3…2…1…lift off! Space Shuttle Atlantis, the new $100-million, 90,000-square-foot home of the historic spacecraft, launches June 29 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. | eTurboNews | Trends | Travel News
Site Search
HomeCareer AdvicePeople and Capability News I’m training to become Australia’s first woman astronaut. Here’s what it takes
I’m training to become Australia’s first woman astronaut. Here’s what it takes
Me (top, third from right) with others from the International Space University, in front of the Shuttle Atlantis at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Author provided
I’m currently training to become Australia’s first woman astronaut. I expect to fly my first suborbital mission sometime in 2023 as a payload specialist on a commercial mission. In other words, I’ll be one of few certified crew members who can handle specialised scientific equipment aboard a suborbital spacecraft.
Author provided
I was selected as a PoSSUM (Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere) Scientist-Astronaut candidate and global ambassador for 2021. PoSSUM is a non-profit US astronautics research and education program run by the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS).
The program uses next-generation suborbital spacecraft to study the upper atmosphere and its potential role in global climate change. Generally speaking, a suborbital spaceflight is any flight that reaches an altitude higher than 80km, but doesn’t escape Earth’s gravity to make it into orbit.
Anything above 80km is deemed “space” under US legislation, although some nations (including Australia) don’t agree with this and the debate about where “space” begins also called the Kármán line remains ongoing.