ISS National Lab Celebrates Women’s History Month with Commercial Partners
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 32 flight engineer, appears to touch the bright sun during the mission's third session of extravehicular activity (EVA) on Sept. 5, 2012.
Media Credit: NASA
March 1st kicked off Women’s History Month, which is a time to recognize the growing number of women in the industry who work to advance the research and economy of space. Earlier this week, as part of International Women’s Day, Space Tango—an International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) National Laboratory Commercial Service Provider—hosted the Commercial Space Summit, a virtual event that highlighted the growing influx of women within the space community. Multiple representatives from the ISS National Lab, along with many more partners to our mission, participated, highlighting the increasing number of opportunities that exist as we further humanity’s footprint in low Earth orbit(Abbreviation: LEO) The orbit around the Earth that extends up to an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Earth’s surface. The International Space Station’s orbit is in LEO, at an altitude of approximately 250 miles. and beyond.
During this time, it is important to note the women before us that helped pave this path, whether they be astronauts themselves or part of the many teams of people it takes to put humans into space. From Sally Ride to Christina Koch, along with Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson, all these women laid the foundation for women in space technology today, building the next platforms for space exploration. Thanks to their success, women today not only have a place in aerospace, but also more women than ever hold leadership roles, including key positions at NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration and within the commercial space industry.
One way to support our colleagues and continue the growth of women working to enable the new space economy is by hearing them share stories of the initiatives we all engage in every day. Events like the Commercial Space Summit are critical platforms for us to hear from a growing group of women leaders. Hearing their stories and watching the growth of the industry has been amazing. There are more opportunities to work in space-related jobs than ever before, giving us the chance to reach back out to those who may one day join the effort, and to support all the women working in this field today.
I am thankful to everyone who helped me come up the learning curve when I started working in the space industry. I’m also thankful for those who paved the path, am honored to work among the many talented men and women in aerospace and look forward to welcoming new talent to our industry.