Here are 20 Female Astronauts You Should Definitely Know

12. Stephanie Wilson

It took a decade for Stephanie Wilson to make it from astronaut training to outer space. However, she was hardly sleeping on the job in the space between. Williams served in a variety of high-demand technical positions before her first flight on STS-121 in 2006.

Wilson, like many other astronauts before her, concentrated on engineering as part of her scientific and academic career. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in engineering science from Harvard University, followed by a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas.

Following her undergraduate career, Wilson went to work for the Martin Marietta Astronautics Group, where she load analyses for the Titan IV rocket. She left the group to pursue her graduate degree. After her time at the University of Texas, Wilson lent her expertise to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The JPL, a NASA research facility, gave her the opportunity to work on the Galileo spacecraft, an unmanned craft that studied Jupiter, its moons, and other bodies throughout our Solar System.

Wilson was selected as an Astronaut Candidate in 1996. Before she traveled to space in 2006, she worked as a prime communicator in Mission Control, as well as duties involved with Space Shuttle and space station operations.

On her first flight, 2006’s STS-121, Wilson worked as support for robotic arm operations, module installations, and transferred over 28,000 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station. She has since flown on STS-120 (2007) and STS-131 (2010).