NASA Announces the First All-Female Spacewalk During Women’s History Month

On March 29th, a crew of astronauts will conduct the first-ever all-female spacewalk aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch will be doing the spacewalk, with ground support from Canadian Space Agency flight controller Kristen Facciol, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.

Despite scheduling the walk at the tail end of Women’s History Month, NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Schierholz said that the timing and crew make-up was completely coincidental, saying, “It was not orchestrated to be this way; these spacewalks were originally scheduled to take place in the fall … In addition to the two female spacewalkers, the Lead Flight Director is Mary Lawrence, and Jackie Kagey (also a woman), is the lead EVA (spacewalk) flight controller.”

McClain and Koch are both members of NASA’s 2013 astronaut candidate class, which was 50% women. McClain, a graduate of West Point, is an OH-58 helicopter pilot and graduate of U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station, Patuxent River. Koch previously served as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Station Chief in American Samoa.

Facciol shared her excitement on Twitter:

McClain, who has been stationed on the ISS as part of Expedition 58 since December 2018, is also active on Twitter, where she is sharing her day-to-day tasks alongside a stuffed toy Little Earth:

Koch is set to launch on March 14, as part of Expedition 59 and 60 that will launch from Russia.

The spacewalk is set to run for about seven hours, during which the astronauts typically test new equipment and make repairs to the spacecraft. The first woman to ever complete a spacewalk was Russian cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya on July 25, 1984 aboard the Soyuz T-12. The first American woman to spacewalk was Kathryn D. Sullivan on the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-G on October 11, 1984.

Godspeed to these awesome women, we can’t wait to see what they accomplish in space!

(via CNN, image: NASA via Getty Images)

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Chelsea Steiner

Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.

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