13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle: 4. The 35 new guys
33 snips
Aug 4, 2025 
Kathy Sullivan, a former NASA astronaut and the first American woman to perform a spacewalk, and Mike Mullane, a retired astronaut who flew on three Shuttle missions, discuss a transformative era in NASA's history. They highlight how social changes prompted the recruitment of women and minorities into the astronaut corps. The guests share personal experiences from their groundbreaking journeys, exploring the challenges and excitement of navigating a diverse and revolutionary new atmosphere in space exploration, which emphasized collaboration over traditional pilot roles.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Nichelle Nichols Inspires NASA Diversity
- Nichelle Nichols, known for Star Trek, helped recruit diverse astronauts for NASA in 1977.
- She symbolized NASA's shift to include women and minorities as real crew members, not just background roles.
Mission Specialists Broaden Astronaut Pool
- NASA created the mission specialist role to include scientists, engineers, and doctors as astronauts.
- This expansion opened spaceflight to a broader pool beyond test pilots, including women and minorities.
Mullane's Journey to NASA Astronaut
- Mike Mullane dreamed of being an astronaut but was grounded due to poor eyesight.
- He later joined NASA’s new mission specialist program, opening the door to non-pilot astronauts.
