Yes ma'am! Astronaut Peggy Whitson was the first woman appointed mission commander to the International Space Station, was the first woman to command two missions to the space station, and is supposed to be the commander of the second mission to be launched by the private space companies Axiom Space and SpaceX with space tourists (the one that will be launched after Eitan's flight digestion)
Written by: Emma Shor, Young Galileo
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Every meeting with one of the influential figures in history is exciting for me, but this time the meeting is particularly exciting - it does not take place on earth. Today I am about to arrive at the International Space Station, hovering at an altitude of about 400 kilometers above the earth, and meet Dr. Peggy Whitson, a woman whose name is etched in history thanks to her record-breaking space travels: Peggy is an American astronaut who spent the longest time in space Another woman in the world and than any other American astronaut (665 days). She is determined, inspiring and penetrates not only through many glass ceilings but also through the atmosphere.
How was the dream of becoming an astronaut born?
"I was born in Iowa in 1960 and grew up on a farm, which means I came from a poor family and had to fight for my dreams. From a young age I was interested in science and aviation and I decided to work hard to make my dreams come true. I was nine years old when Neil Armstrong reached the moon, and I grew up right in the middle of the space race, with those astronauts, including Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, inspiring me. Hard work was an essential part of making my dreams come true. For example, to finance my flight studies I worked selling chickens. When I finished high school, I also finished my bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry. At the age of 25, I had already completed a PhD in biochemistry at Rice University in Boston, Texas."
You learned a lot in a very short time.
"Studies were my way of getting closer to fulfilling my dream. Thanks to a scholarship I received from Rice University, I started working at the Johnson Space Center and I was very enthusiastic. I worked there in various positions, but I was not surrounded by many women. I was the only deputy director for medical sciences at the Johnson Space Center. Even though it was not always pleasant to work in a very masculine company, space exploration was my dream, and to this day I am ready to sacrifice a lot for it."
When did you first fly into space?
"After many years of research and work, in 1996 I was appointed to be a NASA astronaut. I participated in Expedition 5 to the space station in 2002, during which I stayed in space for six months. I commanded Expedition 16 to the space station and was the first woman to command an expedition to the space station. In 2017 I also commanded the 50/51 expedition, and I was the second woman to command two missions. For me, this is proof that my hard work has paid off."
You performed ten spacewalks, the total length of which exceeds 60 hours, a female record for spacewalks! What does this achievement mean to you?
"There were years when I told myself that I was lucky, but that's not accurate: after the tremendous efforts I invested in achieving my goal, I know that the dream came true largely thanks to my perseverance and willpower to become an astronaut. I am very proud of myself."
After so many years as an astronaut and as a NASA commander, what is your next destination?
"Three and a half years ago I announced that I was retiring from NASA and joined the private space industry. In the Axiom-1 mission - a tourist space flight of SpaceX's Dragon 2 spacecraft to the space station, in which the Israeli Eitan Stiva will also fly, I was appointed to the backup command; And I was appointed to command the mission that follows it - Axiom-2, which is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2022."
I returned to earth and to my home in Tel Aviv, with Peggy Whitson's story in my head. Now I am aware of her strength, her hard work and her faith. Peggy is the living example of making dreams come true, that you can turn from a girl selling chickens to get an education to one of the most important astronauts in the world.
* Emma Shor, 13, from Tel Aviv
The article was published in the January 2022 Galileo Young Monthly
More of the topic in Hayadan:
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Men are not "better than women in everything". Definately not. Chess is not the measure of wisdom. it's just a game. In science and academia, the number of women is greater than men today. Female doctors save more patients' lives than male doctors. Women managed countries better during the Corona virus. Men only have a physical advantage over most women, nothing more
Who cares if she is the first wife? What matters is the first person.
Didn't you say that women and men are equal? Why are there separate sports leagues? Why are there different chess and checkers competitions for men and women? Why do transgender women beat women in all sports and competitions in all fields? Yes men are better than women in everything and not just physically and no amount of progressive brainwashing will help.