Women Only Space Walk

THE FIRST WOMEN-ONLY SPACEWALK

Christina Koch, 40, and Anne McClain, 39, were two of the participants in NASA’s very first women-only spacewalk last March 29. The said spacewalk was supported by an all-female ground crew. Jackie Kagey was the lead spacewalk flight controller and Mary Lawrence was the lead flight director at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Koch and McClain belong to the NASA’s 2013 class of astronauts, half of which was female. Though women make up a significant percentage of the growing astronaut population, they are still not represented enough in space travel. McCain was a major and a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army. She went on combat missions for several years. Koch has Engineering undergraduate and advance degrees. She helped develop space science instruments for NASA, then worked for a year in Antarctica for research and experiments.

Both women had very useful experiences in harsh and demanding environments, which tested their mental and physical strengths. These helped in their transformation into astronauts. According to NASA, the women-only spacewalk lasted for seven hours.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA_schedules_its_first_women_only_spacewalk_999.html