WOMEN IN SPACE
Humans have been flying in space since 1961, with the first women launching off our planet back in 1963. But according to the United Nations (UN), the number of women employed in the space industry represents just 20 percent of the workforce.
Overall, the number of women in the space industry have fluctuated at around 20 percent for at least 30 years - Linn Merete Sandvold is one of those 20 percent.
“Space has always fascinated me, and I believe that space products are among the most complex and exciting things to work with,” says Sandvold, Project Manager Space & Surveillance, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KONGSBERG), when asked about why she wanted to work in the space-industry.
Photo: Private
Gender inequality is a long-standing and widespread issue in education and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, both in developed and developing countries. This week we celebrate World Space Week 2021 and those 20 percent: Women in Space.
WOMEN IN SPACE
Before there were computers, there were “human computers” and these human computers were women. Several of the NASA researchers who made space flight possible were women. Among them were black women who played critical roles in the aeronautics industry.
Since 1963, women have gone on to set records in the space industry, with NASA aiming to land the first woman on the moon by 2024 under the Artemis program. So far, only 11 percent of astronauts have been women.
Photo: NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: NASA
“I was very curious about space as a child, and wanted to become an astronaut, but was told that I could not because I had asthma. But I did seriously considering applying for the European Space Agency’s astronaut position about 6 months ago, but after discussing it with my partner, I realized that it would be terrible staying away from my 18-month-old-boy,” explains the KONGSBERG Project Manager when asked about space and her childhood dreams.
It is important to encourage young girls and women to enter the field of science, which is still a male-dominated sphere, because it is so much more than one might think.
“Space has always fascinated me, and I believe that space products are among the most complex and exciting things to work with,” says Sandvold. “After only working in KONGSBERG’s Space & Surveillance division for about 10 months, I have learned that space is way more than just planets and stars. Space is used in a variety of experiments within pharmaceutics, biomedicine, biology and physical science. I could not imagine the pharmaceutical industry benefiting from space?!”
