Which Women Went to Space and the Real Story of How They Got There

Think about the 1960s for a second. While most of the world was watching grainy footage of men in silver suits, a massive shift was brewing behind the scenes. People often ask what women went to space, expecting a short list, but the reality is a sprawling, often frustrating, and ultimately triumphant timeline that started much earlier than you might think. It wasn't just about Sally Ride. It wasn't just about a single "first."

Valentina Tereshkova was the one who actually kicked things off. In 1963, she spent nearly three days orbiting Earth in Vostok 6. It’s wild to realize that she was only 26 years old at the time. She wasn't a pilot by trade; she was a textile factory worker who happened to be an expert skydiver. The Soviet Union wanted to beat the Americans to another "first," and they did. But then, for reasons mostly tied to Cold War politics and internal biases, they didn't send another woman into orbit for almost two decades.

The Long Wait After Valentina

The gap between Tereshkova and the next woman in space is a bit of a gut punch. It took 19 years. During that time, NASA was running the Mercury program, and while a group of skilled female pilots known as the Mercury 13 passed the same rigorous physical tests as the men, they were never given the chance to fly. The "what women went to space" list could have been dozens deep by the 1970s, but policy and prejudice held the door shut.

Then came Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982. She wasn't just a passenger; she became the first woman to perform a spacewalk (EVA) in 1984. Imagine being outside a pressurized can, floating in the vacuum, knowing you're rewriting history while doing incredibly dangerous mechanical work.

Finally, the U.S. entered the chat. Sally Ride made her historic flight aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983. People forget how much the media obsessed over her "femininity" back then—asking her if she'd cry on the job or how she'd handle her period in zero-G. She handled it by being a brilliant physicist who did her job so well that the questions eventually started to feel as ridiculous as they actually were.

👉 See also: The Facebook User Privacy Settlement Official Site: What’s Actually Happening with Your Payout

Breaking the Specialist Mold

After Ride, the gates didn't exactly fly open, but they certainly unlatched. We started seeing women taking on specialized roles that moved beyond "being the first."

• Judith Resnik and Christa McAuliffe: We have to talk about the Challenger. It’s a somber part of the history of which women went to space. Resnik was a brilliant engineer, and McAuliffe was a teacher meant to inspire a generation. Their loss in 1986 changed NASA forever.
• Mae Jemison: In 1992, Jemison became the first Black woman in space. She’s a doctor, a dancer, and a chemical engineer. She famously started every shift by checking in with the "Star Trek" legacy, proving that representation isn't just a buzzword—it's fuel for the next generation.
• Ellen Ochoa: She wasn't just an astronaut; she was an inventor with patents for optical systems. She later became the first Hispanic director of the Johnson Space Center.

Command and Endurance: The Modern Era

If you look at the 2000s, the narrative shifted from "can women go?" to "how long can they stay and can they lead?" This is where names like Peggy Whitson and Christina Koch come in.

Peggy Whitson is basically the GOAT of space endurance. Honestly, her stats are terrifyingly impressive. She has spent a cumulative 675 days in space. She was the first female commander of the International Space Station (ISS). She holds the record for the most spacewalks by a woman. When people ask what women went to space, Whitson is the answer for who owned space.

Then there’s the "All-Female Spacewalk" of 2019. Christina Koch and Jessica Meir stepped outside the ISS to replace a power controller. It was supposed to happen earlier, but—and this is a very human detail—NASA didn't have enough medium-sized spacesuits ready. They literally had to delay a historic milestone because of wardrobe logistics. Eventually, they got it right. Koch also set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, staying up there for 328 days straight.

✨ Don't miss: Smart TV TCL 55: What Most People Get Wrong

What About the Private Sector?

Things are getting weird now, in a good way. It’s not just government agencies anymore. You've got Sian Proctor, who piloted the Inspiration4 mission—the first all-civilian flight to orbit. She’s a geoscientist and an artist. Then there's Wally Funk. Remember the Mercury 13 I mentioned earlier? She finally got to space in 2021 at the age of 82 on a Blue Origin flight. Talk about playing the long game.

The Reality of Space Biology

There’s a lot of talk about how space affects the female body differently than the male body. For a long time, the data was skewed because, well, mostly men were going.

Studies now show some interesting nuances. Women seem to be less susceptible to the vision problems (SANS) that plague male astronauts after long durations. On the flip side, women have historically reported more instances of motion sickness upon returning to Earth. Is that a biological fact or just a result of a smaller sample size? We’re still figuring it out. The health data is finally catching up to the personnel.

A List of Key Figures You Should Know

It’s hard to track every single name—over 70 women have flown as of the mid-2020s—but these are the "don't miss" names:

🔗 Read more: Savannah Weather Radar: What Most People Get Wrong

1. Valentina Tereshkova (USSR): The pioneer.
2. Svetlana Savitskaya (USSR): First EVA.
3. Sally Ride (USA): The American icon.
4. Kathryn Sullivan: First American woman to walk in space; later, she became the first person to both walk in space and reach the deepest point in the ocean.
5. Eileen Collins: The first female Space Shuttle commander.
6. Sunita Williams: Held the record for most spacewalk time for years and has spent significant time on the ISS.
7. Samantha Cristoforetti: The first Italian woman in space, known for her incredible outreach and, honestly, making the first espresso in orbit.

Why the Numbers Still Lag

Even though we talk about these heroes, women still make up only about 10-12% of the total number of people who have ever been to space. Why? It's a pipeline problem. For decades, you had to be a military test pilot to even apply. Since women were barred from combat flying roles for a long time, they were systematically excluded from the applicant pool.

That changed when NASA started looking for "Mission Specialists"—scientists, doctors, and engineers. Today, NASA’s astronaut classes are roughly 50/50. The Artemis program aims to put the first woman on the Moon in the next few years. We aren't just looking at "low Earth orbit" anymore. We're looking at the lunar south pole.

Misconceptions to Toss Out

• "Women aren't as physically capable for high-G forces." False. Research shows women often handle G-load similarly to men, and some studies suggest smaller frames might actually be an advantage in cramped capsules.
• "Space is too dangerous for 'mothers'." This was a huge talking point in the 80s. Many female astronauts, like Anna Fisher (the first mother in space), proved that being a parent has zero bearing on being a world-class pilot or scientist.
• "It’s just a PR stunt." If you look at the PhDs and flight hours these women carry, calling it a stunt is insulting. They are often over-qualified compared to their male peers just to get a foot in the door.

How to Track Future Missions

If you want to keep up with who is currently "up there," the best way is to follow the ISS live trackers. NASA, ESA, and SpaceX frequently update their crew manifests. We’re moving into an era where "what women went to space" will eventually be such a long list that we won't need to categorize it by gender anymore. It'll just be "the people who went."

Next Steps for Enthusiasts:

• Check the NASA Artemis Manifest: Look for names like Jessica Watkins and Anne McClain; they are top contenders for upcoming lunar missions.
• Support the Brooke Owens Fellowship: If you're a student or know one, this organization is the gold standard for getting women and gender minorities into the aerospace industry.
• Read "Sisters of the Stars": Or any autobiography by Eileen Collins or Peggy Whitson. The technical details they share about docking and emergency procedures are way more interesting than the "how do you wash your hair" questions they usually get.
• Visit the Smithsonian: If you're ever in D.C., seeing the actual suits worn by these women gives you a perspective on the physical reality of their missions that a screen never will.

Space isn't a "boys' club" anymore. It's an office, a laboratory, and a frontier. The women who went there didn't just go for the view; they went to prove that the vacuum of space doesn't care about your gender—it only cares about your competence.