Women in Space

Makers: Women in Space traces the history of women pioneers in the U.S. space program. Some, like aviators Wally Funk and Jerrie Cobb, passed the same grueling tests as male astronauts, only to be dismissed by NASA, the military, and even Lyndon Johnson, as a distraction. It wasn’t until 1995 that Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a spacecraft. The program includes interviews with Collins, as well as Sally Ride’s classmates Shannon Lucid, Rhea Seddon and Kathryn Sullivan, and features Mae Jemison, the first woman of color astronaut, and Peggy Whitson, the first female commander of the International Space Station. The hour ends with the next generation of women engineers, mathematicians and astronauts—the new group of pioneers, like Marleen Martinez, who continue to make small but significant steps forward.

Gagarin, Armstrong og Lovell er blot nogle af de mange mænd, der har rejst ud i rummet for at undersøge det uendelige univers omkring os. Selvom de amerikanske kvindelige piloter bestod de svære astronautprøver på lige fod med deres mandlige kollegaer, blev de sjældent godkendt. De har kæmpet en vanskelig kamp for at blive accepteret som ligeværdige astronauter og ikke blot som et forstyrrende element for manden og missionen.