Peggy Whitson grew up on a farm in rural Iowa. When she was a senior in high school in 1978, she learned that NASA had recruited its first female astronauts. For the first time, Whitson thought her dream of becoming an astronaut might be "realistic and achievable."
Source: The Week
Whitson started her career with NASA in 1986 as biochemist. She applied to be an astronaut 10 times before finally getting selected. She began training in 1996 and served on her first space mission in 2002.
Reflecting on her numerous rejections, she told The Week: "You have to work to make things come into reality. In the end, because I enjoyed what I was doing along the way and was learning so much, I think I was a much better astronaut because of it. Even if, at the time, I certainly didn't agree."
After Whitson first went to space in 2002, she went on to break a ton of records. She's the NASA record-holder for most time spent in space: a whopping 665 days. Only seven Russian cosmonauts have spent more time off of Earth.
She has spent more time doing space walks than almost anyone, too: Whitson spent a total of 60 hours and 21 minutes in the vastness of space outside the ISS. Only three other people have been outside in space for longer than that.
She told Business Insider that on one space walk, when she was working on an array of solar panels, she caught a glimpse of herself. "I could see myself in a space suit, I could see the Earth behind me in the solar arrays, and I was like, 'holy cow, I really am an astronaut!' Because you forget. You're in this moment. You're getting a job done," she said.
Whitson was the first female commander of the International Space Station. She said she was never scared to go into space, but being commander felt different. "You're responsible for crew safety, and the safety of the vehicle, so, you know, it ups the stress level a little bit," she said. "We train for all the really bad-day scenarios, which I think helps you prepare."
She was also the first woman to be named chief astronaut at NASA, the most senior leadership position in the agency for active astronauts. The chief astronaut leads the astronaut corps and serves as the NASA administrator's advisor on all aspects of astronaut training.
There's one more record Whitson doesn't like to brag about: she is the oldest woman to ever fly in space. She was 57 when she returned from her last trip on the ISS.
Whitson said the thing she misses most about being in space is the floating. But that wouldn't be fun without a good crew. "The job on orbit is incredibly satisfying and gratifying," she said. "Being a part of a team, that has a meaning so much more than one person."
But one thing she does not miss is using the bathroom in space. Whitson revealed to Business Insider that she occasionally had to put on a rubber glove and pack the poo down to keep it from floating away on the ISS.
Source: Business Insider