Kathryn D. Sullivan: What is it really like to walk in space?

On 11 October 1984, astronaut Kathy Sullivan made history by becoming the first American woman to walk in space. We find out what it was like.

Published: March 7, 2020 at 10:04 pm

Kathryn D Sullivan made history on 11 October 1984 when she became the first American woman to make an Extravehicular Activity, something most of us will know as a space walk, and in this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, she explains how maybe ‘walk’ isn’t the most appropriate way of describing it.

She also reveals the importance of planning over plans, the influence of the Hubble Space Telescope, and whether this year’s news story about spacesuits for women was really as problematic as the headlines suggested.

Sally Ride, right, and astronaut Kathryn Sullivan synchronise their watches in the "white room" before entering the shuttle Challenger to launch on mission STS-41G on 5 October 1984 © NASA

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