Gay astronauts

I’m certain NASA would have gone ballistic if there had been any gay astronauts then. We've covered the military element already, but when it comes to academia, many astronauts, astrophysicists and astronomers have at least a Master's degree, but many also have a PhD.

Going to university costs money — a lot of money.

These firsts were about people.

 

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, became a media sensation. However, this would not be known until 2012 when her obituary read, “Dr. “I had no knowledge of any gay astronauts previously. The couple was already divorcing, and disagreements over intertwined finances sadly spilled over into orbit.

Tam simply stated their longstanding relationship in an obituary on the day Sally passed away, in 2012.

I worked for Sally and Tam for a number of years at their company, Sally Ride Science. Similarly, NASA set up their Special Emphasis Programme in 2016, which focuses on opportunities and career advancement for LGBTQ+ employees.

It seems that while we have come a long way, we still have a long way to go.

She took on the demanding role of NASA’s Director of Operations at Star City in Russia, where the cosmonauts live and train, overseeing this vital and internationally prestigious collaboration between the world’s two major space programs. But I also completely understand her position, as that may have been extremely detrimental to her mission: we can only imagine the blowback she would have gotten in certain quarters.”

In my personal view — and it was never a conversation I had with Sally and Tam — there were additional reasons they chose not to.

Conformity was mandatory in all matters. They provide grants to students who are pursuing space-related careers. “Given the times, a gay astronaut would not have been selected,” she explains. He disowned them, then worked as a California State Senator to create legislation to harm gay people by not allowing them to be married. It is not possible to openly talk about LGBT issues in Russia today, so no cosmonaut would be allowed to fly if they came out — or even if they just said they supported LGBT people.

 

“The other nation with its own spacefarers, China, is also very much behind with regard to LGBT rights.

With someone as famous as Sally, there are always people who stalk, who send strange messages, and who otherwise try to get close. However, they have more of a hands-off policy versus outright criminalization as has happened in Russia. In short, she’s had an outstanding and distinguished career.

 

Retiring from NASA in 2006, it appears Wendy Lawrence only publicly chose to come out in December 2018, while accepting a very prestigious honor at a public ceremony — the United States Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate Award.

Vice Admiral William Lawrence had also been a finalist for selection in the original group of NASA astronauts. There wasn’t any vodka there at all — it was all cognac. Lawrence’s included “Wendy is married to Kathy, and they live in Washington State,” along with a photo of the married couple. As a result of this, there is only one known LGBTQ+ astronaut thus far, an American woman named Sally Ride.

Going to space as a NASA astronaut in 1983, Ride was the first American woman and the third woman ever to go to space.

Over 5,000 federal employees were fired during these purges, a hunt that did not end until after the Apollo program was over.

Not all astronauts are civilian employees, however.

In the Soviet Union, being gay was a criminal offense: any gay cosmonauts from that era, if any exist, have kept it secret.