"That's One Small Step for a Woman..."

Kathryn Sullivan - October 11, 1984

                                                                                       ~ NASA photo

Kathryn Sullivan was born in Paterson, New Jersey in 1951. She became an astronaut in 1979 and five years later on October 11, 1984 became the first American woman to walk in space. In total she flew three shuttle missions logging over 532 hours in space. In 2004 she was an inductee in the Astronaut Hall of Fame.

I would never doubt that Kathryn Sullivan, a woman, could accomplish this mission but in reality there was widespread doubt that a woman could withstand the rigors of walking in space. That being dispelled it boiled down to confronting biological realities. It seemed that the real problem was how the "collection of urine" would be accomplished for a woman in a spacesuit. The solution was easy enough - wear a diaper. There would be some that would say that diapers is a subject women know something about.

The Daily Herald, wrote in an October 12, 1984 article: 'Sullivan, a powerfully built woman who has a "killer" instinct in paddle-ball competition among the astronauts, has little patience with those questioning her ability.' 

And I say, "You go girl" and a big old Thank You for a job well done.