Women in Space

I was the first. My first bore no comparison. I made my way through the vast open space. I headed up into the eerie purple light, before emerging into another vast open space.

It was a strange experience to make my way - on my own - through London's Science Museum. I had just visited the new Cosmonauts Exhibition after normal opening hours.

First woman cosmonaut

A vast photo of the first woman in space looked down on the IMAX auditorium. I had just seen the unbelievably tiny "pod" in which Valentina Tereshkova had bravely ventured into space in 1963.

Even Valentina's mother hadn't known about her space mission. She had believed that her daughter was just on parachute training. Can you imagine finding out that your daughter was the first woman in space from the TV? She was present when Valentina collected a bravery medal afterwards.

Science Museum Talk

Broadcaster Helen Keen hosted a talk at the Science Museum on "Women in Space" on 23rd October. Her guests were the French cosmonaut, Claudie Haigneré and British Flight Director, Libby Jackson. Both women have had extraordinarily inspirational careers. As Valentina Tereshova said:

"A Bird cannot fly with one wing only. 

Human space flight cannot develop any further

 without the active participation of women".

Claudie Haigneré

When Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, Claudie Haigneré was 12 years' old. She was camping on her summer holiday. She marvelled at the moon in the sky. The inaccessible dream had become a reality. In the absence of any European space opportunities, Claudie embarked on a career in medicine.

In 1985, Claudie saw an advertisement for cosmonauts with a scientific background. She jumped at the chance. Only 10 women applied. Only 7 candidates were selected from 1,000 applicants: 3 pilots, 4 scientists.

Claudie became the only female cosmonaut training at Star City. She paved her own way. She didn't dwell on being the only woman in a male-dominated field. The more appreciable difference is between a military and civilian role.

Cosmonauts' Exhibition at the Science Museum

Libby Jackson

Libby Jackson showed a similar go-getting attitude. She had always been interested in space. Her earliest memory was of the Challenger Disaster. At 17, she had the nerve to ask to shadow a NASA flight director in Huston, Texas. If you don't ask, you don't get! She saw NASA's moon rocks and thought "this is me".

There were no Brits employed at NASA back then. She had to forget the idea.

Libby studied Physics at university. She headed for Munich when she first became aware of the space industry there. She always made people aware of what she wanted to do. She is now delighted with her role as Flight Director at the UK's Space Agency in Swindon.

Libby is very excited about her involvement in Tim Peake's Principia mission in the International Space Station (ISS). The launch date is not far away on 15 December 2015.

Left to right: Libby Jackson, Helen Keen and Claudie Haigneré

Women in STEM

The two women debated how there has not generally been enough progress.  Women are not putting themselves forward. There are still not enough women studying STEM subjects.

It is important for women like Claudie and Libby to share both the technical and human adventure of their stories. Claudie found living in a multicultural environment incredibly enriching for her life and career. Libby similarly spreads the message by visiting schools.

There is no need to act like a man. NASA achieves its best results in mixed teams. Libby stressed that the UK Space Agency employs 44 women and 34 men.

Future missions

Only 500 astronauts have ever travelled into space. Yet, there are countless ground support roles. A Mars mission is a very distant prospect with the journey taking 6-9 months. Revisiting the moon is more likely. A mission's success is the focus of the whole team whether male or female.

Claudie would welcome a mission to the moon. Mars is for the next generation of astronauts. Her funniest story was of a phone call from space. Her daughter claimed she was too busy to take the call, as if her mother was just around the corner.

Impatience

A member of the audience asked about fear. Claudie replied that impatience was the greatest emotion after 5 years for her PhD and 10 years of training.

Libby confirmed that the British astronaut, Tim Peake feels the same way. He is more nervous about missing out after all the training and build-up. 

Britons in space

He won't be the first Briton in space. That honour went to a British woman, Helen Sharman in 1991. Six male British citizens followed her.

Inspiring a new generation

You can see the Principia mission's countdown ticking away on the European Space Agency's website. Maybe the mission will inspire a whole new generation of female astronauts and flight directors?

For further information about Anglicity's content writing services, email karen@anglicity.com.
 

Red light for innovation challenges?

Walking and waving a red flag in front of a moving car? Preposterous! Yet, the US and the UK had just such a law as a safety precaution in the 19th century.

Driverless cars, drones, unmanned aircraft, space rockets, satellites and probes to Pluto... What on earth would our ancestors think? Technology is moving at a faster pace than the majority of us can take in. Should we rein in our modern day innovators, pioneers and explorers with red and amber flags while we catch up?

Driverless cars

Google reported that its driverless cars keep having accidents. The June 2015 report stated: "Not once was the self-driving car the cause of the accident". Inattentive humans are the problem.

Is the obvious fix to ban all human drivers from the road in future? It's not that simple.

Car hacking

A current Wired article is entitled Hackers remotely kill a jeep on the highway - with me in it. In a test, hackers toyed remotely with the air-conditioning, radio, windscreen wipers and then the accelerator at 70 mph...  Off the road and into a ditch... The manufacturer has issued a recall to prevent the vehicles from being controlled remotely. Recalls don't come cheap.

Accidents on land can be contained. What of the skies?

Drones

There is alarm about drone safety - particularly the unregulated use of hobby drones. In late January, Le Monde reported that drones had flown over 17 French nuclear power stations since October 2014. 

After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, the world is understandably uneasy. A major earthquake followed by a 15-metre tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors. An unpredictable sequence of events?

Unmanned aircraft

Unmanned craft already fly the skies on spying missions. NASA's unmanned Global Hawk can remain aloft for up to 30 hours at high altitudes. It is being used for atmospheric analysis, but was originally developed for military use. 

Challenger
NASA employs some of the world's most brilliant scientists. They've known both glorious successes and heart-breaking disasters. The Challenger Space Shuttle accident cost 7 lives.  Just 0.678 seconds after lift-off, there was a strong puff of grey smoke. The two cameras that should have reported the precise location were inoperative. A rapid series of events from 72.20 seconds followed. Challenger exploded after 73.137 seconds.

The Presidential Commission's report on the Space Shuttle disaster is full of technical detail. The accident was due to faulty design. A faulty pressure seal caused a major setback in space exploration. In the NASA control room, they knew the astronauts. They knew their voices.

Rockets explode. Satellites and probes malfunction. Space is filling up with junk.

3D printing

Technology is developing at such a pace that it is hard to predict all the challenges in advance.  Some are overstated. When 3D printing came to the fore, people worried that it would be used to make guns.

Today, most geeks content themselves with posting pictures of epic failures or cereal-box-style Star Wars characters online. 3D technology is saving lives in the medical field today.

Hacking inevitable?

Experts treat hacking as inevitable. They seek to minimise risk. Total prevention is not viewed as realistic. The "good guys" play catch up with the "bad guys". Hacking pays well.

Red and amber flags?

Modern technology is exciting. The pace is so fast. There is little time to question if technology is always being used in the best interests of Man. History should teach us caution. Do we need to slow down a bit and take stock? Issue some red and amber flags?

Shared planet

If only the best minds could work on climate change for all Earth's residents. We never get on well with all our neighbours. We just have to find a way to coexist.

Relocation isn't an option. NASA hasn't found another habitable planet for us.

Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is
an entrepreneurial
French to English
translator, editor,
content writer and
marketing consultant. 

Contact karen@anglicity.com 
for further information 
on Anglicity's services.