Women (And Diversity) in The Space Sector

Credit: Iris Fisher - Virgin Galactic astronauts, pilots and commanders along with Michael Lopez-Alegria, former NASA astronaut, now with Axiom Space.

Last week (November 2) I attended a Virgin Galactic space launch, their 6th spaceflight in six months, where myself along guests and family got to see Alan Stern, PhD, Kellie Gerardi, and Ketty Maisonrouge, be launched into space – their spaceflight designated as Galactic 5.

In the few days I got to spend onsite, I got to tour the premises, talk to many of the staff and crew, and I got to observe the highly complex operation that is needed to get people to fly to space.

Throughout that week, there is a specific observation I made which inspires me and gives me faith for what is to come for the future within the space sector.

The launch took place in the middle of nowhere almost, in the desert of New Mexico, at Spaceport America, the “first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the world”, and of course, that’s in the United States.

But when you are there, you can notice the diversity in cultural backgrounds of all individuals, guests, and staff alike, being from all over the map (as was the food prepared for us)! Even the pilots and commanders of both spacecrafts are not only Americans, but from Canada and Europe.

And the astronauts all wear flags on their spaceflight suits of where they come from and/or where they live, and that too makes it a global citizen-like affair.

But here’s the focus of where I'm bringing all this and my main observation being there: the women!

Women were literally part of every execution needed to make such an endeavor and venture happen.

Let me list them:

• To begin, there was of course Kellie Gerardi, now astronaut 21, a researcher on that spaceflight, and who certainly inspired many, from her followers to new admirers.

• Ketty Maisonrouge, also onboard that spaceflight, now astronaut 22, is considered a tourist astronaut. Ketty went through all the necessary training involved (and it’s not for everyone). Ketty has also waited almost 20 years for this spaceflight – her enthusiasm proved she wanted this as much now as when she first signed up.

• Kelly Latimer was the pilot of the VSS Unity, and this was her third spaceflight. She is the world’s first commercial spaceship female pilot.

Kelly Latimer, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, also worked for Boeing and NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center prior to joining Virgin Galactic. Credit: NASA

• Kellie, as researcher on the flight, sponsored by the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS), and as such had a tech team with her, two of which were women (Aaron Persad, the third in the team is just as incredible!), and Kellie could not have done it without them. Yvette Gonzalez, MPH, is Senior Atmospheric Researcher with the IIAS, but also, a humanitarian leader and strategist who has lived all over the world and a true global citizen, and that’s to say the least about her professional background. Shawna Pandya, MD, also a member of the tech team, a rockstar in her domain, a physician and director of the Medical Group of the IIAS – and more! This quote by Helen Keller sums it up: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

• As I got to tour the hangar, many of the engineers and technical staff there were women, including one handling the monitors of the Virgin Galactic spaceplane flight simulator.

• Many of the staff and senior directors with Virgin Galactic are women. A few of them have even flown themselves to space, including Beth Moses, Chief Astronaut Instructor, Sirisha Bandla, VP of Government Affairs, and Jamila Gilbert, Internal Communications Manager.

• And as bonus, to add to all these amazing and inspiring women, working and pioneering in their respective fields, Alan Stern, now astronaut 20, a scientist and industry leader in the planetary sciences, had a few guests from his work team (not spaceflight tech team, but Dan Durda, being on that team rocks!), and that is Kelsi Singer, project scientist, and Co-Investigator on the New Horizons mission (the robotic mission that had a flyby to Pluto). Also there, from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), which sponsored Alan Stern’s flight was Erika Barth, also a senior research scientist in the planetary field.

There is a lot to say on the subject of diversity and its importance for overall corporate culture and values, for big and small companies; here are a couple of quick summary phrases from McKinsey and Company’s featured insights:

“Diversity brings multiple perspectives to the table during times when enhanced problem-solving skills and vision are needed”, and “The business case for diversity is robust, and the relationship between diversity on executive teams and the likelihood of financial outperformance has gotten stronger over time”. Those are from the business perspective. But in general, having more women in STEM and Space, as representatives within their fields and professions, simply inspires a new generation of young women. And that is so important!

“You can’t be what you can’t see”, Sally, Ride, first American woman to fly in space.