In 1984, a 33-year-old NASA astronaut stepped outside challenger. She became the first American woman to walk in space

When Kathryn Sullivan climbed aboard the space shuttle Challenger in October 1984, she was preparing for something no American woman had ever done. The NASA astronaut was scheduled to leave the relative safety of the spacecraft and work in the vacuum of space. Yet her path to that moment involved more than demanding training. She faced questions about whether women could physically handle a spacewalk, equipment that did not properly fit her body and even reporters who preferred asking her colleagues whether she was capable of doing the job.

NASA Researchers Had Questions About Women Spacewalking

Before Sullivan's historic flight, biomedical researchers at NASA's Johnson Space Center raised concerns that women might be more susceptible than men to decompression sickness, commonly known as "the bends", while working in a low-pressure spacesuit. Researchers proposed that female astronauts should spend longer breathing pure oxygen before a spacewalk to remove nitrogen from their bloodstream. Sullivan challenged the research behind the recommendation. NASA eventually approved the same pre-spacewalk requirements for men and women. It was not the only assumption she encountered. At a preflight press conference, journalists directed questions to mission commander Robert Crippen and fellow astronaut Sally Ride about whether Sullivan was physically capable of performing the spacewalk. Sullivan, sitting nearby, reminded them that she could answer for herself.

Even Her Spacesuit Didn't Properly Fit

There was also a practical problem: Sullivan's Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or spacesuit, did not properly fit her body. According to NASA historian Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, the suit's elbow did not line up correctly with Sullivan's, forcing her to use additional effort when bending her arm. Its lower section was also misaligned, making bending her knee more difficult. Sullivan nevertheless decided to continue. She wanted the first American woman's spacewalk to demonstrate that women could successfully use the equipment and perform the assignment.

Her Historic Spacewalk Almost Didn't Happen

STS-41G launched aboard Challenger on October 5, 1984, just two days after Sullivan's 33rd birthday. It was also the first spaceflight to carry two women, Sullivan and Sally Ride. Then a malfunctioning Ku-band antenna forced mission planners to delay the planned spacewalk until the day before re-entry. Sullivan worried it could be cancelled altogether. The moment finally arrived on October 11. Sullivan and astronaut David Leestma left Challenger for a spacewalk lasting three hours and 29 minutes. During the EVA, they worked on an experiment designed to demonstrate techniques that could potentially be used to refuel satellites in orbit. Sullivan also secured the malfunctioning antenna. With that step outside Challenger, she became the first American woman to walk in space. Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya had become the world's first woman to perform a spacewalk only a few months earlier, in July 1984.

The White House Called the Next Day

After Sullivan returned inside, the crew came home the following day. President Ronald Reagan then called and asked whether walking in space had lived up to her expectations. Sullivan described it as “the most fantastic experience of my life.” She never received another spacewalking assignment, although she went on to fly two more shuttle missions. Sullivan's achievement ultimately represented more than an American spaceflight first. She entered an environment where everything from scientific assumptions to spacesuit design had largely been built around male astronauts and proved she could do the job anyway. Four decades later, the photograph of Sullivan floating above Challenger's open cargo bay remains a striking reminder of how one astronaut helped expand who could work beyond the confines of a spacecraft.