Carmella Van Vleet - To the Stars!: The First American Woman to Walk in Space

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Carmella Van Vleet

Dr. Kathy Sullivan

Nicole Wong

Illustrated by

The First American Woman

to Walk in Space

Kathy Sullivan loved to explore.

When her dad brought home blueprints of the

airplanes he was designing at work, Kathy unrolled

the pages and spread them out. She carefully crawled

over them, studying the lines and curves.

When she was older, Kathy studied other papers.

Whenever an airplane flew overhead, young

Kathy would stop, look up, and say, I wonder

where its going.

She daydreamed about having a pocketful of

airplane tickets. When people asked her what she

wanted to do when she grew up, shed announce,

I want to see the whole world!

But what job lets you do that? Later on, Kathy

found out. It started with a ticket and a suitcase.

Young Kathy loved maps and books and

foreign languages, too. Their strange symbols,

exotic tales, and musical sounds made her feel

like the world was waiting for her. Maybe shed be

a spy or a diplomat. Kathy thought adventurer

had a nice ring to it.

Girls dont like those jobs,

her friends said.

Most grown-ups told her,

Girls are supposed to be

teachers or nurses or moms.

By the time she was an adult, Kathy realized

something. I know what I love, and Im just

going to follow that compass.

While growing up, Kathy often went fishing with

her dad and brother. The three of them climbed in

the car and drove through the inky blackness so

they could have their lines in the lake when the sun

and the fish woke up.

Later in the day, when it got so hot that she

couldnt stand it a second longer...

...

CANNONBALL!

Kathy delighted in how her arms and legs

moved in slow motion underwater.

Kathy loved the water

even when she was grown .

When Kathy was a teenager, she learned to

pilot a plane. The first time she sat in the cockpit,

her stomach tied itself in knots. There were so

many dials and buttons and numbers!

Years later Kathy studied another instrument panel.

On weekends, when Kathy wasnt at school, she and

her dad explored nearby airports. One day they came

across a strange red aircraft called a Breezy. As the

two of them got closer, they heard the pilot

trying to talk his friend into a ride.

Oh, no, the man said. I couldnt do that.

Kathy didnt hesitate. Boy, I sure could!

Hop on! the pilot told her.

Kathy counted down the minutes

until they took off.

On another bright blue day, Kathy listened to

mission control count down the minutes.

T minus three minutes and counting.

Leaving her dad behind at the airport, Kathy

climbed into the seat perched near the Breezys nose.

As the pilot zoomed down the runway, the ground

slid away. The wind rushed past her face so fast it

pushed her cheeks back. It was like the first day of

summer or her birthday or even both at once.

L

I

F

T

O

F

F

!

HIGHER!

FASTER!

Sitting on the Breezy was like being on a magical

kitchen chair that could fly. Young Kathy looked at

the ground below her feet. She felt like she could

see the whole world.

And one day, she really did...

... when she became the first American woman

to walk in space.

KATHY

Dr. Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan was born

on October 3, 1951, in New Jersey and

grew up in Woodland Hills,

California. She had many passions that

were considered boy things at the

time. Thankfully Kathys parents always

supported her interests. Nothing was out of bounds just

because she was a girl.

After high school she went to college thinking that

maybe shed become a translator. She was told she had to

take some science courses, and soon she was studying

oceanography and marine biology. Those classes changed

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