To Bleed Or Not To Bleed: Women in Space
Mar 30, 2019 3:21:07 GMT 10
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2019 3:21:07 GMT 10
This article was written in 2016
A Brief History Of Menstruating In Space
Before women started flying in space, NASA was a little worried they might die having their periods
By Amy Shira Teitel June 10, 2016
THE ALL-MALE MERCURY CREW
The Mercury astronauts (Cooper, Schirra, Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, Slayton, Carpenter) lined up in front of a Mercury spacecraft. NASA
When NASA was preparing for Sally Ride’s first spaceflight in 1983, there was some question about what should go in her personal kit. Namely, engineers needed to figure out how many tampons she would need for a one-week mission. “Is 100 the right number?” they asked her. “No. That would not be the right number,” she replied. The engineers explained they wanted to be safe, and she assured them that they could cut that number in half without a problem.
After first allowing women into the astronaut corps in 1978, NASA really didn't know what to do with them. Funny as questions over tampons and possible makeup kits in space seem in hindsight, it’s an interesting look at an agency’s rude awakening when faced with a whole new breed of astronauts.
Women Not In Space
In 1959, 32 military test pilots went through some of the most rigorous physical testing ever devised at the Lovelace clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The men were probed, prodded, inspected inside and out until not a body single secret was kept from the physicians. Seven of the men went on to pass similarly rigorous psychological screening and emerged as NASA’s first class of astronauts.
The following year, the clinic’s founder, Dr. Randy Lovelace, along with USAF Brigadier General Donald Flickinger invited pilot Geraldine “Jerrie” Cobb to go through the same testing. The men were curious to see how women would fare. On average, women are smaller, lighter, and consume fewer resources than men, making them potentially better suited to flying in the cramped spacecraft of the 1960s. Cobb passed the tests, and by the end of the summer of 1961, another 18 female pilots had submitted to the same rigorous testing as the Mercury astronauts. The only difference was the addition of a gynecological exam.
Thirteen women ultimately passed, proving themselves as ready for spaceflight as any of the Mercury astronauts. They actually had a higher success rate than the men; only 18 of the 32 male candidates passed the physical testing, a 56 percent success rate compared to 68 percent for the women.
But however physically fit, there was some question over women’s suitability to spaceflight. In a 1964 report published after the short-lived women’s program was terminated, the question was raised whether a menstrual cycle would affect a woman’s ability to work in space. The authors point specifically to the “intricacies of matching a temperamental psychophysiologic [read: PMS-ing] human and the complicated machine [i.e. spacecraft]." The difficulties, they said, "are many and, obviously, both need to be ready at the same time [read: the woman would have to time a flight to her cycle].” The implication is clear: a menstruating or hormonal woman just wouldn't be able to handle herself in the challenging environment of spaceflight.
But it was probably fine, the report concluded, because “it seems doubtful that women will be in demand for space roles in the very near future.” Besides, for the moment in the mid-1960s, NASA wasn't open to women. The requirements for astronauts stipulated that they be military test pilots, and this excluded women across the board. No amount of campaigning would change the agency’s ruling during the Space Race.
The rules governing astronaut candidacy changed in the post-Apollo era. The agency began breaking its astronauts into two categories: pilots and mission specialists. At the same time it also opened applications to a wider swath of the population. The astronaut class of 1978 brought 35 new members into the fold. Three were African American men, one was an Asian American man, and six were women.
Blood In Space
With female astronauts training for spaceflight, NASA finally had to address the issue of merging a "temperamental psychophysiologic human” with a “complicated machine.” And specifically, what would happen when that "temperamental psychophysiologic human” went through a menstrual cycle in said “complicated machine” in microgravity.
FULL ARTICLE WITH PICTURES @ POPULAR SCIENCE
www.popsci.com/brief-history-menstruating-in-space
A Brief History Of Menstruating In Space
Before women started flying in space, NASA was a little worried they might die having their periods
By Amy Shira Teitel June 10, 2016
THE ALL-MALE MERCURY CREW
The Mercury astronauts (Cooper, Schirra, Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, Slayton, Carpenter) lined up in front of a Mercury spacecraft. NASA
When NASA was preparing for Sally Ride’s first spaceflight in 1983, there was some question about what should go in her personal kit. Namely, engineers needed to figure out how many tampons she would need for a one-week mission. “Is 100 the right number?” they asked her. “No. That would not be the right number,” she replied. The engineers explained they wanted to be safe, and she assured them that they could cut that number in half without a problem.
After first allowing women into the astronaut corps in 1978, NASA really didn't know what to do with them. Funny as questions over tampons and possible makeup kits in space seem in hindsight, it’s an interesting look at an agency’s rude awakening when faced with a whole new breed of astronauts.
Women Not In Space
In 1959, 32 military test pilots went through some of the most rigorous physical testing ever devised at the Lovelace clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The men were probed, prodded, inspected inside and out until not a body single secret was kept from the physicians. Seven of the men went on to pass similarly rigorous psychological screening and emerged as NASA’s first class of astronauts.
The following year, the clinic’s founder, Dr. Randy Lovelace, along with USAF Brigadier General Donald Flickinger invited pilot Geraldine “Jerrie” Cobb to go through the same testing. The men were curious to see how women would fare. On average, women are smaller, lighter, and consume fewer resources than men, making them potentially better suited to flying in the cramped spacecraft of the 1960s. Cobb passed the tests, and by the end of the summer of 1961, another 18 female pilots had submitted to the same rigorous testing as the Mercury astronauts. The only difference was the addition of a gynecological exam.
Thirteen women ultimately passed, proving themselves as ready for spaceflight as any of the Mercury astronauts. They actually had a higher success rate than the men; only 18 of the 32 male candidates passed the physical testing, a 56 percent success rate compared to 68 percent for the women.
But however physically fit, there was some question over women’s suitability to spaceflight. In a 1964 report published after the short-lived women’s program was terminated, the question was raised whether a menstrual cycle would affect a woman’s ability to work in space. The authors point specifically to the “intricacies of matching a temperamental psychophysiologic [read: PMS-ing] human and the complicated machine [i.e. spacecraft]." The difficulties, they said, "are many and, obviously, both need to be ready at the same time [read: the woman would have to time a flight to her cycle].” The implication is clear: a menstruating or hormonal woman just wouldn't be able to handle herself in the challenging environment of spaceflight.
But it was probably fine, the report concluded, because “it seems doubtful that women will be in demand for space roles in the very near future.” Besides, for the moment in the mid-1960s, NASA wasn't open to women. The requirements for astronauts stipulated that they be military test pilots, and this excluded women across the board. No amount of campaigning would change the agency’s ruling during the Space Race.
The rules governing astronaut candidacy changed in the post-Apollo era. The agency began breaking its astronauts into two categories: pilots and mission specialists. At the same time it also opened applications to a wider swath of the population. The astronaut class of 1978 brought 35 new members into the fold. Three were African American men, one was an Asian American man, and six were women.
Blood In Space
With female astronauts training for spaceflight, NASA finally had to address the issue of merging a "temperamental psychophysiologic human” with a “complicated machine.” And specifically, what would happen when that "temperamental psychophysiologic human” went through a menstrual cycle in said “complicated machine” in microgravity.
FULL ARTICLE WITH PICTURES @ POPULAR SCIENCE
www.popsci.com/brief-history-menstruating-in-space