Make It Fit: NASA Astronaut Cady Coleman On Following Your Mission
Retired NASA astronaut Cady Coleman at recent Women in The Forefront luncheon, with Michelle Miller (left) of CBS Saturday Morning.
The spacesuit was too big for her, as the size “small” was eliminated by NASA, and officials announced going forward they would only carry sizes M and L to space— not S or XL. Most male astronauts fit the M and L spacesuits..
But this did not deter 5’4” Cady Coleman, retired astronaut who now has two completed space shuttle missions, plus 159 days living at the International Space Station on her resume.
“I was the smallest person ever to be qualified for a space mission in a spacesuit,” she says.
To go on a mission, Coleman says, “You must be spacesuit qualified. When you eliminate the size small, you eliminated 1/3 of the women eligible,” the 64-year-old retired U.S. Air Force Colonel told the crowd of 1,500 at the recent Women in The Forefront Luncheon in Chicago, hosted by The Chicago Network.
With specific moderations and custom adjustments, she designed and made to the 300-pound spacesuit, she passed all the qualification tests. “Two months later, after the announcement, they brought back the XL,” she says. But not the small.
Read more in Take The Lead on women astronauts
Having lived a total of 180 days in space as lead robotics and lead science officer, Coleman is now a NASA research affiliate at her alma mater, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, mother of two grown sons, amateur flute player, and the one who coached Sandra Bullock for her astronaut role in “Gravity.”
“Retired @NASA astronaut @Astro_Cady Coleman spent 24 years at NASA with 2 space shuttle missions plus 6 months @Space_Station as 1 of 79 female astronauts who have flown in space. @TCNChicago ”
Coleman spent 24 years at NASA and is one of 79 female astronauts who have flown to space, out of a total of 676 astronauts with that experience. Having completed two successful missions aboard the Space Shuttle Columbian in 1995 and 1999, and six months in space in 2011 at the International Space Station, Coleman is clear about the need for everyone to create a life mission with competence, confidence and passion.
Read more in Take The Lead on leader of Museum of Science & Industry
“The power of mission is that it stretches you beyond yourself, and at the same time, it brings out the best of what makes you unique,” Coleman writes in her new book, Sharing Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Mission, Wonder and Making Change.
““The power of mission is that it stretches you beyond yourself, and at the same time, it brings out the best of what makes you unique,” @CadyColeman writes in her book, Sharing Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Mission, Wonder and Making Change. #astronauts #STEM #WomeninSTEM”
Her path to space became certain for her, she says, when she attended a speech by NASA astronaut Sally Ride in 1982 at MIT, where she was a junior majoring in chemistry.
“I met Sally Ride and it changed my life. She seemed so real and made me think I could do that,” Coleman says. “All of us are capable of changing someone’s life.”
“Meeting @NASA_Astronauts Sally Ride at her speech @MIT, when @CadyColeman was a junior there, says it changed her life. She knew she could be an #astronaut. .”
Her father was a deep-sea diver in the U.S. Navy and her mother always told her she could do whatever she dreamed of doing. A future as an astronaut seemed ideal. But there were challenges, including an historic dismissiveness of women at NASA.
“I recruited help and I showed up at meetings I was not invited to,” Coleman says. And she always remained positive, in spite of the flagrant gendered dismissals.
This route is one that Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead endorses and outlines in Power Tool # 2, Define Your Own Terms. This means creating actions on a path that are outside the norm.
“They said they thought I would miss my family too much,” Coleman explains as NASA leaders tried to deter her from traveling on missions. This is an historic gender gap that is also mostly ignored.
“According to a recent report by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, women make up just 30% of the workforce in public sector organizations globally,” reports Fragomen. A 2023 report by the Space Skills Alliance in the UK shows that “women make up 29% of employees in the sector. This disparity is even more pronounced in technical and leadership roles, as women are less likely to be in senior roles,” according to Fragomen.
“The first woman in space was Russian,” Coleman says. Katherine Johnson, astrophysicist, space scientist, mathematician at NASA, and the inspiration for “Hidden Figures,” also struggled at NASA with gender bias.
“We barely tell women’s history as it is,” Coleman says.
“Gender bias throughout #history has tried to diminish women in flight, including Bessie Coleman, Katherine Johnson and many more. @Astro_Cady #space #aviation @NASA_Astronauts”
Bessie Coleman (same name, not related), an American, who learned French in order to earn a pilot’s license at flight school in France became the first Black American female pilot in history in 1922.
“I brought postcards of her with me on my first mission,” Coleman says, adding, “This week I got a Bessie Coleman quarter as change.” Still, she says, “You shouldn’t have to work so hard to be seen.”
Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead, endorses the necessity of familiarity with history in the first of the Nine Leadership Power Tools she created. It is, “Know Your History and create the future of your choice.”
According to Feldt, “Power and energy come from going into new spaces, not from standing still or remaining mired in half-century-old tropes.” Once you know your history and the history of women with similar goals, you can move forward with power.
Recent statistics indicate that women represent only a fraction of the UK’s space workforce. According to a 2023 report by the Space Skills Alliance, women make up 29% of employees in the sector. This disparity is even more pronounced in technical and leadership roles, as women are less likely to be in senior roles. While efforts have been made to increase participation, systemic barriers such as unconscious bias, a lack of role models, and limited access to mentorship persist.”
The issue is not isolated to the UK; it is a global one
A recent United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs report shows, “‘Women’s participation in the STEM fields in general and in the space sector in particular is essential. Not only is women’s participation associated with higher levels of productivity and profitability, but greater international collaboration, consensus, and peace.”
“According to @UN Office for Outer Space Affairs report: “‘Women’s participation in the STEM fields in general and in the space sector in particular is essential.” @Astro_Cady @NASA #genderparity ”
But there still is a lag in getting to equity.
Interviewing Coleman on stage was Michelle Miller, Emmy award-winning co-host of CBS Saturday Morning, and a regular contributor to CBS Mornings, CBS Sunday Morning and the CBS Evening News. Miller, author of the 2023 memoir, Belonging: A Daughter’s Search For Identity, adds, “Stories of our unseen-ness are boundless; if only we knew more about the contributions of women.”
“Michelle @CBSMMiller of @CBSSaturday, and contributor to @CBSMornings, author of Belonging: A Daughter’s Search For Identity, “Stories of our unseen-ness are boundless; if only we knew more about the contributions of women.” #genderbias #womenshistory”
Even the Wright Brothers’ sister was in charge of logistics for their flights and few are aware of her contributions, Coleman says.
This is why, contrary to many outspoken critics, Coleman applauds the recent first flight of all-women for Blue Origin. “We have new ways to go to space for women,” she says. “We don’t want women to miss the next space race.”
She adds, “Because they missed the first.”
Coleman says, “Blue Origin went 50 miles above the earth; they did it in a strategic way. Wally Funk was one of 13 women astronauts in the 1960s on the first flight in 2021. So when you look at those six people, there was the famous factor, but that’s how you can move the needle.”
Coleman was there for the Blue Origin launch applauding the women on board including Katy Perry, Gayle King, and Asiha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist. And while it was a smooth flight, she says she has been involved in a very treacherous flight.
“On @BlueOrigin, @Astro_Cady says: “Wally Funk was one of 13 women astronauts in the 1960s on the first flight in 2021. So when you look at those six people, there was the famous factor, but that’s how you can move the needle.” @NASA_Astronauts #womeninSTEM”
On the 1999 shuttle mission, “We had a leak in one of the main engines and the launch was the most dangerous in the history of space shuttles that didn’t explode.” While it was “just seven hours, 17 minutes and 17 seconds, we were able to deploy the first x-ray telescope observatory. That telescope is still up there. Everything we know about black holes came from that telescope,” Coleman says. And the telescope’s name is Chandra.
Her time in space was also instructive and joyful. An amateur flute player, she performed an in-space duet with Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson (who was on the ground).
“Space is a joyous, amazing place,” Coleman says. “When I look back at the earth what was clear to me was if only we could understand how easily we can be connected to each other,” she says, adding “You are not picked for a mission on the basis of being compatible.”
Miller adds, “My heart has always been in space.”
Mother of two sons, Jamey and Josiah, Coleman says Jamey was only seven when she left for the six-month space station mission. Her husband, Josh, who creates art with glass, cared for both their sons while she was gone.
“The line to get to where you want to go is narrow,” Coleman says. “It’s about talking about the things you have done that are hard. Those stories matter to me. Being brave and sharing the stories is important. “
“The line to get to where you want to go is narrow,” @Astro_Cady says. “It’s about talking about the things you have done that are hard. Being brave and sharing the stories is important.“ #storytelling #womenshistory”
Telling your story is the ninth Power Tool Feldt created. There is a transformative impact of storytelling when people use their narratives to create connections, foster understanding and drive impact,” says Felicia Davis, founder and CEO of the Black Women's Collective, Take The Lead Leadership ambassador, who will be delivering the 9 Leadership Power Tool Champion Awards at the upcoming 2025 Power Up Conference in Washington, D.C.
Learn more about Take The Lead’s “Courage To Lead” Power Up Conference
“We are not going to have the same opportunities. If we do what we are only allowed to do, we’re not going to make it. Do what you can to make something work. Share it, tell it, move that needle.”
Acknowledging that being physically in space has taught her of the metaphor of earth as one unit. “We’re all from the same place, the same family,” she says. “If they only knew how connected they were, they would certainly save the world and save others.” She adds, “We ourselves can make the difference we want to make.”
Read more in Take The Lead on finding your authentic mission
Coleman closed the speech that prompted a standing ovation with the advice that no matter who you are, if you have ambition and a mission in mind for your life, “You apply. If you don’t tell them who you are, they can’t pick you.”
