World first for female astronauts
Anne McClain and Christina Koch are set to become the first female astronauts supported by an all-female team.
Anne McClain. Credit: Youtube
March 29th is set to prove a historic day in spaceflight as, for the first time, an all-female team will conduct the spacewalk on the International Space Station (ISS).
The team comprising Canadian Space Agency flight controller Kristen Facciol; Mary Lawrence, lead flight director; and Jackie Kagey, lead EVA flight controller; as well as NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch, have not yet been told what they will be doing, but already know they will be working together when the day arrives.
The moment will make history as, since 1998, NASA has reported 213 spacewalks from the International Space Station (ISS), each of which involved two astronauts who leave the station, supported by crew members inside.
Most of the ISS’s 213 missions have been conducted by male astronauts with the help of some female crew members, though never in the ISS’s 21 years and 213 spacewalks has there been an all-female spacewalk.
The spacewalk is expected to last about seven hours and will be broadcast on NASA TV.
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