Culture:
Stephanie Wilson was the second African-American woman behind Mae Jemison to be an astronaut. This set Stephanie Wilson aside as a very unique individual and role model for other African-American women. There are very few female African-American astronauts, three have traveled to space and an additionally two who have not been to space. There have been many listed physical health reasons as to why females have less space time the males, linked to radiation and cancer as well as presyncope. However, there is insufficient research as to why African-American women astrologists and scientists are rarely seen. In prior African American studies this deficit has been related to income (Hayes & Way, 2003). Very few African American females receive a full education attending high school-graduate school; therefore this allows those females a much smaller percentage of jobs. Although, not very many African American women are astronauts our society is continuing to change and move forward. Young females can look up to women such as Stephanie Wilson and see that it is possible for not only women but those of different races as well.
Kring and Kaminski (2013) study discussed the importance of psychosocial interactions of crewmembers, as well as whether men and women cohabitate as well as the same sex would on space missions. Additionally the article discusses how an individual’s psychological health can affect the way that person adapts to isolation, confinement and workload. This also affects the way the crewmembers interact with one another; altogether this plays a large role in how successful the mission is. The group of astronauts creates a culture of their own; together they have to collectively achieve a successful and safe mission. The importance of working as a group, to maintain good connection and communication with those also in space as well as those on the ground is discusses as being very crucial for survival (Kring & Kaminski, 2013).
In our society when the title astronaut is presented, what comes to mind is that astronomy is a male dominate profession. As a child I relayed the though of an astronaut to “Buzz light-year” from the popular children’s animation movie “Toy Story”. As children our environment plays a key role in socializing us to believe that certain jobs are dominated by either a male role or a female role. Up until recent years these roles have not been entirely equal or combined, and therefore providing children and our society with a skewed view. According to a journal article titled “Women, Work and Children: Behavioral and Attitudinal Change in the United States”, we have began a transformation over the past three decades on how we view women in the workforce (Rindfuss, Brewster & Kavee, 1996). Similarly, Shelby (1999) discussed in her journal article that women have made tremendous strides in the past twenty-five years, however she has described that the gains we’ve made have began to digress (Shelby, 1999). Although women have been making great strides to achieve what is our lawful right, what is more surprising is the time it has taken African-American women to appear in more prestigious jobs in the work force. As previously stated Stephanie Wilson was the second African-American female astronaut in history. She began her journey with NASA in 1996; I was six years old. To inquire about why it has taken so many years for not only women but also African American women to be integrated with men in astronomical science is unsettling. Male astronauts were seen in the 1950’s, and then in 1969 Apollo 11 landed on the moon (Orloff, 2004). About 15 years later was the first African American male astronaut, Guion Bluford who had his first launch in 1983 (NASA Biographical Data, 2012).
Today, the discrepancy between male and female astronauts and time traveling in space is partly due to lifetime exposure to radiation restrictions. Males and females are allowed to accumulate only so much radiation to prevent any life related risks, such as cancer. NASA spokesman Jeff Williams stated that a six-month mission would expose “40 times” the radiation to astronaut than a person would receive on earth (Kramer, 2013). Therefore, the amount of space-time allotted can seem discriminatory, but rather women have a lower threshold for space radiation exposure than men. Similarly an article by (Waters, Zielger & Meck, 2001) discussed post spaceflight presyncope, stating that women experience significantly higher symptoms than males. Presyncope is a state of lightheadedness, muscular weakness as well as feeling faint (Swenson, 2012). Although, these symptoms and possibilities of risk may pose as to why males are seen more often in space than females, this does not explain why women as well as African American appeared in astronomy so many years after European and African-American males. NASA Biographical Data shows that there have been only three African-American women in space, as well as two other African American female astronauts who have not entered space. Whereas there have been fifty-four non African American female astronomers who have traveled into space (NASA Biographical data, 2013).
Bibliography: Stephanie Wilson was born in Boston Massachusetts, just about three years before the first man landed on the moon. Wilson later moved to Pittsfield Massachusetts where she graduated from Taconic High school in 1984. Wilson earned her Bachelor’s degree in engineering science from Harvard University. She then continued on to receive her master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in Austin.
Engineering Career: Prior to graduate school, Wilson worked for two years at Martin Marietta Astronautics group in Denver, Colorado. Wilson was responsible for performing coupledloads analyses for the launch vehicle and payloads during flight events. Wilson left Martin Marietta in 1990 to attend graduate school at the University of Texas. Wilson’s research mainly focused on controlling the models of large flexible space structures (NASA Biographical Data, 2013). Later Wilson began her NASA career at the agency’s jet propulsion laboratory in Pasadena, California. There she was able to work with a team on the Galileo spacecraft, as a member of the Attitude and Articulation control subsystem. This required her to be responsible for assessing attitude controller performance, science platform pointing accuracy, antenna pointing accuracy, and spin rate accuracy. Not only was Wilson responsible for all that was entailed in the maintenance of the control subsystem, but Wilson also supported the Interferometry Technology program as a member of the integrated modeling tea. This team was responsible for infinite element modeling, designs for controllers and the development of software.
NASA Journey: She was the selected by NASA to be an astronaut in 1996, where she successfully completed three missions into space. Stephanie began her journey through space July 4th in 2006; which was a return to flight mission and assembly flight to the international space station. Wilson controlled and operated the robotic arm, in order to complete testing on the outside of the space station. Her second mission was not but one year later, where Wilson worked as a flight engineer assisting the commander and pilot of the space shuttle, as well as controlling the robotic arm once again. In Wilson’s last and final mission in April 2010 her expertise controlling the robotic arm, was very helpful and crucial to successfully install three space walks and robotics to the space station. Wilson was the only female African American astronaut to travel into space more than once. Wilson now lives in Texas, has traveled 44 days in space and is the second African-American astronaut in history.
Wilson attributes her possible love for astronomy to a middle school science project, where Wilson interviewed an astronomy teacher (NASA Biographical Data, 2013).
Awards: Wilson received a variety of prestigious awards and special honors for her work and travel as an astronaut. In 2009 and 2011 Wilson was awarded the NASA distinguished Metal, 2006, 2007, 2012 received NASA space flight metal, 2011 Honorary Doctorate of Science for Williams College, 2008 she received Harvard’s women’s Professional Achievement Award (Harvard University, 2013), 2005 Young Outstanding Exes Award and lastly Wilson received a variety of group achievement and performance awards (NASA Biographical Data, 2013).
Technology:
Stephanie Wilson was involved in a great variety of different technological projects as well as maintenance, and was known for her expertise in controlling the robotic arm in space. Wilson’s main focus of study was large flexible space structures (refer biography). Large flexible space structures consist of the international Space Station, large synthetic aperture telescopes, and space solar power systems. All of which are maintained and inspected by smaller robotic systems on space missions. The robotic systems those that are large and those small all contain knowledge of motion and structural deformations. Researchers have placed sensors in the systems, so that it is possible to measure motion, deformation of the flexible structure.
Inflatable Space Structure Middeck Active Control Experiment: Designed to study how certain components behave in space.
Wilson also worked on the subsystems of the Galileo spacecraft where she worked on attitude controller performance, science platform pointing accuracy, antenna pointing accuracy, and spin rate accuracy. Wilson also operated with a team on infinite element modeling, designs for controllers and the development of software. Infinite element modeling otherwise known as FEM is the process of using various equations and solutions in order to minimize error and function. FEM is and known in engineering as a tool to help preform engineering analyses.
Galileo FEM
Wilson did a lot of work, working with and learning to control the robotic arm. The Robotic arm is a mechanical arm used for grabbing, holding and moving objects. Wilson controlled the robotic arm in all three of her successful missions. Robotic arms are also often used for building cars, and seen and used in the new movie, featuring Sandra Bullock “Gravity”.
Sarah Ashley Olson 