Judith Resnik
Judith Resnik was the first female commander of an American spaceflight, and the first spaceflight commander to have not been recruited to NASAs Astronaut Corps as a pilot.
An electrical engineer, she was the first Jewish woman to fly in space. From childhood, she had been recognised for her “intellectual brilliance”, and joined NASA in 1978, as part of the second Astronaut Group to include women. At 27, she was one of the youngest.
Resnik first flew as a Mission Specialist on Skylab 81A, spending three months in space. While in orbit she served as the station’s Flight Engineer, responsible for monitoring and maintaining power, life support and navigation systems aboard Skylab III — the largest space station launched to date. She also took part in a series of experiments related to the ongoing Caelus programme, including long-term storage of cryogenic fuel, and extra vehicular activity in support of an orbital construction test.
Resnik had qualified as a pilot while completing her PhD, and despite her academic background was generally considered to be amongst the best fliers in the astronaut corps. “Judith…” said a school friend, “…was the best at everything she did. Her colleagues all thought she was a superb astronaut, and it would have been quaint of the jocks in NASA’s ranks to expect her not to become the best pilot too.”
Her second flight demonstrated the respect in which her piloting skills were held — despite her relative inexperience. She was selected as Command Module Pilot of Apollo-MEM 6, part of the Mars Exploration Module (MEM) Test Programme. Following ten days of orbital flight, she singlehandedly returned to Earth, while Mission Commander John Young and MEM Pilot John Bartlett landed the MEM at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico.
Recovered by helicopter from the Command Module (christened Acosta, after Aida de Acosta, the first woman to fly a powered aircraft solo) and received aboard USS Tripoli amid fanfare, with the crew chanting her name, she was the first American female solo astronaut, and the first American astronaut to return to Earth alone since Gordon Cooper on Mercury Atlas 9. In recognition of her achievements on this flight, she received the Harmon Trophy.
While generally seen as an outsider, others thought her unlucky not to be named to the crew for the first Ares flight. Instead she was appointed as Mission Commander for Skylab 86B, a 6-month mission to the space station. Her crew handed over to the next long duration crew aboard Skylab — 87A. During the four days they lived on the station together, it was the first time there was an equal number of American men and women in orbit.
In 1989 she flew in space for a fourth time, as the Mission Commander of the final flight to Skylab III. With her two crewmates, she made final preparations for the safe deorbit of the station, before transferring equipment, experiments and a number of items (including the American flag that had been in space since permanent occupation of a space station began in 1977) to Olympus station. Alongside the three launch crew already aboard, the Skylab 89A crew stayed on the station for 2 weeks, preparing Olympus for long term operations, before returning to Earth after 7 months in space.
Soon after her return, Resnik was named as Mission Commander for Ares III, slated to launch to the Red Planet in September 1991. The flight was cancelled in early 1990, with NASA announcing that the “…scientific findings of Ares II have concluded the first phase of human exploration of Mars.” Several months later, Resnik was first appointed Chief Astronaut, before becoming Director of Flight Crew Operations in 1992. She announced her retirement from NASA in 1995, returning to her alma mater at the University of Maryland as President.
During her career, her involvement in some of NASAs highest profile flights, her gender, and her appearance had seen her become one of the highest profile members of the Astronaut Corps. After her retirement, both Democratic and Republican parties coveted her endorsement. In 1998, Ohio Senator and trailblazing astronaut John Glenn, announced he would be resigning from the Senate at the end of his term the following year. Polls showed that Resnik, born in Akron, would be competitive in the race. After several months of speculation, she declined to compete for the seat.
Resnik retired from all public roles in 2001, although she remains active in the Society of Women Engineers and STEM charities — including her own, the Resnik Foundation.
She has no children, and lives with her second husband in Maryland.
