The reason NASA once turned away from female astronauts

The rules for recruiting astronauts from military pilots prevent women from participating in space missions before 1978.

The US Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) began putting people into space from 1961. However, it was not until 1978 that NASA began to receive and train female astronauts, because the previous regulations only recruited. Military pilots are men.

According to Robert Frost, training specialist, air traffic controller at NASA, during his tenure, President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1960s directed NASA to select astronauts from military test pilots. , all male.

Eisenhower's decision made the number of candidates significantly limited, but simplified and accelerated the process of recruiting astronauts significantly.

Eileen Collins is NASA's first space shuttle astronaut female.(Photo: Makers).

From 508 initial test pilots of the US Air Force, NASA selected 110 people to meet the necessary criteria. They are divided into groups and invited to apply. The selection does not encounter any problems in the background check, because all candidates are serving in the military.

The first astronaut chosen when not working in the army is Neil Armstrong. He qualified because he was a US Navy pilot and was working as a pilot.

By the time the third astronaut, the regulation was loosened when the candidate was not required to be a pilot pilot, but they still needed the experience of driving an army jet fighter, leaving women completely excluded. the game.

The fourth astronaut (team of Scientists) selected in 1965 was the first non-pilot. However, all have to complete a one-year course of jet aircraft piloting by the US Air Force College Pilot Program.

By 1978, NASA began to allow researchers not to be professional pilots to apply for the shuttle program. By this time, NASA had the first female astronauts including Anna Fisher, Shannon Lucid, Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Rhea Seddon and Kathryn Sullivan.

It was not until 1993 that the US Department of Defense eased the ban on women working in air force combat positions.

The female pilot controls NASA's first space shuttle, Eileen Collins . She is the second female pilot to attend the US Air Force Pilot Pilot School. In 1995, she first controlled the space shuttle Discovery. In 1999, she became the first female shuttle commander.