RIGHTT it's crazy, there was a time i wanted to go to space so i'm way too familiar on all the tests + education requirements it takes. it's almost rude that you can just pay your way aboard !
Wow, I followed this post from Instagram, I love your content there but you opened new doors from me for here as well. I always wanted to read more content like this and now i have the opportunity, but also thank you for introducing me to an amazing woman, I learned great deal about her today, halfway through reading I realized you were referring to her in the past tense and I didn’t wanna think what that meant, I am really sad the world lost such an inspirational figure so soon. I will now go check out more of your essays. 💗
I’m so glad you found me here and thank you for the kind words :) and omg I didn’t even realize I referred to her that way, thanks for catching that. for future posts I’ll build out the suspense longer!
- Early test pilots for NACA (predecessor to NASA) were largely military dudes from WWII (so usually quite blue collar) and were barred from becoming astronauts later because college educated dudes were considered more proper. It's the main thesis of the book/movie "The Right Stuff" though the book is awful and the movie is mid. Just in case you're looking at the pop culture of it all.
- One of those early astronauts (John Glenn) testified to congress to bar women from being astronauts. It's really the only major glaring issue I have with the move "Hidden Figures" is they made him out to be some sort of ally (he wasn't).
- Samuel Pierpont Langley was the major competitor for fixed wing powered flight against the Wright Brothers, had tons of government funding, public support, and just made bigly planes with too many wings that were too heavy. Good example of trying to be too big to fail. He still got things named after him though...
- Part of the reason that it took so much time between the Apollo program and the space shuttle is well, doing a space race is a dumb, expensive thing. Some cool results, yes, but a lot of scholars after the fact realized how far behind it set things in the 70s.
- Sooo much in any early stunt pilots, especially the women, and why there were so many publicity things related to longer and longer solo flights.
Thank you for sharing this ❤️ we need better role models & Kalpana will continue to live on as long as we share her stories & what she represents - claiming your independence in a culture that benefits from our ignorance
Thank you so so much for writing this impactful piece about Kalpana. I had never heard of her before coming across this essay; yet I could not stop the tears from rolling down my face as I continued to read about her journey and unfortunate end.
This story inspires me to keep fighting in my own life for women’s rights, maybe not by going to space but by existing and holding on to my beliefs. I’m very grateful to have learned about Kalpana as it has made an indelible mark on my belief system as a woman. Thank you for sharing, for existing.
thanks so much for sharing this...kalpana has always been an inspiration to me and it's so important to keep her legacy alive ❤️❤️ (just one thing- karnal is in the state of Haryana, not punjab)
I'm Desi American, born in the 90s, and never even heard of her 🥺 Wow... thank you for re-centering the narrative towards the women who deserve spotlights.
when the narrative switches to "but of course, you can bypass all this and buy a ticket on the blue origin." ughhhhhhhHHHHHHHHH re-ignition of anger
RIGHTT it's crazy, there was a time i wanted to go to space so i'm way too familiar on all the tests + education requirements it takes. it's almost rude that you can just pay your way aboard !
Thank you for sharing this story. It's really powerful, and the pull quote and image you shared of her in space are really beautiful.
Wow, I followed this post from Instagram, I love your content there but you opened new doors from me for here as well. I always wanted to read more content like this and now i have the opportunity, but also thank you for introducing me to an amazing woman, I learned great deal about her today, halfway through reading I realized you were referring to her in the past tense and I didn’t wanna think what that meant, I am really sad the world lost such an inspirational figure so soon. I will now go check out more of your essays. 💗
I’m so glad you found me here and thank you for the kind words :) and omg I didn’t even realize I referred to her that way, thanks for catching that. for future posts I’ll build out the suspense longer!
Aerospace history is full of the tensions of people with money versus people with passion doing the hard work. Thanks for bringing up Kaplana!
damn is there more beef i don't know about? need to go down that rabbit hole
A couple to start from!
- Early test pilots for NACA (predecessor to NASA) were largely military dudes from WWII (so usually quite blue collar) and were barred from becoming astronauts later because college educated dudes were considered more proper. It's the main thesis of the book/movie "The Right Stuff" though the book is awful and the movie is mid. Just in case you're looking at the pop culture of it all.
- One of those early astronauts (John Glenn) testified to congress to bar women from being astronauts. It's really the only major glaring issue I have with the move "Hidden Figures" is they made him out to be some sort of ally (he wasn't).
- Samuel Pierpont Langley was the major competitor for fixed wing powered flight against the Wright Brothers, had tons of government funding, public support, and just made bigly planes with too many wings that were too heavy. Good example of trying to be too big to fail. He still got things named after him though...
- Part of the reason that it took so much time between the Apollo program and the space shuttle is well, doing a space race is a dumb, expensive thing. Some cool results, yes, but a lot of scholars after the fact realized how far behind it set things in the 70s.
- Sooo much in any early stunt pilots, especially the women, and why there were so many publicity things related to longer and longer solo flights.
ICKKK JOHN GLENN. I didn’t know any of these - so fascinating!!! thanks for sharing :)
Thank you for sharing this ❤️ we need better role models & Kalpana will continue to live on as long as we share her stories & what she represents - claiming your independence in a culture that benefits from our ignorance
soooo well said my thoughts too <333
Thank you for writing about Kaplana and centering the work, strength and discipline women at NASA and other space agencies have to go through.
thank you for reading!
kalpana inspired me so much as a kid. fun fact- she picked her own name :) unconventional for her time. we should all strive to be more like her!
i did not know that omg!
Thank you so so much for writing this impactful piece about Kalpana. I had never heard of her before coming across this essay; yet I could not stop the tears from rolling down my face as I continued to read about her journey and unfortunate end.
This story inspires me to keep fighting in my own life for women’s rights, maybe not by going to space but by existing and holding on to my beliefs. I’m very grateful to have learned about Kalpana as it has made an indelible mark on my belief system as a woman. Thank you for sharing, for existing.
thanks so much for sharing this...kalpana has always been an inspiration to me and it's so important to keep her legacy alive ❤️❤️ (just one thing- karnal is in the state of Haryana, not punjab)
I had never heard of Kaplan’s and my jaw hit the floor when the piece shared she had died… Lovely lovely piece - keep on writing!
I KNOWWW IM SORRY - the worst part
I'm Desi American, born in the 90s, and never even heard of her 🥺 Wow... thank you for re-centering the narrative towards the women who deserve spotlights.
yay i'm so glad to introduce her!!