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| 77.3 - Spring 2004 | ||||||||||||
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Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling
Breaking Through the Atmosphere! |
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By Brittany McClinton and Lucy Wang
Clockwise from top left: Roberta Lynn Bondar, Ph.D., Cathleen S. Lewis, SM '80 MA '83, Lt. Col. Catherine G. Coleman, Ph.D., Anna L. Fisher, M.D., Margaret Rhea Seddon, M.D., Janet Lynn Kavandi, Ph.D., Valentina Ponomareva, Ph.D.
What is a woman? Perhaps a better question would be: “What is a woman not?” In celebration of women exploring non-traditional occupations, Jonathan Edwards College sponsored the 2003 Tetelman Fellowship panel discussion, “Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women Pioneers in Space.” Space exploration, in particular, represents one of the most extreme vocations from which women were traditionally barred. Active and former United States astronauts, a former Russian cosmonaut, and several science historians attended a series of events to speak to the public about the issue of women working in space.
Historically, women’s involvement in various national space programs has been intimately connected to nation building. Since the beginning of manned space flight in the 1960s, the role of women in space has been loaded with numerous political and social connotations. The competition between the U.S. and Russia during the Cold War created a “veil of secrecy” as each country raced to be the best. The space program was an excellent tool for symbolizing the might of each nation. Yale graduate and space historian, Kathy Lewis, describes developments in each program as reactionary. Just as the Russian feat of sending the first man into space inspired a surge of commitment to the U.S. space program, the attention that the US paid to flight safety encouraged Russia to improve their health standards for humans in space. When Russia launched the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova, into space in 1963, it seemed like one additional achievement Russia accomplished before the U.S.
The decision to involve women in space flight had, however, far-reaching implications beyond those of making a political statement. For Russia, the success of socialism relied heavily upon the inclusion of women in the workforce. Recognizing an enormous potential source of labor residing in women who were confined to traditional domestic spheres, Russia looked for ways to motivate women’s involvement in the workforce. The highly visible nature of the space program provided, according to Lewis, a “marvelous” means of imparting a work ethic to a large percentage of the nation’s women. The women cosmonauts became symbolic of “heroines in the workplace,” a position any Russian woman should aspire to.
An example of the growing proportion of women in the sciences, astronaut Tammy Jenigan tests equipment
For one woman, the decision to involve women in the Russian Space Program changed her life. As a student in high school, Valentina Ponomareva firmly believed in enrolling in all clubs possible. One such group was the parachute jumping club hosted by a nearby university. Originally, Ponomareva planned to become an engineer or physicist, but the “jump” changed her mind. Although she was already enrolled in a technical institute, she transferred to the Moscow Aviation Institute and joined the High Altitude Flights club there. After graduation, she worked at the institute in the department of mathematics and for the Russian Space Program. When the program began searching for women in the 1950s to train for space flights, Ponomareva was chosen along with four others and completed her training in secrecy. When she was first approached with the offer to train as a cosmonaut, Ponomareva was surprised. At that point, there were only two living cosmonauts in her country.
Training presented a number of difficulties to Ponomareva. By the time she had joined the cosmonaut group, she had a four-year-old son. Since training required periods of isolation, she had to leave her son with her grandmother and was only able to see him for a day and a half on weekends.
Although Ponomavera was a highly qualified member of the cosmonaut group, she ultimately never got to experience her dream. The first woman in space was to be a universal icon for the model of a Russian woman, and Ponomareva’s profile was not “common” enough. In the end Tereshkova was chosen over Ponomareva to be the first woman in space. Ponomareva laments, “I would have been happy just to take an orbit around the earth.” The Russian Space Program, however, had accomplished its agenda.
The women-in-space propaganda was really a statement about social welfare, with a double-meaning for women. On one hand, women were entitled to social benefits such as maternity leave and a shorter work week. On the other, there was a general reluctance to appoint women to positions of greater responsibility. Rather, it was desirable to have women fill the lower levels of the workforce. Having impressed the necessity of women’s participation in the economy, the role of women in the Russian Space Program consequently became obsolete, and the obstacles facing women in entry to higher level employment reappeared. Advances of Russian women in science were made only on an individual basis, and for others who had an inclination toward the sciences, the path was still difficult.
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What Is It Like in Space?
From earth, it appears that being in the weightlessness of space is all fun and games. But, did you know that the lack of gravity causes fluid build-up and congestion because there is no longer a force pulling fluids away from your head? Dr. Kavandi explains that this is the reason for the popularity of spicy foods, such as shrimp cocktail, which temporarily clear your nose. As for the issue of food in general, weightlessness in space requires that foods be viscous enough to stick together while being eaten. Thus, stews and the like are a staple among astronauts. One great benefit of space (besides being able to turn around in the air), however, is that you get great sleep – no pressure points from gravity pulling you down to your hard uncomfortable bed!
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By the twenty-first century, it appears that the tables have turned between Russia and the United States, at least in terms of women in space. Although the United States space program did not admit women into its astronaut training program until 1978, it has since gained an almost worldwide monopoly over female astronauts.
Susan J. Jelms (left) and Janet L. Kavandi (right) in Destiny Laboratory aboard The International Space Station. When working with astronauts from other countries, both Jelms and Kavandi are required to speak the native language of their coworkers, and vice versa.
Anna L. Fisher, M.D., a member of the first class of American women astronauts described the selection process as somewhat mystifying: “I had no idea what they were looking for, I just had to be myself… I wore platform shoes [to the interview], but they looked beyond that and saw someone who really dreamed about space travel.” To Dr. Fisher and an entire generation of women, space exploration for women had simply not been an option before. As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) opened the door to this first handful of successful female candidates, no one really knew what to expect.
All the women astronauts on the panel, however, unanimously found NASA to be extremely fair and supportive in its treatment of women in the space program. As with any high-paced, demanding profession, women astronauts faced the dilemma of balancing family and career. Rhea Seddon, M.D., a fellow member in the class of 1978, attests to “the commitment that NASA has made to the success of women in the astronaut program.” Dr. Seddon, now retired from NASA, recalls that she had her three children in between three successive flight missions and over 722 total hours in space. Dr. Fisher, on the other hand, made the alternative choice of taking an extended leave of absence to devote time to raising her family. NASA was equally supportive of Dr. Fisher’s choice and facilitated her return to the program.
Since Dr. Fisher, Dr. Seddon, and others of the class of 1978, more girls have come to see space travel as a realizable dream. Although women in astronaut programs are no longer rare today, each astronaut never loses the awareness that her job gives her opportunities truly unique and special. Janet Kavandi, Ph.D., an active NASA astronaut, for example, describes the experience of lift-off as one of uncontainable joy: “When you finally feel the push of the ignition from the launch, it is like the feeling of going over the top of a rollercoaster. It is just so much fun, that you cannot contain yourself. In every launch, I can’t help but giggle out loud.”
Once in space, astronauts like Kavandi have a busy schedule of conducting scientific experiments. Each experiment is the culmination of many years of work on earth, including completion of a rigorous screening process, which involves extensive testing in space-like conditions. Astronauts work with scientists to gain an understanding of the experiment, not only in order to perform it correctly but also to be prepared for unexpected problems once in space. Yet even with the incredible amount of preparation that precedes any experiment in space, scientists and astronauts are continually surprised at the results produced in zero-gravity.
In the few spare moments that an astronaut has in space, all agree that the greatest treat is to be able to stare out and see the earth from space. As Dr. Fisher describes, “From up there, you cannot see political boundaries. It’s just such a beautiful planet.” Just as striking as the beauty of earth, however, is the amount of human destruction visible from space. Dr. Kavandi laments, “As you look at the earth, you can see all the damage that humans have done – atmospheric pollution, slash and burn…From your small niche on the ground, you cannot imagine that your actions have global affects.”
One undeniable effect of space travel, it seems, is the increased feeling of global interconnectedness. As Dr. Seddon puts it, “You are simply struck by the fact that we are all interconnected. We’re all traveling on the great spaceship, earth.” A remarkable difference between the current space program and that of the Cold War era is certainly the increased level of communication and support between countries. Dr. Kavandi explains, “After the Cold War, the United States and Russia have found a common goal. In the spirit of exploration, scientific discovery and learning, [these two countries] have found an opportunity to work together and support each other financially and technically.”
Despite recent internationally cooperative efforts, however, the grand nature of space exploration will continue to appeal to leaders and politicians as the ideal tool for nation building. At the time of the Tetelman Fellowship Symposium, China had recently announced its new plan to send Chinese astronauts to the moon. In reference to the Chinese space program, Dr. Kavandi commented, “Competition is always a good thing. I wish the Chinese luck in their endeavor. Perhaps it will give inspiration on the American side.” True to this prediction, President Bush followed with an announcement of a plan to send astronauts back to the moon and eventually beyond. It seems then that we are on the cusp of another great era of space exploration. Who knows where mankind – or womankind – will take us?
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