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The definitive history of all 61 American women astronauts that''s perfect for fans of Sally Ride became a household name;as the first American woman in space, but a wealth of equally impressive women have come after her. Valerie Neal, emerita curator in the Department of Space History at the;Smithsonian''s National;Air and Space Museum, offers a culturally insightful history of the experiences of women astronauts, the challenges they''ve faced, and their distinctive stories. Collectively, they''ve flown;on every operational spacecraft, completed more than 100 space shuttle missions and more than 20 long-duration stays on;the International Space Station and Russian Space Station Mir, and continue to prove themselves in present-day space exploration efforts. The book includes 30 black-and-white photographs to complement the historical account. With its sweeping look from the first women astronauts to;Christina Hammock Koch, assigned to the first Artemis mission to the Moon slated for 2024, there is no comparable space history book.
About the author
VALERIE NEAL is a curator emerita in the Department of Space History at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, where she oversaw the human spaceflight collections from the space shuttle and International Space Station programs. Her previous books include Discovery: Champion of the Space Shuttle Fleet and Spaceflight in the Shuttle Era and Beyond.
