSC, “More than 8,000 applicants vie for 30-40 astronaut slots,” Roundup newsletter, July 22, 1977.
120. Sally’s initial salary began at $21,833: Photographed telegram of Sally Ride’s invitation provided to author by Tam O’Shaughnessy, dated January 16, 1978.
120. Rhea told a reporter she was making $24,700: Thomas O’Toole, “Thirty-Five New Guys; They Don’t Hire Astronauts Like They Used To: The Latest Batch of Rocket Jockeys Includes One Oriental, Three Blacks, and Six Women. And 13 of the 35 Are Scientists or Physicians,” Washington Post Magazine, July 20, 1980.
120. Anna’s take from working in the ER: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
120. her dad to cosign a home loan: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
120. “I’d pay them for this job”: Abbott, “Space women.”
121. a full-scale Saturn V rocket: “Houston, we have a restored moon rocket,” Collect Space, July 20, 2007, http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-072007a.html.
121. the all-astronauts meeting: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
121. Another twenty-seven astronauts: NASA JSC, “1978: New 35 astronaut candidates join Shuttle era,” Roundup newsletter, January 20, 1978.
121. both groups intimidated by the other: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 8.
121. already knew each other: Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, “Legacy of the 35 New Guys,” Houston History Magazine, fall 2008; Interviews with Rick Hauck, Dan Brandenstein, 2021.
122. He and George then explained: Cassutt, The Astronaut Maker, chap. 31.
122. they’d come to NASA as astronaut candidates: Atkinson and Sahfritz, The Real Stuff, pg. 158.
122. was going to be diverse and grueling: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
123. one of the new recruits stood up to make an announcement: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 8.
123. who sketched out a logo for the class: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
123. carried an impish double meaning: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
124. “We didn’t want to become ‘the girl astronauts’”: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
124. The biggest addition before the women’s arrival: Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2020; Sanborn, “Sally Ride, Astronaut: The World Is Watching.”
124. The two snuck off to a nearby department store: “Space Center Houston Thought Leader Series,” recorded interview of Shannon Lucid, Anna Fisher, and Rhea Seddon by John Charles, June 28, 2018, https://spacecenter.org/video-thought-leader-series-pioneers-of-space-exploration/.
124. NASA flew the Six and the other male jet newbies: NASA JSC, “Astro tyros survive water,” Roundup newsletter, August 4, 1978.
125. strode out through one-hundred-degree heat: Earl Lane, “The New Astronauts,” Newsday, October 10, 1978.
125. give him a “happy look”: “People,” Time, August 14, 1978.
125. the Six were being dragged: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020; Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021; Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 47.
126. The Six had to swim beneath floating parachutes: Peter Gwynne, “Sextet for Space,” Newsweek, August 14, 1978; Interviews with Rhea Seddon, Shannon Lucid, Steve Hawley, 2020–2021.
126. The barges filled with gawking reporters: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021; Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022.
126. “We’re under enough stress”: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
126. What am I doing here?: Gwynne, “Sextet.”
126. this time to Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma: NASA JSC “Astro Candidates Train in Oklahoma,” Roundup newsletter, September 1, 1978.
127. the wind whipped her into the air: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
127. Judy messed up her ankle: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021; Rhea Seddon, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2010, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SeddonMR/SeddonMR_5-20-10.htm.
127. capable of propelling the vehicle faster than the speed of sound: NASA, “T-38s Soar as Spaceflight Trainers,” press release, April 20, 2011, https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/flyout/t38flyout.html.
127. at least fifteen hours per month: Interview with Rick Hauck, 2021.
128. forbidden from taking off and landing the jets: Ibid.
128. Just stepping onto the ladder: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
128. the women would get their hands on the controls: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
128. “We fly by feel rather than deflection”: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
128. challenged the Six to become ace jet pilots: Interviews with Hoot Gibson, Rhea Seddon, John Fabian, Rick Hauck, Dan Brandenstein, John Creighton, 2020–2021.
129. Rhea tried to remain calm: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 59.
129. “You realized that there was this added burden”: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
130. found themselves landing in the middle of a freak snowstorm: Interview with Dan Brandenstein, 2021.
130. The biggest disappointment for her: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
130. “But Shannon, he flew in Vietnam and got shot at”: Ibid.
131. being at the mercy of another pilot’s schedule: Ibid.
131. Some hogged the controls and didn’t speak: Ibid.
131. earned praise as “50 percenters”: Ibid.
131. that meant finding the best teachers and avoiding the thrill-seekers: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021; Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 122.
131. flying as close to the ground as he could get: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 12.
131. pulling off dive bombs on oil rigs: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
131. get into dogfights: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 12.
131. gravitating to the sandy-haired Robert “Hoot” Gibson: Interview with Rhea Seddon, Hoot Gibson, 2021.
132. Judy, Sally, and Anna often found themselves: Interviews with Rick Hauck, John Fabian, Dan Brandenstein, Jon McBride, 2021.
132. Shannon often flew with John Creighton: Interview with John Creighton, 2021.
132. weren’t allowed to fly under five thousand feet: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
132. “I let them land”: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
132. “Judy was a natural pilot”: Ibid.
132. began taking private lessons on the side: “Intimate Portrait: Sally Ride,” Lifetime Tonight.
132. completed her first solo cross-country flight in a Cessna 150: Ball, “Bound For Space.”
132. “The truth is that most of the skills”: Interview with Steve Hawley, 20201.
132. most of the TFNGs’ time was spent in the classroom: “An Interview with Sally Ride,” PBS Nova, filmed in 1984, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb6vw9AmiLs; Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
132–133. with Rick Hauck and John Fabian in charge: Interviews with Rick Hauck, John Fabian, 2021.
133. The classes covered every possible component of the Space Shuttle: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
133. how to talk like a NASA engineer: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2022.
133. would involve studying the Earth from space: Interview with Rick Hauck, 2021.
134. the TFNGs spent the rest of their time traveling throughout the United States: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
134. “I’ll just never forget the director”: Hoot Gibson, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, November 1, 2013, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/GibsonRL/GibsonRL_11-1-13.htm.
134. a visit to Boeing: Interview with Rick Hauck, Dan Brandenstein, 2021; Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
135. “No, we don’t mean the simulator”: Interview with Rick Hauck, 2021.
135. “Well, I would”: Ibid.
136. “So Sally, what other airplanes have you been checked out in?”: Ibid. The three people who were at this demonstration all remember it slightly different. Rick and Dan remember Sally spilling the beans, while Anna remembers that she spilled the beans.
136. It was a massive KC-135: NASA, “‘As the Stomach Turns’ on the KC-135,” press release, October 16, 2003, https://www.nasa.gov/missions/research/kc135.html.
137. had created a very basic throne: NASA, “Shuttle’s Toilet Requires Special Training,” posted to YouTube on May 5, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1wwzwvfsC0.
137. they’d chug as much liquid as they could: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 66–67.
137. had a camera inside: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 13; NASA, “Shuttle’s Toilet Requires Special Training.”
138. working out and staying in shape: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
138. If a fellow ASCAN popped his or her head: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
138. their every move was being scrutinized: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021; Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
138. When Rhea found herself struggling with SCUBA training: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021; Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 70–71.
138. the ASCANs filed into a room to listen to a speech by Gene Kranz: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 10.
139. “Hey! We’ve got a fire in the cockpit”: “Apollo 1 Audio Recording,” NASA, recorded on January 27, 1967, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Apollo_One_Recording.ogg.
CHAPTER 7: The Dawn of the Space Shuttle
Page 140. a paradigm-changing transition: Robert C. Cowen, “NASA calls space shuttle ‘door to future,’” Christian Science Monitor, January 7, 1972.
140. he assembled the Space Task Group: John Logsdon, After Apollo? Richard Nixon and the American Space Program (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), chap. 1, Kindle.
140. The options spanned a wide range: Space Task Group, “The Post-Apollo Space Program: Directions for the Future,” September 1969.
141. Nixon eventually decided to focus on just one: NASA History Office, “President Nixon’s 1972 Announcement on the Space Shuttle,” January 5, 1972, https://history.nasa.gov/stsnixon.htm.
141. Congress’s mood had turned frugal: John Uri, “50 Years Ago: After Apollo, What? Space Task Group Report to President Nixon,” NASA press release, September 18, 2019, https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-after-apollo-what-space-task-group-report-to-president-nixon.
141. routine trips to and from low Earth orbit: Howard Benedict, “Space Shuttle To Fly By 1980: The Next Giant Step Into Space,” Associated Press, Austin American-Statesman, April 14, 1974.
141. the Space Shuttle can get it there for you: John Noble Wilford, “Another Small Step For Man: Shuttling Into Space Shuttle,” The New York Times, August 7, 1977.
142. The vaunted versatility of the spaceplane ultimately dictated its final design: Interview with Wayne Hale, 2021.
143. a particle mixture of ammonium, aluminum, iron, and other combustible materials: “Solid Rocket Boosters,” NASA, https://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/system_SRB.html.
143. They’d become the largest solid rockets ever flown: Guinness World Records, “Largest solid rocket booster,” September 10, 2009, https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-solid-rocket-booster.
143. Thiokol couldn’t transport the rockets in one piece to the launch site in Florida: Interview with Wayne Hale, 2021.
144. considered key to opening spaceflight up to the masses: Ronald Kotulak, “Shuttle opens new space era,” Chicago Tribune, October 31, 1978; Congressional Quarterly, “Shuttle Expected To Pioneer Low-Budget Space Travel,” The Hartford Courant, July 13, 1979.
144. like sailing the Queen Mary across the ocean: Interview with Wayne Hale, 2021.
145. An early study from NASA and the Defense Department: Logsdon, After Apollo, chap. 9.
145. by the end of the following year: NASA JSC, “First Shuttle orbital flight paced by main engine testing,” Roundup newsletter, August 4, 1978.
145. George Abbey had already picked two of the crew members: NASA JSC, “NASA Names Astronaut Crews For Early Shuttle Flights,” press release, March 16, 1978.
145. come up with a new definition for the term “NASA”: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
145–146. kept blowing up during testing: Richard S. Lewis, The Voyages of Columbia: The First True Spaceship (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984), pg. 66–69; Associated Press, “Engine Explosion May Delay Launch Of Space Shuttle,” The Washington Post, January 4, 1979.
146. covered in roughly thirty thousand insulating tiles made of silica fibers: Lewis, The Voyages of Columbia, pg. 69.
146. heated to nearly three thousand degrees Fahrenheit: NASA, “Orbiter Thermal Protection System,” NASA Facts, https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/167473main_TPS-08.pdf.
146. a process that could take up to forty hours for each tile: Lewis, The Voyages of Columbia, pg. 88.
146. Boeing’s 747 carried the sparkling-new Columbia: Associated Press, “Space Shuttle Arrives To Launch New Era,” The Atlanta Constitution, March 25, 1979.
147. it was missing a large chunk of its tiles: Lewis, The Voyages of Columbia, pg. 84.
147. through a process called densification: Lewis, The Voyages of Columbia, pg. 113; Interview with Dan Brandenstein, 2021.
147. It was frustrating for NASA and government officials: Tom Incantalupo, “Space Shuttle Plan Earthbound,” Newsday, July 23, 1979.
147. the spacecraft was committed to launching until the two giant candles burned out: Interview with Wayne Hale, 2021.
148. By the spring of 1979: NASA JSC, “Schooling of Astronauts, 35 New Candidates Is Varied, Exciting,” press release, April 8, 1979.
148. NASA created two types of simulators: Interview with Frank Hughes, 2021.
148. Priority was given to the prime crew astronauts: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
148. But the TFNGs got plenty of time to observe: NASA JSC, “Schooling of Astronauts, 35 New Candidates Is Varied, Exciting,” press release, April 8, 1979.
148. Notorious NASA trainers known as Simulation Supervisors: Wayne Hale, “Nexus of Evil,” Wayne Hale’s Blog, NASA, February 16, 2010, https://blogs.nasa.gov/waynehalesblog/2010/02/16/post_1266353065166/.
149. began to speculate on what the assignments meant: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2022.
149. work with the Space Shuttle’s fancy new Remote Manipulator System: Shayler and Burgess, NASA’s First Space Shuttle Astronaut Selection, chap. 7; Interviews with John Fabian, Tam O’Shaughnessy, Steve Hawley, Bill Colson, 2021.
149. the arm was a snakelike mechanical appendage: Brandi Dean, “Space Shuttle Canadarm Robotic Arm Marks 25 Years in Space,” NASA press release, November 9, 2006, https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/rms_anniversary.html.
149. it couldn’t carry its own weight on Earth: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
150. took impressive hand-eye coordination: Ibid.
150. tell Bill that she thought she was pretty good: Interview with Bill Colson, 2021.
150. Judy began studying all sorts of software: Shayler and Burgess, NASA’s First Space Shuttle Astronaut Selection, chap. 7.
150. worked with other astronauts like John Fabian and Mike Mullane: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
150. she found herself assigned to the robotic arm: Interview with John Fabian, 2021; Tony Locy, “CMU Grad Hopes To Be Spacewoman,” Pittsburgh Press, January 3, 1982.
150. Anna’s initial role was also a big one: testing out space suits: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
150. develop an extra-small suit to accommodate more body types: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
150. Anna had to wear an old Apollo suit: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
151. “For the smaller women if you can get a good suit fit”: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
151. she’d spy people taking her picture and waving at her: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
151. a space-suit technician told a reporter: Kathleen Hughes, “NASA’s Wardrobe for Spacewalks Isn’t Suitable to These Astronauts,” The Wall Street Journal, September 26, 1984.
151. Shannon found herself in a place called SAIL: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020; Shayler and Burgess, NASA’s First Space Shuttle Astronaut Selection, chap. 7.
151. but others feared assignments like hers: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
152. It was something Kathy feared when she was assigned: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3; Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
152. Rhea wasn’t thrilled with hers: Rhea Seddon, virtual book signing, November 4, 2020.
152. “I ended up with the cooks”: Rhea Seddon, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 20, 2010, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SeddonMR/SeddonMR_5-20-10.htm.
152. convincing herself that she’d been picked because of her background in nutrition: Ibid.
153. the food packet tests happened concurrently: Ibid.
153. “These technical assignments were deliberately intended”: Cassutt, The Astronaut Maker, chap. 31.
153. one day in August 1979: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2022; NASA JSC, “35 Astronaut Candidates Complete Training and Evaluation Period,” press release, August 31, 1979.
153. awarded a small silver pin: Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022.
153. emerged into the Florida air: John Uri, “40 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Columbia Rolls Out to Launch Pad 39A,” NASA feature, December 15, 2020, https://www.nasa.gov/feature/40-years-ago-space-shuttle-columbia-rolls-out-to-launch-pad-39a.
154. George had made sure that most of the astronauts: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts 2020–2021.
154. Rhea and Anna had been tapped: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm; Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 108.
154. Rhea chose to be stationed at Cape Canaveral: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 109.
155. Anna would be waiting out in the bleached landscape of White Sands: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
155. Also stationed out in White Sands would be Shannon: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
155. that meant flexing their performance skills: Nancy Peacock, “Ex-Akron astronaut waits: Judith Resnik will help on NBC-TV,” The Akron Beacon Journal, April 9, 1981; “1981’s TV Space Odyssey: The Flight of the Columbia,” Broadcasting, April 20, 1981.
155. Kathy had been assigned to ABC: Kathy Sullivan, “Respectfully Correcting a Moonwalker On National TV,” Kathy Sullivan Explores, podcast audio, February 3, 2022, https://www.kathysullivanexplores.com/podcast/spose-she-dies.
156. Kathy overheard Gene give an incorrect explanation: Ibid.
156. “Next thing I knew, I was up on the TV set with Frank Reynolds”: Ibid.
156. she did have to play dress-up for the cameras: Carlos Byars, “Woman astronaut who starred on TV still eyeing stars in sky,” Houston Chronicle, April 19, 1981.
156. Judy dutifully answered NBC anchor Tom Brokaw’s questions: “Astronaut Judy Resnik interview 9th April 1981,” posted to YouTube on July 25, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaafRyuwA8w.
157. Columbia’s first launch attempt on April 10: Lewis, The Voyages of Columbia, pg. 127–128.
158. she’d also drawn chase duty: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 4; Shayler and Burgess, NASA’s First Space Shuttle Astronaut Selection, chap. 7.
CHAPTER 8: Working with Men
Page 159. Rhea Seddon donned a long white gown: Interview with Rhea Seddon, Hoot Gibson, 2021; Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 127.
160. almost immediately Hoot proclaimed “Dead pilot”: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
160. the two had been practicing Shuttle chasing: Ibid; Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 106.
160. Hoot knew of only one T-38 pilot: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
160. his wife didn’t take well to Houston: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 125.
160. “I feel myself very attracted to you”: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
161. Hoot would always joke: Ibid.
161. Anna Fisher and her husband got there first: NASA JSC, “NASA Selects 19 Astronaut Candidates,” news release, May 29, 1980.
161. Anna no longer had to hold in her excitement: Klemesrud, “Made for The Heavens.”
161. 17 percent of NASA’s workforce: US Government Accountability Office, “National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Program Could Be Improved,” April 16, 1975, https://www.gao.gov/products/fpcd-75-107.
162. entertained the affections of women: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 9.
162. he’d hung a Playboy pinup calendar: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
162. she handed out pink bumper stickers: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 3, 2011 https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_5-3-11.htm.
162. “A woman is a cock pit”: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 7.
163. “I know I felt that”: Lawrence Wright, “Space Cadet,” Texas Monthly, July 1981, https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/space-cadet/.
163. she and her male colleague spotted Chuck Yeager: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 4.
163. the agency would send an astronaut to represent the corps: Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2020.
163. they blamed their wives: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
164. “I think it’s great we’re having women astronauts”: Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2021.
164. Kathy had been assigned to work at Cape Canaveral: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
164. “Well, actually, you know, I’ve been thinking about this”: Ibid.
165. “It’s not like we were taking a vote”: Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2021.
165. something of a mother hen: Rhea Seddon, virtual book signing, November 4, 2020.
165. royal blue flight suits that didn’t really fit them: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021; Rhea Seddon, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 21, 2010, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SeddonMR/SeddonMR_5-21-10.htm.
165. “They were not very flattering”: Ibid.
165. centered on the outsize attention the Six were receiving: Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2021.
166. “By complaining about it all the time”: Ibid.
166. they weren’t exactly best friends: Susan Witty, “Our First Women In Space,” GEO magazine, September 1982; Interview with Bonnie Dunbar, 2022.
166. “When I wasn’t working, I was home”: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
166. naturally formed a stronger bond than with the other four: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
166. found herself liking Judy the best: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021; Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
166. “I was this girly girl from the South”: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
166. It was the men whom the women actually spent the most time: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2021.
167. Judy found pink satin sheets lining the bed: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 74; Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
167. put the creature in her purse: Interview with Mike Mullane, 2021; Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021; Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 7.
167. tasked with going over the thousands of switches: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3.
168. Hoot watched in amusement: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
168. she accompanied John Fabian to the Air Force Academy: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
169. “I was prepared for people to make all the typical comments”: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2021.
169. “I changed that opinion”: Wright, “Space Cadet.”
169. When they weren’t at the Outpost Tavern: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
169. Hoot read about an upcoming total solar eclipse: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
170. As for Mike Coats, he partnered with Steve Hawley: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
170. Steve had been intrigued by Sally from the beginning: Ibid.
170. she’d responded to a reporter’s question the same way: Wally McNamee, “Newsmakers,” Newsweek, February 13, 1978.
170. Wow, she said the same thing I did: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
171. “I wasn’t particularly fitting in”: Interview with Bill Colson, 2021.
171. “I…found it a little boring”: Ibid.
171. She briefly dated Hoot at first: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
172. a group of TFNGs rented a couple of cabins in Texas Hill Country: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
172. She had a reputation for being able to hang out with men: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
172. “Judy had that unique way of navigating”: Interview with Mike Mullane, 2020.
172. Judy had kept in touch with Len: Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik.”
173. “Judy was my best friend in the Astronaut Office”: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
CHAPTER 9: Choosing “The One”
Page 174. George Abbey was standing in his office: Cassutt, The Astronaut Maker, chap. 35; Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 15.
175. George Abbey’s attention was prime capital: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2022.
175. walking the astronauts out to the vehicle: Cassutt, The Astronaut Maker, chap. 37.
175. surmising that achieving his favor: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2022.
175. “One of our standard adages in the office”: Kathy Sullivan, “STS Panel,” Spacefest in Tucson, Arizona, July 16, 2021.
175. George’s decision-making process was a mystery: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts 2020–2021.
176. “That was the biggest hobby in the Astronaut Office”: Interview with Dan Brandenstein, 2021.
176. King George: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 15.
176. Those who became George’s drinking buddies: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
176. one of the astronauts carried a small white sign: Cassutt, The Astronaut Maker, prologue.
176–177. While working together ahead of STS-2: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
177. “One of the complaints that you heard”: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
177. And those who did get assigned to flights: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2022.
178. “There wasn’t any real magic about it”: Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
178. But he also had another plan in mind: Cassutt, The Astronaut Maker, chap. 36.
179. to those who fit the more feminine, idealized version of womanhood: Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, “You’ve Come a Long Way, Maybe: The First Six Women Astronauts and the Media,” Spacefarers: Images of Astronauts and Cosmonauts in the Heroic Era of Spaceflight (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 2013), chap. 8, Kindle.
179. Redbook featured her on its cover: Andrea Fooner, “Countdown To Fitness: How An Astronaut Stays In Shape,” Redbook, June 1978.
179. despite her routine at the time: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009. https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
179. Her face appeared in numerous magazine features: Caroline Seebohm, “Shaping Up For Space,” House and Garden, July 1978, pg. 104; Janice Williams, “Make Way For The Ladies In Space,” The Saturday Evening Post, pg. 43; Witty, “Our First Women In Space.”
179. the merits of the Space Shuttle program on TV: “The New Astronauts,” The Dick Cavett Show, Daphne Productions, January 28th, 1981; CBS Evening News segment, March 13, 1980.
179. “I just felt like, if there’s anything I can do to get good publicity”: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
179. The New York Times declared: Klemesrud, “Made for the Heavens.”
180. Pictures of her submerged in the Gulf of Mexico: Gwynne, “Sextet”; Witty, “Our First Women In Space.”
180. floating weightless in the Vomit Comet: Hart, “The Glamornauts.”
180. touting “The Lady Astronaut’s Diet”: Ross-Nazzal, “You’ve Come A Long Way, Maybe.”
180. the press also delighted in their love story: Kent Demaret, “Hoot Gibson And Rhea Seddon Have The Right Stuff To Be The First Married Couple In Space,” People, September 7, 1981, pg. 41.
180. Would the couples eventually fly into space together?: Ibid; Associated Press, “Spouses for Space: Husband joins wife as astronaut candidate for shuttle,” The Austin American-Statesman, May 30, 1980.
180. “If you were going to line the six of us up”: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
180. noting her larger size compared to her more petite colleagues: People staff, “NASA Picks Six Women Astronauts.”
180. quickly cast as the mother figure of the bunch: Tom Belden, “Women, black find ‘impossible dream’ as astronauts.” The Dallas Morning News, February 5, 1978.
180. Her introverted self: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021; Interview with Lynn Sherr, 2021.
181. she preferred talking to one female reporter, Lynn Sherr: Interview with Lynn Sherr, 2021.
181. her feeling was that her life was none of the press’s business: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021; People staff, “NASA Picks Six Women Astronauts”; Lynn Sherr, “Remembering Judy,” Ms., June 1986, pg. 57.
181. notably her divorce: Bob Downing, “Akron’s Judith Resnik scheduled for Jun 4 space shuttle flight,” The Akron Beacon Journal, November 23, 1983; Rosemary Whitman Lamb, “The right stuff for a maiden flight,” The Age, August 31, 1984; Carrie Dolan, “Success Stories: How Four Women Are Prospering In Jobs Usually Held By Men,” The Wall Street Journal, June 29, 1983.
181. she wasn’t interested in giving the public: Interviews with Michael Oldak, Fani Brown Brandenburg, 2021.
181. when she did her answers were succinct: Luther Young, “Judy Resnik: Astronaut is eager for orbit but not the sex-role analysis,” The Baltimore Sun, September 26, 1983.
181. “I’ve got to bet there’s some big factor”: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
181. the politics at play underlying the decision: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2021.
181. “Being first was one thing”: Ibid.
181. the astronaut corps also placed imaginary bets: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2022.
182. everyone kept a watchful eye on the kinds of assignments: Anna Fisher, “Ask an Astronaut Session,” Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, January 22, 2022.
182. The dexterous robot had so much versatility: Dean, “Space Shuttle Canadarm Robotic Arm Marks 25 Years in Space.”
182. Everyone felt that it was either going to be Sally or Judy: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2022.
182. Anna had also started work on the robotic arm: Memo from Henry E. Clements to Chris Kraft and Clifford Charlesworth, “The attached is a matrix of Mission Specialists being considered for the STS-7 and STS-8 flights,” dated April 14, 1982, provided to author by Michael Cassutt.
182. had become just as adept at the controls: Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
182. she held a coveted role as Capsule Communicator: Julie Gray, “MBA Briefs,” Working Woman, October 1982, pg. 42.
182. CAPCOMs would relay crucial communication: Sanborn, “Sally Ride, Astronaut: The World Is Watching.”
182. Judy took on a leadership role with the robotic arm: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
182–183. she did get to spend time in Mission Control too for STS-3: “STS-3 Mission Control Center Activity,” NASA photo provided by Space Frontiers/Getty Images.
183. the go-to robotic arm expert: Locy, “CMU Grad Hopes To Be Spacewoman.”
183. “It’s kind of difficult to fight tooth and nail”: Susan Okie, “Cool Hand Sally Showed The Right Stuff,” The Washington Post, May 10, 1983.
183. She’d found out she was pregnant: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 131.
183. Rhea searched for Hoot in the SAIL: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
183. “Do you have some time to look”: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 132.
184. Hoot gasped, thrilled: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
184. They wouldn’t tell NASA right away: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
184. She’d found out she was going to have a little boy: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 133.
184. she and Hoot formed a united front: Interviews with Hoot Gibson, Rhea Seddon 2021.
185. as soon as she sat down, her phone rang: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 134–135; Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
185–186. Hoot broke the news to the rest of the corps: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
186. George was ready to make a decision: Henry E. Clements memo.
186. The seventh flight, STS-7, would be unique: NASA JSC, “STS-7 Space Shuttle Program Mission Report,” July 1983.
187. George already had a commander in mind for this flight: Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
187. George presented his crew ideas to the space center director: Cassutt, The Astronaut Maker, chap. 36.
187. “Why not Anna?”: Cassutt, The Astronaut Maker, chap. 36; Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
187. “I had to justify to Kraft”: Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
188. he asked Bob Crippen to come meet in his office: Interview with Bob Crippen, 2021.
188. “We all knew that whoever was going to be the first”: Ibid.
188. “I know I felt, and I think George did also”: Ibid.
188. In a memo addressed to Chris Kraft: Henry E. Clements memo.
189. “It turned out Sally was the best qualified”: Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
189. Early on Monday morning, April 19, 1982: NASA JSC, “Three Shuttle Crews Announced,” press release, April 19, 1982; Okie, “Cool Hand Sally.”
189. she’d been told to come home early: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 5.
190. “How do you like the job you have now”: Okie, “Cool Hand Sally.”
190. George then escorted Sally out of his office: Sally Ride, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Rebecca Wright, October 22, 2002, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm.
190. Chris launched into a speech: Ibid; Okie, “Cool Hand Sally.”
191. He was giving her an out: Okie, “Cool Hand Sally.”
191. “There was no doubt in my mind”: “Intimate Portrait: Sally Ride,” Lifetime Tonight.
191. Sally told Chris that she had thought about this: Okie, “Cool Hand Sally.”
CHAPTER 10: Ready, Set…
Page 192. “How does it feel to realize”: “STS-7 Crew Introduction,” NASA audio, recorded April 29, 1982.
192. Wearing a royal purple blouse: CBS Evening News segment, April 29, 1982; NBC Nightly News segment, April 29, 1982.
192. “Gosh, that’s quite an honor”: “STS-7 Crew Introduction,” NASA audio.
194. “It’s normally the first man who does it is under a little bit of tension”: CBS Evening News segment, April 29, 1982.
194. George had announced the crews for the three missions: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 16.
194. been forbidden from telling anyone: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
194. Mike Mullane sat down next to them: Ibid; Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 16.
194. “We’ve made some crew assignments”: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 16.
194. the mood instantly mutated: Ibid; Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
195. “This is bullshit”: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 16.
195. “I would have loved to have gone first”: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
195. She just wanted to see space: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
195. “Of course, every one of us wanted to be first”: Anna Fisher, “Ask an Astronaut Session,” Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, January 22, 2022.
195. “I had to decide: Do I want to have a baby now”: Interview with Rhea Seddon, 2021.
196. “I think later on in life”: Rhea Seddon, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 21, 2010, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SeddonMR/SeddonMR_5-21-10.htm.
196. the astronauts hosted a small celebration: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
196. “Mr. Abbey, Stevie and I need to tell you something”: Ibid.
196. “We didn’t see you at the celebration last night”: Ibid.
196. “You got it”: Okie, “Cool Hand Sally.”
197. But her excitement mostly stemmed from the fact: “STS-7 Crew Introduction,” NASA audio, recorded April 29, 1982; Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
197. But Steve noticed something else: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
197. “She saw all of that”: Ibid.
197. with the entire crew of STS-7 moving: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
197. He’d made her the flight engineer: Interview with Bob Crippen, 2021.
198. she and Steve traveled to Kansas to Steve’s parents’ house: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
199. “It didn’t seem like I was a real priority”: Ibid.
199. “I knew back then, and it became even clearer later”: Ibid.
199. the pair wearing T-shirts and white jeans: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 5.
199. “We didn’t want to make a big deal of it”: Newspaper staff, “People In The News,” Pittsburgh Press, August 14, 1982.
199. Steve gave permission to Dick Scobee: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
199. Their wedding only manifested as a short paragraph: Newspaper staff, “2nd astronaut couple wed,” The Houston Chronicle, August 14, 1982.
199. The couple had just bought a new house: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021; Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 139.
200. The doctor solemnly replied, “Yes”: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
200. Rhea and Hoot presented Paul to the press: UPI, “‘Experience’ Gives Son Of Astronauts A Boost,” The Memphis-Press Scimitar, August 6, 1982.
201. the couple realized that the window to have children: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
201. “I wasn’t assigned to a crew”: Aimee Lee Ball, “When Mom Is An Astronaut,” The Boston Globe, October 28, 1984.
201. assigned to be Astronaut Support Personnel: Ibid.
202. “Anna, if you do that, I’m going to shoot you”: Ibid.
202. “had a baby bump going on”: Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, Making Space For Women: Stories from Trailblazing Women of NASA’s Johnson Space Center (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2022), pg. 145.
202. the person who’d assigned her to the body-dragging task wasn’t happy: Ball, “When Mom Is An Astronaut.”
202. On August 19, 1982: Shayler and Moule, Women in Space, pg. 204.
202. When the Soviets learned of NASA’s recruitment: Ibid, pg. 201.
202. When she arrived at the station: Ibid, pg. 206.
203. “There is a kitchen and that will be where you work”: Seth Mydans, “Female Soviet Astronaut Says That Women Have a Place in Space,” The New York Times, August 11, 1984.
203. George had assigned another TFNG: NASA JSC, “Fifth Crewmember named for STS-7 and STS-8,” press release, December 16, 1982.
203. More than half of the people NASA sent into space: Davis JR, Vanderploeg JM, Santy PA, Jennings RT, Stewart DF, “Space motion sickness during 24 flights of the Space Shuttle,” Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 1988, pg. 1185–1189.
203. Norm’s task was to develop experiments: Interviews with Rick Hauck, John Fabian, 2021.
203. alternating between the ones that stayed fixed: Interview with Frank Hughes, 2021.
204. the team graduated to integrated simulations: Susan Okie, “Simulated Flights Prepare Crew for the Real Thing,” The Washington Post, May 11, 1983.
204. a few pranksters on the training team got a rubber mouse: Interview with Frank Hughes, 2021.
204. Sally had to do her standard bench checks: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
205. On her bench was a personal hygiene kit: Kathy Sullivan, “The Lady Astronaut’s Toiletry Kit,” Kathy Sullivan Explores, podcast audio, August 19, 2021, https://www.kathysullivanexplores.com/podcast/the-lady-astronauts-toiletries-kit.
205. It was a makeup kit: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 28, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-28-09.htm.
205. had to go through a small amount of testing: Annemarie Dooling, “The Real Reason Why NASA Created Makeup for Women,” Racked, January 31, 2018, https://www.racked.com/2018/1/31/16938682/nasa-makeup-astronauts; Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
205. One of Anna’s first technical assignments: Ibid.
205. “A makeup kit brought to you by NASA engineers”: Sally Ride, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Rebecca Wright, October 22, 2002, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm.
206. “I think she would have grabbed whichever”: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 28, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-28-09.htm.
206. “If there would be pictures taken of me from space”: Rhea Seddon, “Diapers, Underwear, and Makeup,” blog post, https://astronautrheaseddon.com/diapers-underwear-makeup/
206. Sally noticed a weird band of pink plastic: Sullivan, “The Lady Astronaut’s Toiletry Kit.”
206. “No. That would not be the right number”: Sally Ride, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Rebecca Wright, October 22, 2002, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm.
207. when Sally did appear in public: Interview with Bob Crippen, 2021.
207. she agreed to cooperate with a reporter from the Washington Post: Interview with Susan Okie, 2021.
207. Sue had made it known to the sports reporter: Ibid.
208. “Molly wanted that, but I didn’t”: Ibid.
208. sent a shock through her system: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
208. within twenty-four hours of going public: Rachel Shuster, “Billie Jean King: Tennis star least of her important roles,” USA Today Sports, May 22, 2013, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2013/05/22/billie-jean-king-icons-innovators-world-team-tennis-womens-rights/2159071/.
208. The idea incensed her: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
208. Sally trusted Sue: Interview with Susan Okie, 2021.
209. “They’ll have your picture in here”: Okie, “Fame Finds Astronaut Determined to Ignore It.”
209. “She couldn’t talk about that or even think about that”: Interview with Susan Okie, 2021.
209. “I have lost my dominant trait”: Okie, “Simulated Flights.”
209. the Space Shuttle still crashed: Interview with Susan Okie, 2021.
209. NASA had declared the vehicle “operational”: Ronald Kotulak, Carol Oppenheim, “Columbia’s Landing Opens New Era in Space,” Chicago Tribune, July 5, 1982.
209. sent shivers down Sue’s spine: Interview with Susan Okie, 2021.
209. “They can always give you enough failures”: Ibid.
210. to have lunch with President Reagan: Interviews with John Fabian, Rick Hauck, Bob Crippen, 2021.
210. not someone Sally was then a big supporter of: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
210. both Bob and Sally became stuck in the elevator: Interview with Bob Crippen, 2021.
210. “It seems my life isn’t my own anymore”: Laytner, Mclachlan, “Ride, Sally Ride.”
210. appeared on the covers of Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, People, and more: Newsweek, June 13, 1983; U.S. News & World Report, November 29, 1982; Ms., January 1983; People, June 20, 1983.
210. “She doesn’t offer information”: Adler, Abramson, “Sally Ride: Ready for Liftoff.”
210. During an appearance on Today: Ibid.
210. “difficult, unreachable, stone-cold, in contempt of the press”: Kathleen Hendrix, “First female astronaut maintains status as a very private person,” Los Angeles Times–Washington Post News Service, published in The Houston Chronicle, May 17, 1982.
210. dedicated an entire segment to Sally on NBC News: Tom Brokaw, “Ride’s Ride,” NBC Nightly News segment, June 13, 1983.
211. Sally set the tone from the start: NASA, “STS-7 Pre-Launch Press Conference,” video provided to author via FOIA, recorded May 24, 1983.
212. “We’ve interviewed lots of Texans this week”: Thomas O’Toole, “Sally Ride Soars At Her First News Session,” The Washington Post, May 25, 1983.
213. “I didn’t join this program to get media attention”: “STS-7 Pre-Launch Press Conference.”
214. One night, he joked that Sally “just canceled her Space Shuttle flight”: The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, NBC, June 16, 1983.
214. Sally being unable to “find a matching purse”: The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, NBC, May 13, 1983.
214. Sally and the rest of her crew entered quarantine: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
214. three days before her scheduled liftoff: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
CHAPTER 11: Sally’s Ride
Page 215. George noticed that Sally was pacing: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 5; Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
215. a dilapidated, boxy condo nestled in the sand: Cheryl Mansfield, “If Walls Could Talk,” NASA press release, June 28, 2005, https://www.nasa.gov/missions/shuttle/beach_house.html.
215. “You’re going to feel uneasy certainly”: Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
216. as had plenty of Sally’s old tennis buddies: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
216. Bill Colson got an invite: Interview with Bill Colson, 2021.
216. as did Molly Tyson: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
216. only knew Molly as Sally’s former roommate: Frederic Golden, Sam Allis, Jerry Hannifin, “Sally’s Joy Ride into the Sky,” Time, June 13, 1983, pg. 58; Michael Ryan, “A Ride In Space: As she prepares to break the sex barrier, America’s first woman in orbit is steady, professional—and annoyed by the attention,” People, June 20, 1983.
216. “If anyone could make her feel more comfortable”: Interview with George Abbey, 2021.
216. He had Molly undergo a quick physical: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 5.
216. But she was pleasantly surprised: Ibid.
216. “I’m aware that this is not without risks”: Ibid.
217. with a wake-up call at 3:13 a.m.: UPI, “Sally Ride Jet-Hops With Mission Chief,” Los Angeles Times, June 16, 1983.
217. Sally donned a striped polo and pants: “STS-7 Launch and Land,” NASA Video, posted to YouTube on December 28, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq8PAH0giKI.
217. “I was struggling very hard”: “Intimate Portrait: Sally Ride,” Lifetime Tonight.
217. “That’s the last one of those”: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
218. the massive crowds of more than 500,000 people: NASA, “Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1983,” October 1, 1984, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19850009618/downloads/19850009618.pdf.
218. Gloria Steinem, the famous American feminist and activist: CBS Evening News segment, June 18, 1983.
218. actress and activist Jane Fonda: UPI, “Spacewoman’s Flight Draws Celebrity Crowd,” The Hartford Courant, June 19, 1983.
218. Jane’s presence at the launch would cause a stir: John Noble Wilford, “Controversy Over Jane Fonda Costs NASA Official His Post,” The New York Times, October 15, 1983.
218. focused on the control panel and screens: Sally Ride comments on STS-7, personal audio recordings provided to author by Tam O’Shaughnessy, recorded 1983.
219. Sally could feel the slightest bump in her heart rate: Ibid.
219. “We have ignition!”: Ibid.
219. “All of a sudden, I felt totally helpless”: “Intimate Portrait: Sally Ride,” Lifetime Tonight.
219. The Shuttle twisted through the air: Interview with Wayne Hale, 2021.
220. squeaking out “LV, LH”: Sally Ride comments on STS-7, audio recording. As Lynn Sherr noted in her book, Sally in subsequent interviews has said she said “roll program,” but her responsibility was to say “LV, LH.”
220. “I’ll guarantee that those were the hardest words”: Sally Ride, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Rebecca Wright, October 22, 2002, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm.
220. Sally felt that the months and months of training: Sally Ride comments on STS-7, audio recording.
220. “We have MECO”: STS-7 air-to-ground audio, Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/STS-7.
220. Sally took the checklist attached to her: Sally Ride comments on STS-7, audio recording.
221. Sally stayed strapped to her seat: Ibid.
221. the crew watched as the continent of Africa passed below: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
221. “Ever been to Disneyland?”: NASA, “STS-7 Air Ground Transcript,” University of Houston-Clear Lake archives.
221. her biggest concern was that she was going to somehow mess up: ABC Nightly News segment, May 6, 1983.
222. though it took some time at first to adjust: Sally Ride comments on STS-7, audio recording.
222. “That really messed my brain up”: Interview with Rick Hauck, 2021.
223. First up on Day One was deploying: NASA, “STS-7 Post Flight, Flight Operations Report No. M-989-03-07,” August 5, 1983, produced by the NASA Center for Aerospace Information (CASI).
223. On the fourth day: Rockwell International, “STS-7 Press Information,” press kit, June 1983.
223. John took the first shift: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
223. The lens snapped a dark, moody photograph: NASA photograph, “Inflight – STS-7,” June 27, 1983, https://images.nasa.gov/details-S83-35799.
224. After lunch, it was Sally’s turn: “Space Shuttle Flight 7 (STS-7) Post Flight Presentation,” National Space Society, posted to YouTube on May 12, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN94P9xJKOA.
224. Mimicking what John had done in the morning: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
224. “Those pictures are a very important part of my memory”: Ibid.
224. This is real metal that will hit real metal: Sally Ride, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Rebecca Wright, October 22, 2002, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm.
225. Rick turned and noticed a small crack: Interview with Rick Hauck, 2021.
225. Crip decided not to tell Mission Control: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
225. the astronauts would take turns: Sally Ride comments on STS-7, audio recording.
225. One moment coral reefs peeked out at her: “Sally Ride Recalls ‘Spectacular View’ of Earth From Orbit,” NASA Video.
226. “It looked as if someone had taken a royal blue crayon”: Ibid.
226. “Challenger, this is Houston”: NASA, “STS-7 Air Ground Transcript.”
226. who’d been selected in a fresh batch of recruits: NASA JSC, “New Candidates: 3 From JSC Among New 19,” Roundup newsletter, June 13, 1980.
227. A reporter later lamented to Mary: Mary Cleave, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Rebecca Wright, March 5, 2002, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/CleaveML/CleaveML_3-5-02.htm.
227. slated to perform the first Shuttle landing in Florida: Rockwell International, “STS-7 Press Information,” press kit, June 1983.
227. A thick fog bank had rolled over: Carlos Byars, “Space Shuttle lands in Calif.,” Houston Chronicle, June 24, 1983.
227. only a small crowd of air force personnel: ABC Nightly News segment, June 24, 1983.
228. “The thing that I’ll remember most”: Ibid.
228. With a big smile: NBC Nightly News segment, June 25, 1983.
228. they all made their way to limousines: Sally Ride essay excerpt, Paul Hoversten, “Sally Ride, 1951-2012: Honoring America’s first woman in space,” Smithsonian Magazine, July 23, 2012, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/sally-ride-1951-2012-5976201/.
228. someone handed Sally a giant bouquet of white roses: NASA, “STS-7 Crew Homecoming Activities at JSC,” video provided to author via FOIA, recorded June 24, 1983.
228. A large crowd had gathered on the JSC campus: Barbara Strauch, “Ride gets the attention at astronaut welcoming,” Houston Chronicle, June 25, 1983.
228. she just wanted her hands free: Sally Ride essay excerpt, Hoversten, “Sally Ride, 1951-2012.”
229. a newspaper writer interpreted the act: Associated Press, “No White Rose For a Crew Lady,” The Washington Post, June 26, 1983; Strauch, “Ride gets the attention.”
229. “That one little action”: Sally Ride essay excerpt, Hoversten, “Sally Ride, 1951-2012.”
229. almost completely exposed to the adoring public: Sally Ride, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Rebecca Wright, October 22, 2002, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm.
229. news crews gathered outside her and Steve’s home: CBS Evening News segment, June 25, 1983.
229. But Sally and Steve had long planned to escape: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 6.
229. speeding through eight different states: Kathy Holub, “Now she shuttles between speeches,” Knight-Ridder News Service, The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 22, 1983.
229. where they received a key to the city: Interview with Rick Hauck, 2021.
229. They attended an opulent reception: Barbara Gamarekian, “500 at NASA Museum Honor the Challenger Crew,” The New York Times, July 20, 1983.
229–230. There was an intricate military ball: Holub, “Now she shuttles.”
230. Sally sat between Reagan and the prime minister of Bahrain: Elisabeth Bumiller, “Sally Ride and the Bahrain Shuttle,” The Washington Post, July 20, 1983.
230. the agency received more than a thousand media appearance requests: Judith Gaines, “In This Corner; Sally Ride’s Next Orbit,” The Boston Globe, June 30, 1983.
230. “We would minimize those appearances before the flight”: Interview with Bob Crippen, 2021.
230. Norm Thagard unfortunately served as a literal buffer: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
230. for a portrait created out of jellybeans: Gaines, “In This Corner.”
230. Sally started to feel more and more out of control of her life: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
230. One day, NASA received an invitation for Sally: Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2021.
231. “We are proud of our school”: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 6.
231. “I don’t think I can do this”: Interview with Carolyn Huntoon, 2021.
231. to go on a new Bob Hope special: Interview with Gerald Griffin, 2021.
231. hosting a special tribute to NASA: “Bob Hope’s Salute to NASA: 25 Years of Reaching for the Stars,” NBC TV special, September 19, 1983.
231. NASA was told that this wouldn’t be a regular comedy show: Interview with Gerald Griffin, 2021.
232. “Because he’s a sexist”: Ibid.
232. she just vanished: Ibid; Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
232. though he didn’t think it was particularly responsible: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
232. She’d taken refuge with Molly: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 6.
232. It was beginning to dawn on Sally: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
232. “Swarms of people surrounding her”: Ibid.
232. she turned to therapy: Ibid; Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
233. where she loved meeting with the science-curious children: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
233. she met Betty Friedan: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 6.
233. But perhaps the most intriguing person Sally met: Sally Ride recollections on travel to Budapest, personal audio recordings provided to author by Tam O’Shaughnessy, recorded 1983.
233. “Sally,” Svetlana acknowledged: Ibid. The remainder of the interaction with Svetlana is derived from Sally’s audio recording.
235. Sally sat down with Gloria Steinem: “Gloria Steinem in conversation with Sally Ride,” A Moment in Time: Conversations with Legendary Women, DVD video, 2006.
235. “That’s probably what our flight”: Ibid.
CHAPTER 12: Take Two
Page 236. “Would you have liked to have been”: NBC Nightly News segment, June 25, 1983.
236. “I’m not here to get my name in the books”: Carl Glassman, Dangerous Lives (New York: Scholastic Book Services, 1979), pg. 108.
237. “somewhat disappointed but not really disappointed”: Dina DeFabo, “Family Pride A- OK As Daughter Nears Space Flight,” Pittsburgh Press, July 24, 1983.
237. Judy knew the attention must’ve been hard for Sally: Howard Benedict, “2nd woman in space to have easier Ride,” The Atlanta Constitution, June 20, 1984.
237. Sally charged into Judy’s office: Sherr, “Remembering Judy,” pg. 57.
237. Judy confided in Sally’s husband, Steve, one day: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
237. Judy learned of her assignment in early February 1983: NASA JSC, “STS-11 and STS-12 Crews Named,” press release, February 4, 1983.
237. she found herself standing with three of her TFNG classmates: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 17; Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
237. “Well, you know, been thinking”: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
238. NASA thought it would be confusing: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
238. the agency came up with a wacky numbering scheme: Henry S. F. Cooper, Jr., Before Lift-off: The Making Of A Space Shuttle Crew (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987), pg. 23.
238. The “4” in STS-41-D: NASA JSC, “Shuttle Crews Selected,” press release, September 21, 1983.
238. there was a much more superstitious reason: Interview with Wayne Hale, 2021.
238. She’d worked with Steve and the Mikes before: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
238. who didn’t necessarily pride himself on being politically correct: Interview with Mike Mullane, 2021.
238. She didn’t take crap from anyone: Interviews with Mike Mullane, Steve Hawley, Rhea Seddon, John Fabian, 2021.
239. Judy and Steve went out to dinner that night to celebrate: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
239. “I think Sally did an outstanding job”: Benedict, “2nd woman in space.”
239. They weren’t 41-D, but the Zoo Crew: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
239. a trip that Mullane and Steve took: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021; Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 15.
240. To everyone she knew, Judy wasn’t actually Judy: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2021.
240. “Sure, Tarzan. But first I’ll have to tie a knot”: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 17.
240. Knowing that Mike Mullane hated sports: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
240. gave him an extra-special gift: a copy of Ms. magazine: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 17.
240. whose picture she liked to pin on the walls of her workplace: Sherr, “Remembering Judy,” pg. 57; Washington Post staff, Challengers, pg. 93.
240. someone asked the crew if they wanted a soda from the vending machine: Interview with Charlie Walker, 2021.
241. One time, she walked into the building that housed the robotic-arm mockup: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 13.
241. “Judy was a target because she took those jokes pretty well”: Interview with Mike Mullane, 2021.
241. Judy didn’t want to make a big deal of her gender: NBC Nightly News segment, July 10, 1978; Young, “Judy Resnik: Astronaut is eager for orbit but not the sex-role analysis.”
241. “I think I’m where I am because I just happened to make the right decisions”: Galloway, “A Private Astronaut.”
241. Judy said she didn’t credit anyone: Washington Post staff, Challengers, pg. 94.
241. One Jewish publication approached her to talk about her faith: Galloway, “A Private Astronaut.”
242. “Dad, I don’t want to be a Jewish astronaut”: Ibid.
242. having picked up frequent jogging like the rest of the astronauts: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 17.
242. Judy found herself being followed by an overeager engineer: Ibid.
243. “There’s no question now, she’s married to her career”: Rosemarie Wittman Lamb, “Tempo: Second woman in space puts her career first,” Chicago Tribune, June 25, 1984.
243. noting that Judy didn’t visit Ohio as much those days: DeFabo, “Family Pride A-OK.”
243. “Don’t fall in love with your payload”: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
243. Originally, the crew had trained to launch a massive communications satellite: NASA JSC, “STS-11 and STS-12 Crews Named,” press release, February 4, 1983.
243. engineers found a problem with the booster: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
243. given a pair of smaller communications satellites to launch instead: NASA JSC, “STS Flight Assignments,” November 17, 1983.
243. Judy would be responsible for unfurling a long rectangular solar array: NASA, “Space Shuttle Mission STS-41D Press Kit,” August 1984; Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
244. working backup to a new crewmate: Interview with Charlie Walker, 2021.
244. Charlie Walker was assigned to the crew about five months in: NASA JSC, “Payload Specialist Named,” June 29, 1983.
244. Judy and Mullane had flipped a coin for it: NASA, “STS-41D Prelaunch Press Conference,” video provided to author via FOIA.
244. She told them they weren’t allowed to say anything vague: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
245. But that didn’t stop her from attending the sims: Ibid.
245. When she’d sent out invitations for her wedding: Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik.”
245. the tension boiled over in a call with her brother: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 17.
245. everyone wound up getting an invitation: Interview with Michael Oldak, 2021; Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik.” Photograph provided by Mike Mullane of crew shows Judy with Len Nahmi.
245. In the weeks before the launch, Judy and Mullane traveled to Florida: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 17.
246. “Well, gang, we’re going to go now unless something really bad happens”: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
247. It had been an agonizing abort: NBC Nightly News segment, June 25, 1984.
247. But at T-minus 32 minutes, flight controllers informed the crew: NASA, “STS 41-D National Space Transportation Systems Program Mission Report,” September 1984.
247. and they never came out of the hold: Michael Hirsley, “Shuttle Crew Hopes Tuesday Will be ‘Discovery Day,’” Chicago Tribune, June 26, 1984; Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
247. “Discovery, we’re going to have to pull you out”: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 19.
247. The Shuttle computer had taken over: “STS-41D pad abort (6-26-84),” 3210andLiftoff, posted to YouTube on August 6, 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zVN9V5uBNc; Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
247. Judy turned to Charlie lying next to her: Interview with Charlie Walker, 2021.
248. “We have a go for main engine start”: “STS-41D pad abort (6-26-84),” 3210andLiftoff.
248. A deafening blast sounded: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021; Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 19.
248. that twang they’d all been expecting: Michael Coats, “A Balky Hydrogen Valve Halts Discovery Liftoff,” Wings in Orbit: Scientific and Engineering Legacies of the Space Shuttle, 1971-2010, ed. Wayne Hale, et al. (NASA, 2010), pg. 160.
248. the movement suddenly ceased: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021; Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 19.
248. “We have a cutoff, and we have an abort”: “STS-41D pad abort (6-26-84),” 3210andLiftoff.
248. save for the seagulls outside screaming at the loud disruption: Coats, “A Balky Hydrogen Valve Halts Discovery Liftoff.”
248. she snapped into focus: Interview with Charlie Walker, 2021.
249. Launch Control declared that there’d been an RSLS abort: “STS-41D pad abort (6-26-84),” 3210andLiftoff.
249. said silent prayers for the solids to stay off: Robert Lee Hotz, “NASA starts probe of Discovery,” The Atlanta Constitution, June 27, 1984.
249. Hank and Mike Coats going back and forth with Mission Control: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
249. “Break, break, break, break!” a controller yelled: “STS-41D pad abort (6-26-84),” 3210andLiftoff.
249. They urged Mike to shut down: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
249. saw two red engine lights illuminated: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 19.
249. They’d all learn later that there’d been a blockage: NASA, “STS 41-D National Space Transportation Systems Program Mission Report,” September 1984; Coats, “A Balky Hydrogen Valve Halts Discovery Liftoff.”
250. the tension in the cabin grew thick: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
250. mission controllers informed Hank that everything was safe: Interview with Charlie Walker, 2021.
250. “Gee, I thought we’d be a lot higher at MECO”: Ibid; Lynn Sherr, Outside the Box (New York: Rodale Books, 2006), pg. 196.
250. the anxious crew let out some much-needed laughter: Interview with Charlie Walker, 2021.
250. while Mike Mullane cursed out his friend: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 19.
250. Flight controllers said the word no one wanted to hear: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
250. Hank told everyone to unstrap and get ready to move: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 19.
251. she got out of her seat and made her way over to the hatch: Interview with Charlie Walker, 2021.
251. “Do you want me to open the hatch?”: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 19; Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
251. about forty minutes after the abort: ABC Nightly News segment, June 26, 1984.
251. an inch of water awaited them on the floor: Interview with Charlie Walker, 2021.
251. the six drenched crew members shivered: Interviews with Steve Hawley, Charlie Walker 2021; Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 19.
251–252. “This is not how I thought spaceflight would be”: Coats, “A Balky Hydrogen Valve Halts Discovery Liftoff.”
252. the astronauts learned what the rest of Cape Canaveral had experienced: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 19; Interview with Dave Leestma, 2021.
252. A reporter surreptitiously snapped a photo of Judy’s mother, Sarah: Associated Press, “Astronaut Judy Resnik’s mother, Sara Belfer, reacts to shuttle malfunction at Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday,” photograph, The Atlanta Constitution, June 27, 1984.
252. wasn’t your average blaze, but a hydrogen fire: Natalie Angie, Jerry Hannifin, David S. Jackson, “The Big Engine That Couldn’t: With four seconds left, a bad valve scrubs a shuttle debut,” Time, July 9, 1984; Interview with Steve Hawley 2021.
252. “I was disappointed”: Damond Benningield, “Crew Trains for ‘Armageddon:’ Astronauts Learn To Balance Risk With Chances For Gains,” Fort Worth-Star Telegram, January 29, 1986.
253. The Zoo Crew waited in limbo: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
253. They feared the absolute worst: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 20.
253. A couple weeks later, they got their answer: NASA JSC, “NASA Announces Updated Flight Crew Assignments,” press release, August 3, 1984.
253. They waited one more month while Discovery got a new engine: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
253. the entire crew groaned as they learned that someone in a private plane: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 20.
254. But the men couldn’t help but be vague: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
254. First, she checked on Charlie: Interview with Charlie Walker, 2021.
254. Mike Mullane came to find her down below: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 21.
255. open Discovery’s payload bay doors: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
255. It was a Coke can: Michael Coats, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, November 9, 2012, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/CoatsML/CoatsML_11-9-12.htm.
255. including a beer bottle and a roll of duct tape: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
255. with the deployment of their first satellite: ABC Nightly News segment, August 30, 1984.
255. The struggle occurred as the crew tried to capture: Interviews with Steve Hawley, Mike Mullane, 2021.
256. one reporter had asked her during their preflight press conference: “STS-41-D Crew Pre-Flight Press Conference,” NASA transcript, May 22, 1984.
257. With Judy’s red-hot gaze burrowing into him: Interviews with Steve Hawley, Mike Mullane, 2021.
257. “We were doing that process, and it jammed”: STS-41-D air-to-ground audio, Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/STS-41D.
257. Judy scribbled a message for her father: CBS Evening News segment, August 31, 1984.
257. They were mostly focused on Judy’s raven-black hair: Ibid; Associated Press, “Space gives Judy Resnik that far-out Brillo look,” The Indianapolis Star, September 2, 1984; UPI, “Resnik’s Hair Spaces Out,” Philadelphia Daily News, September 4, 1984.
257. looking like a “great cannon cleaner”: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 21.
257. when Mission Control decided to wake up the crew: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
258. the crew successfully deployed their third satellite: NBC Nightly News segment, September 1, 1984.
258. Once the 102-foot-long contraption was fully extended: Natalie Angie, Benjamin W. Cate, Jerry Hannifin, “‘We’ve Got a Good Bird There:’ Overcoming glitches, Discovery makes a spectacular debut,” Time, September 17, 1984, pg. 60.
258. “Roger, Dick,” she said, responding to Dick Richards: STS-41-D air-to-ground audio.
258. Judy had joked about making that call: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 21.
258. Steve noticed a weird reading on one of the computers: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
259. asked Hank to maneuver the robotic arm to the nozzle: Ibid; Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 21.
259. estimating it could weigh between 25 to 30 pounds: John Noble Wilford, “Ice Poses Puzzle, Big Shuttle Trip Is Held a Success: NASA Ponders Plans to Ease Free-Up Fearing Harm to Tiles on Re-entry,” The New York Times, September 4, 1984.
259. which thrilled Mullane: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
259. Sally came into Mission Control: Ibid.
259. Mission Control gave the crew an unpleasant command: Carlos Byars, “Only toilet defect mars shuttle flight,” Houston Chronicle, September 3, 1984.
260. “We knew we had about three days left”: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
260. “Well, if you guys aren’t going to use it, I’m not going to use it”: Ibid.
260. The result was, of course, a mess: Ibid; Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 21.
260. “Help, I’m being socked!”: Ibid.
260. Judy’s decision not to use the toilet was a wise one: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
260–261. She’d later receive plenty of mail about her legs: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 21.
261. “And one more quick question”: “STS-41D Postflight Press Conference,” NASA transcript, September 12, 1984.
261. They found a tiny bit of soot behind one of the primary O-rings: NASA, “Report to the President By The Presidential Commission On The Space Shuttle Challenger Accident,” (Washington, D.C.: NASA, 1986), Volume 2: Appendix H.
CHAPTER 13: A Walk into the Void
Page 263. Kathy sat in the back seat of NASA’s WB-57F: Associated Press, “Space record is set,” The Odessa American, July 4, 1979.
263. Each ensemble consisted of a bulky dark onesie: UPI Telephoto, “New Flying Record,” The Pittsburgh Press, July 5, 1979.
263. designed to apply pressure to the body: “Air Force Tech Report: High Altitude Pressure Suits,” AirForceTV, posted to YouTube on July 28, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6QDcdoiz5U.
263. reached their target height: 63,300 feet: AP, “Space record is set.”
263. their blood could start to boil if their bodies were left unprotected: William Tarver, Keith Volner, Jeffrey S. Cooper, “Aerospace Pressure Effects,” October 24, 2022, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29262037/.
264. Kathy took images with a specialized infrared camera: AP, “Space record is set.”
264. “That was very fun, other than this little bit of vague concern”: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
264. NASA officials had also sought her out: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3.
264. It was, in essence, a flexible rubber cuff: Richard L. Sauer, George K. Jorgensen, “Waste Management System,” SP-368 Biomedical Results of Apollo, https://history.nasa.gov/SP-368/s6ch2.htm.
264. Michael Collins claimed the astronauts gave them their own terms: Michael
Collins, Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009).
265. So, NASA engineers created: “Disposable Absorption Containment Trunk (DACT), Shuttle, Ride,” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum blog, https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/dact-disposable-absorption-containment-trunk-shuttle-s-ride/nasm_A20000679000.
265. they were strapped to their seats for hours: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3.
265. Kathy hoped to leverage her experience into a flight assignment: Ibid.
266. Kathy decided to turn on the TV in her California hotel room: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
266. She was preparing to do a dive at Scripps Research Institute that day: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3.
267. “Okay, so you should have been there”: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
267. Kathy sat at the large table in the astronaut conference room: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3.
268. She was glad that Sally had landed in California: Ibid; Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
268. “I was just instantly really happy for her”: Ibid.
268. If this is what you get for going first: Ibid.
268. She’d traded in the city of Houston: Ibid.
269. “At one level, of course, I was delighted”: Ibid.
269. He inquired how she was doing with spacewalk training: Cooper, Jr., Before Lift-off, pg. 25.
269. “The medics think there’s a problem with this”: Kathy Sullivan, “S’pose She Dies?” Kathy Sullivan Explores, podcast audio, February 3, 2022, https://www.kathysullivanexplores.com/podcast/spose-she-dies.
270. “I managed to keep my cool”: Ibid.
270. the mission was announced to the world: Associated Press, “1st woman chosen for walk in space,” The Atlanta Constitution, November 13, 1983.
270. would be led by Bob Crippen: NASA JSC, “STS Flight Assignments,” press release, November 17, 1983.
270. Bob was actually going to be juggling two missions: Cooper, Jr., Before Lift-off, pg. 22.
271. “I ended up telling George”: Interview with Bob Crippen, 2021.
271. They’d both been working on an experiment: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3; Interview with Dave Leestma, 2021.
271. most satellites run on a nasty type of fuel called hydrazine: Ibid.
271. makes it a great way to propel spacecraft: Iridium, “Hydrazine — Toxic for humans, but satellites love it,” June 20, 2017, https://www.iridium.com/blog/hydrazine-toxic-for-humans-but-satellites-love-it/.
272. they’d connect tanks together in the Shuttle’s cargo bay: NASA, “Space Shuttle Mission STS-41G Press Kit,” October 1984.
272. would mimic those of a satellite called Landsat 4: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3.
272. In a move that didn’t quite make sense to Kathy: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
272. “I’m a class senior to Dave”: Ibid.
272. STS-41-G would be carrying a special imaging radar: Cooper, Jr., Before Lift-off, pg. 24.
272. But Kathy told Bob that if anyone: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
272. Kathy and Dave were going to be spending a lot of time together: Interview with Dave Leestma, 2021.
273. “I look across at Kathy and she looks across and sees me”: Ibid.
273. “Dave, let me tell you how I feel about modesty at a moment like this”: Amy E. Foster, Integrating Women Into the Astronaut Corps: Politics and Logistics at NASA, 1972-2004 (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011), chap. 6, Kindle.
273. And the two began to slip off their clothing: Interview with Dave Leestma, 2021.
273. If anything, they over-rehearsed: Ibid.
273–274. he didn’t approve of Kathy and Dave using actual hydrazine: Interviews with Bob Crippen, Dave Leestma, 2021.
274. “[Kathy and I] were convinced that the thing to do was use hydrazine”: Interview with Dave Leestma, 2021.
275. Svetlana Savitskaya launched for a second time on board a Soyuz rocket: Associated Press, “Soviet woman walks, works in space,” The Boston Globe, July 27, 1984.
275. managers worried how Kathy would take the news: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 12, 2008, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_3-12-08.htm.
276. “It didn’t strike me as a really big thing”: Ibid.
276. Sally had assumed a leadership role for most of the year: Interview with Dave Leestma, 2021.
276. Sally was flying again: Michael Mecham, “Confident Sally Ride gets ready for another mission,” Gannett News Service, The Journal-News, September 16, 1984.
276. They even had a reporter from the New Yorker: Cooper, Jr., Before Lift-off.
277. She had a name tag made for herself: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 10, 2007, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm.
277. “I mean, there were not questions for Jon and I”: Interview with Dave Leestma, 2021.
277. would be in an “observer role”: “STS-41G overview briefing,” September 2, 1984. https://archive.org/stream/STS-41G/Sts-41gPcTranscript_djvu.txt.
277. Kathy and Sally found themselves alone together on the gantry: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3.
278. relieved that no glitches had gotten in the way: “Former NASA Astronaut, Kathy Sullivan | Full Address and Q&A | Oxford Union,” OxfordUnion, posted to YouTube on May 21, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWwK4i7K17s.
278. a man with a thick British accent replied: Kathy Sullivan, “Being Scolded by the Royal Air Force,” Kathy Sullivan Explores, podcast audio, June 10, 2021, https://www.kathysullivanexplores.com/podcast/being-scolded-by-the-royal-air-force.
278. STS-41-G seemed to be rife with issues: Interview with Dave Leestma, 2021; Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3.
278. The problems began with the lone Earth-observing satellite: UPI, “Challenger Blasts Off; Sally Ride Solves Satellite Launch Snag,” The Hartford Courant, October 6, 1984; Interview with Dave Leestma, 2021; Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3.
278. using the robotic arm to snatch the satellite out of the payload bay: “Space Shuttle Flight 13 (STS-41G) Post Flight Presentation,” National Space Society, posted to YouTube on May 21, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHlgEY8fXpI.
278. its solar panels hadn’t deployed properly: Interview with Dave Leestma, 2021.
279. “Let’s ask Crip if we can try it”: Ibid.
279. “Okay, but don’t break anything”: Ibid.
279. Kathy pressed several buttons and the radar unfolded outward like a blossoming flower: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3.
280. causing a lot of major headaches: Interview with Dave Leestma, 2021.
280. “We didn’t have enough tapes to record all the time”: Ibid.
280–281. possibly zapped by an errant highly charged particle: Carlos Byars, “Failure of satellite hurts test,” Houston Chronicle, October 9, 1984.
281. But the move unnerved Kathy: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3; Interview with Dave Leestma, 2021.
281. Kathy and Dave took the same amount of time to pre-breathe: Sullivan, “S’pose She Dies?”
281. “Although you’ve choreographed all of this”: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 12, 2008, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_3-12-08.htm.
282. “That is really great”: STS-41-G air-to-ground audio, Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/STS-41G.
282. Kathy gazed out at the magnificent, glowing Earth over her: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3.
282. It worked like a dream: Interview with Dave Leestma, 2021.
282–283. She needed to address the faulty antenna: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 3.
283. Kathy remained still, looking “down”: Ibid.
283. “As soon as I move my eyes off my hands”: Kathy Sullivan, “Vivid Memories of Viewing Earth,” Kathy Sullivan Explores, podcast audio, June 10, 2021, https://www.kathysullivanexplores.com/podcast/vivid-memories-of-viewing-earth.
284. Their recorded time outside was three hours and twenty-nine minutes: John Uri, “35 Years Ago: STS-41G – A Flight of Many Firsts,” NASA press release, October 3, 2019, https://www.nasa.gov/feature/35-years-ago-sts-41g-a-flight-of-many-firsts.
284. A reporter would ask her later: NASA, “STS-41G Crew Post Flight Press Conference” transcript, October 18, 1984.
284. “I could have been the 50,000th or 100,000th woman”: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 12, 2008, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_3-12-08.htm.
284. Kathy spent her spare moments simply watching the view: Sullivan, “Vivid Memories of Viewing Earth.”
CHAPTER 14: Anna to the Rescue
Page 285. she’d just stepped off her flight from Houston: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
285. he’d be equipped with a new toy: Bruce McCandless, “That’s me in the picture: Bruce McCandless, 47, in the world’s first untethered space flight, February 1984,” The Guardian, July 10, 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jul/10/bruce-mccandless-first-untethered-space-walk-challenger.
285. So The Today Show asked Anna to appear live on television: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
286. It was no fault of the astronauts on board: Richard Saltus, “NASA’s booster problem: With two satellites lost, some shuttle customers may defect to the Ariane,” The Boston Globe, March 19, 1984.
286. Anna assumed that NASA would hold off: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
287. She’d been assigned to her flight in July 1983: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
288. “Oh, definitely, just send me in, Coach”: Ibid.
288. including Dave Walker, Joe Allen, and Dale Gardner: NASA JSC, “Shuttle Crews Selected,” press release, September 21, 1983.
288. They’d be launching a satellite with an Inertial Upper Stage: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
288. Anna started prepping for her flight plan while waiting: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
289. I’m here and nothing’s going to change: Ibid.
289. “I didn’t want anyone to think that just because I’d had a baby”: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
289. Anna decided to take on another role: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
290. Any woman working in Mission Control: Interview with Marianne Dyson, 2021.
290. the STS-51-A team flew up to Washington: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
290. And it was possible they’d be doing something very new: Interview with Rick Hauck, 2021.
290–291. had to fork out $180 million to Indonesia and Western Union: Sharon Begley, “A Salvage Mission in Space,” Newsweek, November 26, 1984, pg. 79; Thomas O’Toole, “Space Shuttle Mission Winds Up in Triumph,” The Washington Post, November 17, 1984.
291. the insurers assumed control of the adrift cargo: Mike Leary, “Shuttle heads for 2d space pickup,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 14, 1984.
291. The two entities approached NASA: Peter Marsh, “Space salvage effort will attempt satellite recoveries,” The Globe and Mail, August 31, 1984.
291. also expressed interest in the plan: Frederick Hauck, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, November 20, 2003, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/HauckFH/HauckFH_11-20-03.htm.
291. that hadn’t really been done before: O’Toole, “Space Shuttle Mission Winds Up in Triumph.”
291. though the effort to grab Solar Max had been plagued with challenges: Wayne Hale, “Ground Up Rendezvous,” Wayne Hale’s Blog, May 28, 2012, https://waynehale.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/ground-up-rendezvous/.
291. It was built with a grappling pin: Natalie Angier, Jerry Hannifin, David S. Jackson, “Rounding Up the Runaways: For the first time ever, astronauts snare two errant satellites in space,” Time, November 26, 1984.
292. NASA pictured an astronaut strapping on the MMU: Interview with Rick Hauck, 2021.
292. They just hoped the rescue mission: Ibid.
292. the training for STS-51-A went into overdrive: Ibid.
292. Dale and Joe would be the two spacewalkers: NASA, “Space Shuttle Mission STS-51A Press Kit,” April 1985.
293. On the back of an envelope: Angier, Hannifin, Jackson, “Rounding Up the Runaways.”
293. “It’s like opening an umbrella”: Ibid.
293. That meant plenty of training days: Interview with Rick Hauck, 2021; Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
293. they’d joke about trading Anna for a pack of Camel cigarettes: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 17, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_2-17-09.htm.
294. she still became a focus of the mission: Associated Press, “Astronauts prepare for space salvage,” The Morning Call, November 12, 1984.
294. “WHEN MOM IS AN ASTRONAUT”: Ball, “When Mom Is An Astronaut.”
294. “I had made up my mind what I was going to do”: Anna Fisher, “Ask an Astronaut Session,” Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, January 22, 2022.
294. Anna received a letter from a “concerned” citizen: Ball, “When Mom Is An Astronaut.”
294. They had a tiny NASA flight suit made for Kristin: George Hackett, “Newsmakers,” Newsweek, October 29, 1984.
294. Anna brought Kristin in her miniature ensemble to NASA: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
295. At the end of September, NASA finally told the world: UPI, “Astronauts Will Seek to Recover 2 Stray Satellites,” The New York Times, September 22, 1984.
295. the salvage mission was officially a go: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
295. saw it as an easy way to fail very publicly: Ibid.
295. standard weeklong quarantine on October 31, 1984: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
295. One last thing Anna made sure to do before her flight: James Reston, Jr., “The Astronauts After Challenger,” The New York Times, January 25, 1987.
296. she still hoped to see her daughter one last time: Ibid; Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
297. Okay, that’s behind me: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
297. “Once I saw her, that was fine”: Ibid.
297. snapped a picture of them standing outside the van: Lisanne Renner, “Space Age role models: Mom, dad are astronauts,” The Orlando Sentinel, November 9, 1984.
297. Okay, now what’s going to happen tomorrow: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
298. she felt like it was actually going to happen: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
298. Anna was the second to last person to climb inside the Shuttle: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
298. “I cannot tell you what it was like”: Ibid.
298. As the flight engineer, Anna sat behind: Ibid.
298. Dale made a promise to the flight director: Angier, Hannifin, Jackson, “Rounding Up the Runaways.”
299. “Oh no, Mama,” she said: Renner, “Space Age role models.”
299. Anna could feel the blood almost instantly rush: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
299. those fluids shift upward: “Fluid Shift in Microgravity,” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Video, posted to YouTube on August 26, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTgLO0D9Gew.
299. noticing that the small wrinkles: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
299. She also felt sick almost immediately: Ibid.
299. the temptation to curl up into a ball: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
299. I feel terrible, she thought: Ibid.
299. the crew deployed their first satellite: NASA, “STS 51-A National Space Transportation Systems Program Mission Report,” December 1984.
300. “Anna is back with us”: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
300. she ate a hot dog: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
300. Anna and Rick got started just an hour and a half after they woke up: “Space Shuttle Flight 14 (STS-51A) Post Flight Presentation,” National Space Society, posted to YouTube on May 12, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSefxa9SslU.
300. a periscope-like navigational instrument: NASA, “Crewman Optical Alignment Sight,” https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/coas.htm.
300. It looked like nothing more than a tiny little star: “Space Shuttle Flight 14 (STS-51A) Post Flight Presentation,” National Space Society.
300. Rick had made the call that he was going to get pretty close: Angier, Hannifin, Jackson, “Rounding Up the Runaways.”
301. he looked a bit like a white knight: “Space Shuttle Flight 14 (STS-51A) Post Flight Presentation,” National Space Society.
301. Its revolutions had been purposefully slowed: Angier, Hannifin, Jackson, “Rounding Up the Runaways.”
301. grabbing hold of the 1,200-pound Palapa: “Space Shuttle Flight 14 (STS-51A) Post Flight Presentation,” National Space Society.
301. “It’s interesting to see the large arm coming up”: Ibid.
301. The spacewalkers had brought with them a special clamp: Angier, Hannifin, Jackson, “Rounding Up the Runaways.”
302. It was time to turn to Plan B: “Space Shuttle Flight 14 (STS-51A) Post Flight Presentation,” National Space Society.
302. Muscle cramps kicked in at one point: Angier, Hannifin, Jackson, “Rounding Up the Runaways.”
302. Dale pulled out a piece of paper with “For Sale” written in bright red letters: “Space Shuttle Flight 14 (STS-51A) Post Flight Presentation,” National Space Society.
303. The mission’s success prompted a call from President Reagan: STS-51-A air-to-ground audio, Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/Sts-51aHighlights.
303. “Oh, that I would, Mr. President”: Ibid.
303. “I very much enjoy being a mother”: Ibid.
303. that she’d exposed the foolishness of the question: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_3-3-11.htm.
303. Kristin was almost immediately in Anna’s arms: O’Toole, “Space Shuttle Mission Winds Up in Triumph.”
304. “As I approach my late middle age”: Pasquale Varallo, “Letters to the Editor,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 18, 1984.
304. Five months later, a New York-based nonprofit: Associated Press, “Eight Named Mothers of Year,” The Burlington Free Press, April 20, 1985.
304. Anna found it ironic: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
304. that her mother owed everything to her: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_5-3-11.htm.
CHAPTER 15: The Heist
Page 305. Sitting in a conference room at JSC: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 197.
306. George had beckoned Rhea to his office in August 1983: Ibid, pg. 187–188.
306. she worked in the emergency room of Sam Houston Memorial: Ibid, pg. 84.
307. Her commander was Karol “Bo” Bobko: NASA JSC, “Shuttle Crews Selected,” press release, September 21, 1983.
307. Rhea hadn’t been particularly close: Rhea Seddon, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview with Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 21, 2010, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SeddonMR/SeddonMR_5-21-10.htm; Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 190.
307. Their flight, STS-41-F: NASA JSC, “STS Flight Assignments,” press release, November 17, 1983.
307. all of Rhea’s “spare time” had been dedicated to Paul: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 188.
308. George approached her with a new proposition: Ibid, pg. 193.
308. a laboratory designed to fit inside the Shuttle’s payload bay: Jessica Eagan, “Spacelab Paved Critical Path to Space Station,” NASA press release, November 12, 2013, https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/spacelab/.
308. Judy’s revamped flight absorbed most of the payloads: NASA JSC, “NASA Announces Updated Flight Crew Assignments,” press release, August 3, 1984.
308. “I called my father and ranted”: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 198.
309. “She was pretty miserable”: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
309. would ferry another TDRS satellite: NASA JSC, “NASA Announces Updated Flight Crew Assignments,” press release, August 3, 1984.
309. “In the grand scheme of life perhaps these weren’t major losses”: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 199.
309. “Whoever remembers any of that?”: Rhea Seddon, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview with Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 21, 2010, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SeddonMR/SeddonMR_5-21-10.htm.
309. Bo gave the crew a two-week break: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 199.
309. Rhea reminded herself that she’d still be flying to space: Ibid.
310. so massive it took up all the room in the payload bay: Ibid.
310. a French payload specialist named Patrick Baudry: Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022.
310. when Bo got a call to go see George Abbey: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 201; Rhea Seddon, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview with Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 21, 2010, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SeddonMR/SeddonMR_5-21-10.htm.
310. Garn has been assigned to our flight: Ibid.
310. NASA’s acting administrator, had been testifying: Roberta A. Jones, “Garn Finally Making Voyage Into Space,” Los Angeles Times, April 11, 1985.
310. “When do I get to go on the space Shuttle?”: Ibid.
311. Jake claimed he was mostly joking at the time: Jeff Bingham, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview with Rebecca Wright, November 9, 2006, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/NASA_HQ/Administrators/BinghamJM/BinghamJM_11-9-06.htm.
311. formally invited Jake to fly on a Space Shuttle mission: UPI, “Sen. Garn to ride on shuttle,” The Pittsburgh Press, November 8, 1984.
311. silently hoped the senator wouldn’t land with their crew: Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022; Interview with Mike Mullane, 2021.
311. “This might be a good thing in the end”: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 201.
311. Engineers found a defect in the booster attached to the TDRS satellite: Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022; Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 204; Associated Press, “NASA Puts. Sen. Garn On New Flight,” Ithaca Journal, March 7, 1985.
311. “We felt like the most snake-bit crew”: Associated Press, “NASA Puts. Sen. Garn On New Flight,” Ithaca Journal, March 7, 1985.
312. Four payload specialist positions hung in the balance: Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022.
312. Rhea and the crew thought they’d get Greg: Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022; Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 204.
312. “In the end, we would have four different crew pictures”: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 205.
312. another interesting payload that had caught Rhea’s eye: Rhea Seddon, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview with Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 21, 2010, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SeddonMR/SeddonMR_5-21-10.htm.
312. possibly causing the heart to change shape: Michael Johnson, “Cardiovascular Health in Microgravity,” NASA press release, https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/station-science-101/cardiovascular-health-in-microgravity/.
312–313. it was the sequestration that was difficult for Rhea: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 209.
313. turning out to be a pretty boring mission: Ibid, pg. 205.
313. despite some worrying weather: Associated Press, “Discovery crew hard at work,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 13, 1985.
313–314. She didn’t feel an ounce of nausea: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 234.
314. The senator had asked to be given some sort of useful task: James Conaway, “Going, Going, Garn! Utah’s Senator: He’s Got the Guts For a Ride in Space,” The Washington Post, April 11, 1985.
314. which prompted cartoonist Garry Trudeau to draw: Chet Lunner, “A man called Jake gives 16th Space Shuttle mission a lift,” Florida Today, April 7, 1985.
314. Dave and Jeff deployed their first communications satellite: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 235.
315. they all watched the giant cylinder leisurely glide: “Space Shuttle Flight 16 (STS-51D) Post Flight Presentation,” National Space Society, posted to YouTube on May 12, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-67i-LMzMM.
315. the Syncom IV-3 satellite would extend its antenna: STS-51-D air-to-ground audio, Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/STS-51D.
315. “The upper antenna didn’t deploy”: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 244; Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022.
315. “Houston, this is Discovery,” she radioed: STS-51-D air-to-ground audio.
315. She knew her words were likely sending the flight controllers: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 244.
315. They asked Rhea to confirm: STS-51-D air-to-ground audio.
316. Rhea and the others were all immediately curious: Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022; Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 245.
316. NASA gave the crew one heck of a wake-up call: STS-51-D air-to-ground audio.
316. The manufacturers speculated that the switch had gotten stuck: UPI, “Shuttle satellite fails; rescue try considered,” Chicago Tribune, April 14, 1985.
317. NASA had thought about simply sending Jeff out: Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022.
317. No one had ever attempted anything like this: Lee Dye, “Unscheduled Spacewalkers Will Try to Rescue Satellite,” Los Angeles Times, April 15, 1985.
317. Both Jeff and Dave lit up at the thought of doing a spacewalk: Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022.
318. First on the to-do list was crafting the makeshift devices: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 249; Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022.
318. Using a bone saw from the emergency medical kit: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 250.
318. “We wanted to know if you wanted the thing”: STS-51-D air-to-ground audio.
319. “It’s very interesting”: Ibid.
319. The MacGyvered tools looked like makeshift plastic paddles: Kevin Wilcox, “This Month in History: Build a Fly Swatter,” NASA, APPEL Knowledge Services, April 14, 2022, https://appel.nasa.gov/2022/04/14/this-month-in-nasa-history-build-a-fly-swatter/.
319. “That’s fantastic,” the CAPCOM replied: STS-51-D air-to-ground audio.
319. the Shuttle crew became the “SWAT Team”: Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022.
320. they’d use a special strap that was stored on board: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 252.
320. just as the sun was setting behind the Earth: Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022.
320. Jeff had joked that he’d throw a beer party: Jeff Hoffman, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview with Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, September 24, 2009, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/HoffmanJA/HoffmanJA_4-2-09.htm.
320. the spacewalkers didn’t have any foot restraints or special tools: Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022.
321. “Well, I’m sure you know how tough that’s going to be”: STS-51-D air-to-ground audio.
321. they proceeded to crawl all around the payload bay: Interview with Jeff Hoffman, 2022.
321. “So there I was, out in a space suit”: Ibid.
321. they’d barely trained for such a scenario: Ibid.
322. Bigger and bigger it became: “Space Shuttle Flight 16 (STS-51D) Post Flight Presentation,” National Space Society, posted to YouTube on May 12, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-67i-LMzMM.
322. “Somehow this was the moment”: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 261.
322. Rhea had a window of only a few minutes to snag and flip the switch: Staff writers, “‘Swat team’ installs space-rescue tools,” Chicago Tribune, April 17, 1985.
322. situated in a bright orange square: “Space Shuttle Flight 16 (STS-51D) Post Flight Presentation,” National Space Society.
323. “We got, as we can count”: Ibid.
323. it wasn’t enough to revive the satellite: Lee Dye, “Shuttle Crew Strikes Out–$80- Million Satellite Lost: Lever Not Source of Problem,” Los Angeles Times, April 17, 1985.
323. Rhea and her crewmates were beaming with pride: Seddon, Go for Orbit, pg. 264.
324. Anna told Rhea that a couple of the astronauts: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
324. a comment over the radio that Rhea was “a good seamstress”: Rhea Seddon, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview with Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 9, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SeddonMR/SeddonMR_5-9-11.htm.
CHAPTER 16: The Prince and the Frog
Page 325. nor did she get caught up in the politics: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
325. “After hours, I couldn’t do much”: Ibid.
325. paid off one Saturday morning in late 1983: Ibid.
326. “She loved Oklahoma”: Interview with John Creighton, 2021.
326. Finally, she asked politely: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
326. They soon learned who’d be filling out the rest of the crew: NASA JSC, “STS Flight Assignments,” November 17, 1983.
326. Originally labeled STS-51-A: Ibid.
326. the flight had become STS-51-D: NASA JSC, “NASA Announces Updated Flight Crew Assignments,” August 3, 1984.
327. They’d also gain some payload specialists along the way: Interviews with Shannon Lucid, John Creighton, 2021.
327. Charlie Walker from McDonnell Douglas and Greg Jarvis: NASA JSC, “Note to Editors,” February 22, 1985.
327. she grew closer with Greg: Interview with John Creighton, 2021.
327. Once the press conference was over: Dan Brandenstein, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Carol Butler, January 19, 1999, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/BrandensteinDC/brandensteindc_1-19-99.htm.
327. When the TDRS satellite was taken off the manifest for Rhea’s mission: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 204.
327. Shannon was pretty upset at losing a friend: Interview with John Creighton, 2021.
328. Shannon’s crew finally settled on a new mission: NASA JSC, “Arabsat Payload Specialist Activities,” May 4, 1985.
328. Saudi Arabia conducted a hasty search to fill the seat: Noor Osama Nugali, “When a Saudi went to space,” Arab News, https://www.arabnews.com/SaudiInSpace.
328. NASA had long portrayed the Space Shuttle: Stewart McBride, “Dawn Of The ‘Peopled Space Age,’” Christian Science Monitor, April 28, 1981.
328. prompt NASA to start making preparations to fly another politician: Associated Press, “Florida Congressman To Make Shuttle Flight,” The New York Times, September 7, 1985.
328. NASA had expressed interest in flying all the chairs: Thomas O’Toole, “More Bigwigs May Follow Garn Aloft,” The Washington Post, December 18, 1984.
329. President Reagan had announced the beginning: Associated Press, “Reagan Says Teacher Will Be 1st Passenger In Space: NASA Will Decide Who and When,” Los Angeles Times, August 27, 1984.
329. “I’m directing NASA to begin a search in all of our elementary”: Ibid.
329. Preparations would soon be made for a follow-on program: Philip M. Boffey, “Shuttle To Orbit With Journalists: NASA Seeks Applicants Who Want to Fly in Space,” The New York Times, October 25, 1985.
329. trend was moving in the wrong direction: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 24.
329. a number of the astronauts believed NASA was making the mistake: Interviews with Steve Hawley, Hoot Gibson, Mike Mullane, 2021.
329. “Arabsat had three safety reviews”: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
329. NASA was in an undeclared race with Europe’s main launch provider: Louis Sahagun, “Space-Private Rocket Firms Bet 1980s Will Open a New Frontier,” Los Angeles Times, April 26, 1982.
330. “NASA didn’t make mistakes”: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
330. Dan scheduled a lesson: Interview with Dan Brandenstein, 2021.
330. “We wanted to make them feel welcome”: Ibid.
330. twenty-eight-year-old Sultan bin Salman Al Saud: Associated Press, “Saudi prince to be on June shuttle flight,” The Baltimore Sun, May 5, 1985.
330. Sultan maintained that he’d actually had to convince: Nugali, “When a Saudi went to space.”
330. Sultan turned out to be fairly familiar with America already: Interviews with Dan Brandenstein, John Creighton, 2021.
331. He studied mass communications at the University of Denver: Nugali, “When a Saudi went to space.”
331. chosen because he wanted to be close to skiing: Interview with John Creighton, 2021.
331. received his pilot’s license in 1977: Nugali, “When a Saudi went to space.”
331. “Lo and behold, the first time we met Sultan”: Interview with John Creighton, 2021.
331. he’d left his camel outside on the way in: John Fabian, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, February 10, 2006, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FabianJM/FabianJM_2-10-06.htm.
331. one of the crew members would make a joke: Dan Brandenstein, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Carol Butler, January 19, 1999, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/BrandensteinDC/brandensteindc_1-19-99.htm.
331. The Frog and The Prince Mission: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 24.
331. She wasn’t a big fan of Saudi Arabian culture: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
331. she kept her distance in the first few weeks: Interview with John Creighton, 2021.
332. stemmed from an experiment that the French had put on the itinerary: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
332. “Hey, see if Sultan can do it”: Ibid.
332. she was told not to wear shorts during the mission: Ibid.
333. the crew lay on their backs inside the space shuttle Discovery: Interview with John Creighton, 2021.
334. “I mean, it was such a relief”: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2021.
334. John Fabian pulled out a special item: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
334. “There was an incident on a previous flight”: Ibid.
334. Shannon and the other mission specialists deployed the three communication satellites: NASA, “STS 51-G National Space Transportation Systems Program Mission Report,” July 1985.
334. Shannon put her robotic-arm skills to work: “Space Shuttle Flight 18 (STS-51G) Post Flight Presentation,” National Space Society, posted to YouTube on May 12, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS45EdIfcFk.
335. Designed to study X-rays and the supermassive black hole: NASA, “Spartan-A,” https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1985-048E.
335. “You never have to worry about whether or not”: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
335. interested in Sultan: UPI, “Space shuttle off to a princely start,” Chicago Tribune, June 18, 1985.
335. he spent a large chunk of his free time reading the Quran and praying: Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Seven Days in Space: Story of the First Arab Astronaut, online ebook, https://7days-space.com/en/home/.
335–336. pray three times a day instead based on Florida time: Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, “Praying Toward Mecca…In Outer Space,” interview by Michel Martin, NPR, podcast audio, July 12, 2011, https://www.npr.org/2011/07/12/137790385/praying-toward-mecca-in-outer-space.
336. NASA scheduled the crew for a televised press conference: Associated Press, “Space Shuttle Ready for Landing,” The Burlington Free Press, June 24, 1985.
336. NASA worried about Shannon’s bare legs: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 24.
336. “I wanted to call Shannon and tell her”: Ibid.
336. “Looking at it from here”: AP, “Space Shuttle Ready for Landing.”
336. she felt as if she’d doubled her weight: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
337. “I thought, ‘Oh my goodness’”: Ibid.
337. “Mom,” he cried, “what are you going to cook”: Shannon Lucid, Anna Fisher, and Rhea Seddon, “Space Center Houston Thought Leader Series,” interview by John Charles, June 28, 2018, https://spacecenter.org/video-thought-leader-series-pioneers-of-space-exploration/.
337. the crew traveled to France: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
337. The planned schedules had all the men: Ibid.
337. the country had deemed her an “honorary man”: UPI, “Queen Becomes Man For A Day,” The Atlanta Constitution, February 12, 1979.
338. “Absolutely not,” Shannon said: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
338. when a New Zealand rugby team: Michael Brown, “Rugby: Once was hatred,” The New Zealand Herald, April 17, 2010, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby-once-was-hatred/CJ4QHAMSY3CUXRDZEB4PPU2OAM/?c_id=327&objectid=10639172.
338. “Look,” she replied to the idea: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
338. Mike Mullane found Shannon in her office: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 7.
338. NASA agreed that Shannon didn’t have to go to Saudi Arabia: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
338. “Where’s Shannon?” he asked: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
339. the crew learned secondhand: Interviews with Dan Brandenstein, John Fabian, 2021.
339. The next morning Shannon was sitting at her desk: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020. The rest of Shannon’s story about her trip to Saudi Arabia comes from the author’s interview with her.
CHAPTER 17: Turning Point
Page 343. Sally, Judy, Anna, Rhea, and Kathy: NASA JSC, “51-D, 6-D Crew Announcements,” press release, February 2, 1984; NASA JSC, “NASA Names Crews To Deploy Satellites In Year- End Flights,” press release, January 29, 1985; NASA JSC, “NASA Names Astronaut Crew For Space Shuttle Mission 61-I, press release, June 17, 1985; NASA JSC, “NASA Names Crews For Upcoming Space Shuttle Flights,” press release, September 19, 1985.
343. Everyone could feel the electricity in the air: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
343. NASA was targeting up to twelve flights in the year ahead: NASA, “Report to the President By The Presidential Commission On The Space Shuttle Challenger Accident,” (Washington, D.C.: NASA, 1986).
343. putting eleven women in the mix: NASA JSC, “NASA Selects 17 Astronaut Candidates,” press release, May 23, 1984.
344. when she gave a speech in Atlanta at the American Bar Association: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
344. “It’s been too long,” Sally told Tam: Ibid.
345. “We just had fun talking about our dreams for the future”: Ibid.
345. “It wasn’t uncommon at all for her”: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
345. Sally was assigned to her third flight: NASA JSC, “NASA Names Astronaut Crew For Space Shuttle Mission 61-I,” press release, June 17, 1985.
345. Sally escaped training in Houston to see Tam: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
345. “Friends just don’t do that,” Tam said: Ibid.
346. She picked up the phone and dialed her old high school boyfriend: Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik.”
346. Judy maintained good relationships with her exes: Interview with Michael Oldak, 2021.
346. she’d also brought a gold watch that Len had given her: Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik.”
346. “I’ll bring you your lighter,” she said: Ibid.
346. She’d started seeing a fellow astronaut named Frank Culbertson: Interviews with June Scobee Rodgers, Michael Cassutt, Hoot Gibson, 2021.
346 rumors circulating that she’d gone out with a married astronaut: Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik”; Interview with Frank Hughes, 2021.
347. she found herself without anyone to kiss at midnight: Interview with June Scobee Rodgers, 2021.
347. people agreed that it seemed like Frank was more serious: Ibid.
347. She’d been assigned to her second mission, STS-51-L: “NASA Names Crews To Deploy Satellites In Year-End Flights,” press release, January 29, 1985.
347. but Congressman Bill Nelson, from Florida, would take his spot yet again: Interviews with Steve Hawley, Hoot Gibson, 2021.
347. Out of more than eleven thousand applicants, NASA picked a social studies: John Noble Wilford, “Teacher Is Picked for Shuttle Trip: New Hampshire Woman Says She Will Keep a Journal to Demystify Outer Space,” The New York Times, July 20, 1985.
347–348. Christa was going to perform school lessons: James Fisher, “Down to Earth Teacher Prepares For Big Test In Space,” Orlando Sentinel, December 26, 1985.
348. appearing on all the morning shows: UPI, “Shuttle-Bound Teacher Prepares for TV Circuit,” Sun Sentinel, July 22, 1985.
348. even The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson: The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, NBC, July 31, 1985.
348. Some reporters even asked for her autograph: Kevin Cook, The Burning Blue: The Untold Story of Christa McAuliffe and NASA’s Challenger Disaster (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2021), chap. 4, Kindle.
348. had expressed concerns about flying non-scientists: Washington Post staff, Challengers, pg. 95.
348. she knew she wanted to dedicate her life to space: Galloway, “A Private Astronaut.”
348. She’d found her true passion working for the space program: Wittman Lamb, “Tempo: Second woman in space puts her career first.”
348. told her friends that she was going to live on Mars someday: Interview with Fani Brown Brandenburg, 2021.
349. took the newbie astronaut under her wing: Cook, The Burning Blue, chap. 4.
349. she’d craved on her first mission: Interviews with Steve Hawley, Mike Mullane, 2021.
349. Sally continued to escape Houston every few weeks: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
349. “It was kind of hard for a while”: Ibid.
349. but she knew that flight would likely be her last: Sally Ride, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Rebecca Wright, October 22, 2002, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm.
350. Steve was mostly oblivious to the nature of Sally’s visits: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
350. “It was tough,” he recalled: Ibid.
350. John Fabian, came to Sally at work with a request: Interview with John Fabian, 2021.
351. her mission was supposed to go up in November of 1985: NASA JSC, “NASA Names Crews To Deploy Satellites In Year-End Flights,” press release, January 29, 1985.
351. got pushed back to January 22, 1986: NASA, “Report to the President By The Presidential Commission On The Space Shuttle Challenger Accident,” (Washington, D.C.: NASA, 1986).
351. NASA pushed the date back to January 23: Ibid.
351. But a weather check that night showed bad conditions: Ibid.
351. Everyone thought it was an odd choice: Daniel Junge and Steven Leckart, dirs., Challenger: The Final Flight, episode 3, Bad Robot, 2020, https://www.netflix.com/title/81012137.
351. the crew climbed into the space shuttle Columbia a total of four times: Interviews with Steve Hawley, Hoot Gibson, 2021.
351. once in December and three times in January: William J. Broad, “Shuttle in Space After 7 Delays; Astronauts Launch RCA Satellite,” The New York Times, January 13, 1986.
351. wearing a Groucho Marx disguise: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
352. “I am hoping that the affliction that Steve Hawley had”: “STS 51L Crew Group Photo and Group Presser on Runway,” NASA video provided to author by Stephen Slater.
352. Then the strangest problem arose: William J. Broad, “24-Hour Delay Called for Shuttle Flight As Wind and Balky Bolt Bar Launching,” The New York Times, January 28, 1986.
352. Strong winds had picked up near the pad: NASA, “Report to the President By The Presidential Commission On The Space Shuttle Challenger Accident,” (Washington, D.C.: NASA, 1986).
352. Judy and the rest of her crew didn’t really believe they were going to launch: Challenger: The Final Flight, episode 3.
353. Ron McNair’s brother and his pregnant wife ultimately decided to drive back: Margaret Lazarus Dean, “The Oral History of the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster,” Popular Mechanics, February 1, 2016, https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a18616/an-oral-history-of-the-space-shuttle-challenger-disaster/.
353. Judy’s father and brother were still in Florida: Jim Quinn, “The little things remembered: After watching for several seconds, a father realized ‘there was nothing left,’” Akron Beacon Journal, January 30, 1986.
353. dropping to just twenty-four degrees Fahrenheit: NASA, “Report to the President By The Presidential Commission On The Space Shuttle Challenger Accident,” (Washington, D.C.: NASA, 1986).
353. Drops of water trickled down the Shuttle and its launchpad: Challenger: The Final Flight, episode 3.
353. Judy and the rest of the crew woke up at 6 a.m.: Jay Hamburg, “Jan. 28, 1986 Etched Forever: An Account of the Final Hours of Space Shuttle Challenger,” Orlando Sentinel, January 28, 1987.
354. Judy opted to eat two steaks: Malcolm McConnell, Challenger A Major Malfunction: A True Story Of Politics, Greed, And The Wrong Stuff (Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1987), pg. 216.
354. The crew huddled in a teleconference room for their final weather briefing: Hamburg, “Jan. 28, 1986 Etched Forever.”
354. Crews had been out on the pad throughout the night: McConnell, Challenger A Major Malfunction, pg. 219.
354. Judy emerged from the gray doors of the building: “STS 51L Pre-Launch Activities Through Launch Failure,” NASA video provided to author by Stephen Slater.
354. they were launching from NASA’s second main launch site: NASA, “Space Shuttle Mission STS-51L Press Kit,” January 1986.
354. though the crew had to walk carefully: McConnell, Challenger A Major Malfunction, pg. 222.
355. “This is a beautiful day to fly,” he said: Ibid.
355. “Kind of cold this morning”: Hamburg, “Jan. 28, 1986 Etched Forever.” The remainder of the chapter is derived from this article.
CHAPTER 18: Closing a Chapter
Page 358. Kathy found herself yawning in the Dallas airport: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 6; Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 12, 2008, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_3-12-08.htm.
358. NASA had the idea that astronauts could visit Hubble periodically: John Uri, “30 Years Ago: Hubble Launched to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe,” NASA, Roundup, https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/pages.ashx/1414/30%20Years%20Ago%20Hubble%20Launched%20to%20Unlock%20the%20Secrets%20of%20the%20Universe.
359. they spent long exhaustive shifts with Hubble in its enormous white clean room: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 5 –6; Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 12, 2008, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_3-12-08.htm.
359. “Hi,” Kathy started, “I’m checking in”: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 12, 2008, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_3-12-08.htm.
359. Rhea milled about with the crewmates for her next mission: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 299.
360. “See, there’s booster separation,” Rhea said: Ibid, pg. 304.
360. Shannon sat in JSC’s mission control, listening to a training lecture: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2021; Sherr, “Remembering Judy,” pg. 58.
361. Anna was positioned next to her crewmate Jim Buchli: Anna Fisher, “Ask an Astronaut Session,” Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, January 22, 2022; Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_5-3-11.htm.
361. Their flight, STS-61-H, was slated to fly in just six weeks: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation. In a New York Times interview, Anna said her flight was three weeks away at the time.
361. “Is the launch still on?” she asked: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_5-3-11.htm.
361. They’d all gotten their assignments at the same time: NASA JSC, “NASA Names Crews To Deploy Satellites In Year-End Flights,” press release, January 29, 1985.
361. gone out to celebrate together: James Reston, Jr., “The Astronauts After Challenger,” The New York Times, January 25, 1987.
361. She’d listened to all the weather reports from the night before: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
362. Sally sat tucked inside her passenger seat in coach class: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021; Sally Ride, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Rebecca Wright, October 22, 2002, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm.
362. The day before had been Tam’s birthday: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
363. Sally suddenly realized that Judy and all her friends were gone: Sherr, “Remembering Judy,” pg. 57.
363. Kathy went to NASA straight from the airport: Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 6.
363. If you say a single word that makes them realize: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 12, 2008, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_3-12-08.htm.
363. “When I visualize what’s going on in the cockpit during that accident”: “Intimate Portrait: Sally Ride,” Lifetime Tonight.
364. They all just wanted to be there, to help if needed: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2022.
364. Rhea rushed back to the JSC campus: Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 304.
364. he’d seen her pulling up and came down to meet her: Interview with Hoot Gibson, 2021.
364. Could this be the end of the Space Shuttle program?: Interviews with multiple TFNG astronauts, 2020–2022.
364. That night, in the cover of darkness, Anna drove out to Ellington Field: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_5-3-11.htm.
365. the Challenger launch had begun with a swift feeling of relief: Jim Quinn, “The little things remembered: After watching for several seconds, a father realized ‘there was nothing left,’” Akron Beacon Journal, January 30, 1986.
366. Marvin knew Judy was dead: Ibid.
367. President Ronald Reagan stood at a wooden podium in front of thousands: Bernard Weintraub, “Reagan Pays Tribute to ‘Our 7 Challenger Heroes,’” The New York Times, February 1, 1986.
367. Some astronauts like Bob Crippen and Guy Gardner: John Blaha, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, December 3, 2004, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/BlahaJE/BlahaJE_12-3-04.htm.
367. they’d stayed in Akron to attend a personal memorial service for Judy: Associated Press, “Judy Resnik called to ‘touch the sky,’” The Courier-News, February 1, 1986.
367. “Our Jewish tradition tells us that those who pioneer”: Ibid.
367. She hadn’t been in Cape Canaveral for the flight: Spencer, Spolar, “The Epic Flight of Judith Resnik”; Terry Oblander, “2nd U.S. woman in space loved job,” The Akron Beacon Journal, January 28, 1986.
367–368. It wasn’t long before reporters started showing up: Associated Press, “Astronaut Resnik’s Death Stuns Friends, Relatives,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, January 28, 1986.
368. Both Sally and Kathy sat listening to the eulogies: M. R. Kropko, “She Heard A Call to Fly,” Tampa Bay Times, February 1, 1986.
368. Sally was back home in Houston when her phone rang: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 7; Sally K. Ride Papers, “Two small notebooks containing Ride’s notes from the Rogers Commission,” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Archives.
368. appointed to a presidential commission, helmed by William Rogers: NASA, “Report to the President By The Presidential Commission On The Space Shuttle Challenger Accident,” (Washington, D.C.: NASA, 1986).
369. “I need to do this”: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 7.
369. Sally found herself sitting at a conference table with the other members: NASA, “President Commission On Space Shuttle Challenger Accident — Executive Session — Monday, February 10, 1986,” transcript, Washington, D.C.
369. The excuse was that he’d been off “breaking another record”: Ibid; Sally K. Ride Papers, “Two small notebooks containing Ride’s notes from the Rogers Commission.”
369. These meetings were fact-gathering sessions: Lazarus Dean, “The Oral History of the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster.”
369. Chuck didn’t ask a single question: NASA, “President Commission On Space Shuttle Challenger Accident — Executive Session — Monday, February 10, 1986.”
369. To Sally, he seemed bored: Sally K. Ride Papers, “Two small notebooks containing Ride’s notes from the Rogers Commission.”
370. The culprit had been the Shuttle’s right solid rocket booster: “Report to the President By The Presidential Commission On The Space Shuttle Challenger Accident,” (Washington, D.C.: NASA, 1986).
370. An even more ominous clue pointing: Ike Flores, “Tape Shows Smoke Puff During Liftoff,” Associated Press, The Boston Globe, February 14, 1986.
371. the paper reported that power and pressure in the right solid rocket booster: Richard Witkin, “Data Said To Show Quick Power Drop Just Before Blast: Sign Of Rocket Rupture: Fire Burning Through Booster Called Most Likely Cause of Challenger Disaster,” The New York Times, February 1, 1986.
371. the paper published a blockbuster story claiming: David E. Sanger, “Cold and Vibration in Rocket Studied: Questions About Solid-Fuel Booster Focus on Temperature and Changes In Pressure,” The New York Times, February 5, 1986.
371. Later, Sally and her fellow commissioners asked: “President Commission On Space Shuttle Challenger Accident — Friday, February 7, 1986,” transcript, Washington, D.C., National Academy of Sciences Auditorium.
371. The New York Times was back with another scoop: Philip M. Boffey, “NASA Had Warning of a Disaster Risk Posed By Booster: Engineers Feared Leaks: Internal Reports Cited Erosion of Rocket Seals — Agency Declines to Comment,” The New York Times, February 9, 1986.
371. the Rogers Commission decided to hold a closed-door meeting: Challenger: The Final Flight, episode 4.
371. the discussions were becoming exceptionally dull: NASA, “President Commission On Space Shuttle Challenger Accident — Executive Session — Monday, February 10, 1986,” transcript, Washington, D.C.
371–372. Sally decided to return a few calls: Allan J. McDonald and James R. Hansen, Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2009), chap. 12, Kindle; Challenger: The Final Flight, episode 4; “Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster: Ethics Case Study No. 1,” American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), video posted to YouTube on November 18, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbtY_Wl-hYI.
372. “Is there any internal correspondence on potential concern”: NASA, “President Commission On Space Shuttle Challenger Accident — Executive Session — Monday, February 10, 1986,” transcript, Washington, D.C.
372. “We all concluded that there was no problem”: Ibid.
372. a man sitting in one of the chairs against the back wall: “Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster: Ethics Case Study No. 1,” American Society of Civil Engineers; McDonald and Hansen, Truth, Lies, and O-Rings, chap. 12.
373. “Mr. Chairman, Al McDonald from Morton Thiokol”: NASA, “President Commission On Space Shuttle Challenger Accident — Executive Session — Monday, February 10, 1986,” transcript, Washington, D.C.
373. with a shaking voice: Lazarus Dean, “The Oral History of the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster”; Challenger: The Final Flight, episode 4.
373. Then he dropped a bomb: NASA, “President Commission On Space Shuttle Challenger Accident — Executive Session — Monday, February 10, 1986,” transcript, Washington, D.C.
373. “Could you stand up again and say that a little louder”: Ibid.
373. the mood in the room fundamentally shifted: Lazarus Dean, “The Oral History of the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster.”
374. Sally stared at an important piece of paper she held in her hands: Ibid; Challenger: The Final Flight, episode 4; Interviews with Tam O’Shaughnessy, Steve Hawley, 2021.
374. Steve always suspected it was one of NASA’s various contractors: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
374. “Sally had this reputation at NASA and other places”: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
374–375. she even jotted down her observations in her notebook: Sally K. Ride Papers, “Two small notebooks containing Ride’s notes from the Rogers Commission.”
375. Sally found herself walking down a hallway in the basement of the State Department: Challenger: The Final Flight, episode 4.
375. She handed it to Don without uttering a word: Ibid; Lazarus Dean, “The Oral History of the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster.”
375. The general decided to invite him for dinner: Ibid. Don Kutyna remembers inviting Richard Feynman over for dinner. But in his book, Feynman says Kutyna helped him make the connection through a phone call.
376. the Rogers Commission held another open meeting in Washington, D.C.: “Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident,” C-SPAN video, February 11, 1986, https://www.c-span.org/video/?125993-1/presidential-commission-space-shuttle-challenger-accident.
376. he’d gone to a hardware store and bought a C-clamp: Richard Feynman, as told to Ralph Leighton, What Do You Care What People Think? Further Adventures of a Curious Character (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1988), chap. “The Cold Facts,” Kindle.
376. Taking a seat among two staggered rows: “Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident,” C-SPAN video.
376. he then specifically requested a cup of ice water: Feynman, Leighton, What Do You Care What People Think?, chap. “The Cold Facts”
376. “I took this stuff that I got out of your seal”: “Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident,” C-SPAN video.
377. Anna and her crew went through the familiar motions: Anna Fisher, “Ask an Astronaut Session,” Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, January 22, 2022.
377. At that point Anna, Shannon, and the other astronauts were assigned tedious work: Ibid; Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2021; Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_5-3-11.htm.
377. “It was a lot of long, long hours, sitting, going line by line”: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2020.
377. she didn’t take on an official role in the accident investigation: Kathy Sullivan, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, March 12, 2008, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_3-12-08.htm.
378. Kathy often found herself sitting at the kitchen table in June’s house: Ibid; Sullivan, Handprints on Hubble, chap. 6.
378. But more and more folks analyzed the footage in the weeks: Lawrence C. Levy, “Cockpit Survived 1st Blast: Did the Crew Try To Abort?” Newsday, February 2, 1986.
379. one of the most expansive underwater search efforts in history began: Dennis E. Powell, “Obviously, A Major Malfunction: First came the bang. Then… silence. A story about catastrophe and cover-up,” The Miami Herald, November 13, 1988.
379. Nearly six weeks elapsed at a cost to NASA of up to $1 million a week: Charles Fishman, “The Epic Search for the Challenger: A Weeks-Long Probe For Secrets From The Ocean Bottom,” The Washington Post, May 28, 1986.
379. “It looked as though the cabin had been blown up”: Powell, “Obviously, A Major Malfunction.”
379. Divers recovered strands of her famous hair: Mullane, Riding Rockets, chap. 26.
379. NASA hoped to keep its crew recovery efforts a secret: Powell, “Obviously, A Major Malfunction.”
380. draped the containers carrying the crew in American flags: Jim Leusner and Dan Tracy, “Ship Docks With Astronauts’ Remains: Flag Covers Object On Deck of Vessel,” Orlando Sentinel, March 12, 1986.
380. All the debris and human remains that NASA recovered: Powell, “Obviously, A Major Malfunction”; Seddon, Go For Orbit, pg. 322.
380. Rhea was asked to retrieve Mike Smith’s flight suit: Ibid, pg. 324–325.
380. In the summer of 1986, NASA concluded its investigation: Letter from Joseph P. Kerwin to Richard Truly, July 28, 1986, https://history.nasa.gov/kerwin.html.
381. the cabin lost pressure, causing the inhabitants to pass out: Interview with Wayne Hale, Hoot Gibson, 2021.
381 slamming into the ocean’s surface at roughly two hundred miles per hour: Powell, “Obviously, A Major Malfunction.”
381. the most interesting one found was that of pilot Mike Smith: Kathy Sawyer, “‘Uh Oh:’ Tape Shows Shuttle Crew Replied Disaster,” The Washington Post, July 29, 1986.
381. he’d been trained to do so given his position in the cabin: Cook, The Burning Blue, chap. 13.
382. the Rogers Commission was debating which color: Sally K. Ride Papers, “Two small notebooks containing Ride’s notes from the Rogers Commission.”
382. It was the contents of the massive 450-page document: NASA, “Report to the President By The Presidential Commission On The Space Shuttle Challenger Accident,” (Washington, D.C.: NASA, 1986).
383. she went ahead and made the decision for them: Interview with Steve Hawley, 2021.
383. She knew it was a bad time to leave: Sally Ride, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Rebecca Wright, October 22, 2002, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm.
383. she made an offer to the NASA administrator: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 8.
383. Sally formed a planning group: John Noble Wilford, “Exploration of Mars is Advised as Goal for NASA,” The New York Times, March 18, 1987.
383. In 1987, they turned in their report: Dr. Sally K. Ride, “NASA Leadership and America’s Future in Space,” a report to the administrator, August 1987, https://history.nasa.gov/riderep/main.PDF.
384. that NASA considered burying at first: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 8.
384. Anna Fisher sat at a conference table: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 3, 2011, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_5-3-11.htm.
Epilogue
Page 387. was in the midst of pilot training: Interview with Eileen Collins.
387. “Just the fact that they were on the same base”: Ibid.
388. NASA completely reevaluated its safety procedures: Interview with Wayne Hale, 2020.
389. wound up turning to a significant figure: Interview with Michael Oldak, 2021.
389. “I said if they wanted”: Ibid.
390. the uncertainty surrounding all the crew assignments: Anna Fisher, “NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project,” interview by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, May 20, 2010, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/FisherAL/FisherAL_5-3-11.htm.
390. “Coming back after seven years”: Anna Fisher, MILE spring 2021 presentation.
390. At one point Anna thought she might even fly again: Anna Fisher keynote speech, “2019 UCLA College Commencement Ceremony,” UCLA, video streamed to YouTube on June 14, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRNENs9CGyI.
390. “I was disappointed to not fly again”: Ibid.
390. would go on to fly twice more: NASA Biographical Data, Margaret Rhea Seddon, https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/seddon_margaret.pdf.
391. who’d wind up flying a total of five Shuttle missions: NASA Biographical Data, Robert L. Gibson, https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/gibson_robert.pdf.
391. the mission that deployed the ground-breaking Hubble Space Telescope: NASA Biographical Data, Kathryn D. Sullivan, https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/sullivan_kathryn.pdf.
391. she was commissioned to the U.S. Naval Reserve: Mark Kahn, “Kathryn D. Sullivan: From Outer Space to Under the Sea,” September 17, 2022, https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/kathryn-sullivan-outer-space-under-sea.
391. including a voyage in 2020 to Challenger Deep: Ibid.
392. she held the record for the longest time spent in space: APPEL News Staff, “This Month in NASA History: Shannon Lucid Set Spaceflight Records,” September 6, 2017, https://appel.nasa.gov/2017/09/06/this-month-in-nasa-history-shannon-lucid-set-spaceflight-records/.
392. her daughters had given her a science fiction novel to read: Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, “Out of This World,” https://omrf.org/findings/out-of-this-world/.
392. her daughter Kawai “made sure that the second edition: Interview with Shannon Lucid, 2021.
392. she returned to the world of academia: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 9.
393. “I would say that most of her friends were shocked”: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
393. Sally organized outreach for two major projects: Melanie Carlson, “GRAIL Puts MoonKAM in Students’ Control,” NASA press release, October 3, 2011, https://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/centers/kennedy/home/grail_moonkam.html.
393. helping with the investigation that followed the Columbia disaster: NASA, “Columbia Accident Investigation Board,” August 2003, https://sma.nasa.gov/SignificantIncidents/assets/columbia-accident-investigation-board-report-volume-1.pdf.
393. asked twice to be NASA’s administrator: Sherr, Sally Ride, chap. 9 and 11.
393. Sally was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer: Ibid, chap. 13.
393. Tam posted an obituary to the Sally Ride Science website: Denise Grady, “Sally Ride, Trailblazing Astronaut, Dies at 61,” The New York Times, July 23, 2012.
394. “I have heard from people”: Interview with Tam O’Shaughnessy, 2021.
394. Every single astronaut class: Jason Treat, Jay Bennett, and Christopher Turner, “How ‘The Right Stuff’ Has Changed,” National Geographic, November 6, 2020, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/graphics/charting-how-nasa-astronaut-demographics-have-changed-over-time.
394. “They didn’t have any women [astronaut] role models”: Interview with Eileen Collins, 2021.
394. less than one-sixth have been women: Supercluster, “Astronaut Database,” https://www.supercluster.com/astronauts.
395. Only five Black women have gone to orbit: Ibid.
395. NASA announced plans for two women to perform: Jacey Fortin and Karen Zraick, “First All-Female Spacewalk Canceled Because NASA Doesn’t Have Two Suits That Fit,” The New York Times, March 25, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/science/female-spacewalk-canceled.html.
395. The rescheduling caused an uproar: Chris Mills Rodrigo, “NASA responds to criticism over canceling all-female spacewalk,” The Hill, March 26, 2019, https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/435845-nasa-responds-to-criticism-over-cancelling-all-female-spacewalk/.
395. “I think that when people try to understand”: Loren Grush, “Why spacesuit design choices — not women’s physiques — delayed the first all-female spacewalk,” The Verge, October 21, 2019, https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/21/20920790/nasa-first-all-female-spacewalk-christina-koch-jessica-meir-spacesuit-design-bias.
396. finally did make history in October 2019: Ibid.
396. finally got a chance to see space in 2021: Marina Koren, “Guess Who’s Going to Space With Jeff Bezos?” The Atlantic, July 1, 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/07/jeff-bezos-wally-funk-blue-origin/619344/.
396. the agency formally announced the creation of the Artemis program: Loren Grush, “NASA’s initiative to put a woman on the Moon is named Artemis, after Apollo’s twin sister,” The Verge, May 13, 2019, https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/13/18622415/nasa-moon-return-first-woman-astronaut-artemis-program.
397. assigned to the first crewed Artemis mission: Claire O’Shea, “NASA Names Astronauts to Next Moon Mission, First Crew Under Artemis,” NASA press release, April 3, 2023, https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-names-astronauts-to-next-moon-mission-first-crew-under-artemis.