As of mid-2015, 58 different women total including cosmonauts, astronauts, payload specialists, and foreign nationals had flown in space. 4 different female cosmonauts had flown on the Soviet/Russian program: Valentina Tereshkova, Svetlana Savitskaya, Elena V. Kondakova, and Elena O. Serova 4 different female space flight participants had flown on the Soviet/Russian program: Helen Sharman, Claudie Haigneré (nee André-Deshays), Anousheh Ansari, and Yi So-yeon. 2 female astronauts or taikonauts had flown in the Chinese program. 49 different women had flown with NASA.

 

For details of individual women who have been involved with the space program, see the following entries:

   • Cavendish, Margaret
   • Cobb, Geraldyn ("Jerrie")
   • Collins, Eileen
   • Jemison, Mae C.
   • Lucid, Shannon
   • McAuliffe, S. Christa Corrigan
   • Mercury Thirteen
   • Resnik, Judith A.
   • Ride, Sally
   • Savitskaya, Svetlana
   • Sullivan, Kathryn
   • Tereshkova, Valentina

Women in space: timeline
1959	Geraldine (Jerrie) Cobb passes tests for the Mercury astronaut training program
1963	Valentina Tereshkova, Soviet cosmonaut, becomes the first woman in space
1978	Six women chosen as astronaut candidates by NASA: Rhea Seddon, Kathryn Sullivan, Judith Resnik, Sally Ride, Anna Fisher and Shannon Lucid
1983	Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space
1984	Svetlana Savitskaya, Soviet cosmonaut, becomes first woman to walk in space. Kathryn Sullivan becomes first American woman to walk in space. Anna Fisher becomes the first person to retrieve a malfunctioning satellite, using the orbiter remote manipulator arm
1992	Kathy Thornton, the second woman to walk in space, holds record for longest space walk by a woman as of 2002. Bonnie Dunbar and Ellen Baker are among the first American crew to doc with the Russian space station. Mae Jemison becomes first African American woman in space
1993	Ellen Ochoa becomes first Hispanic American woman in space
1994	Chiaki Mukai becomes the first Japanese woman in space
1995	Eileen Collins becomes first woman to pilot a Space Shuttle
1996	Shannon Lucid returns from her six months on Mir, the Russian space station, with a record for the time in space for women and for Americans; she is also the first woman to be awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor
1998	Nearly 2/3 of the flight control team for STS-95 were women, including the launch commentator, Lisa Malone, the ascent commentator, Eileen Hawley, the flight directory, Linda Harm, and the communicator between crew and mission control, Susan Still. Nancy Currie completes the first task in assembling the International Space Station
1999	Eileen Collins becomes the first woman to command a Space Shuttle