Australia’s first ever female astronaut, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, has graduated from the European Space Agency (ESA) training program.
Bennell-Pegg, who completed the 13-month training program at the ESA in Germany last night, is the first ever qualified astronaut to graduate under the Australian flag.
The Sydney-born 39-year-old knew from childhood that she wanted to become an astronaut, so her graduation from the ESA training really is a dream come true.
“When I dreamed of becoming an astronaut as a child, I never thought it possible to do so representing Australia,” Bennell-Pegg said. “It’s an honour to be graduating as an astronaut with the Australian flag on my shoulder.
“Representing Australia is filled with opportunities to propel our nation’s science and technology forward in the global space arena and to raise the level of aspiration for the next generation.
“I hope my training and whatever comes next helps unlock the path for more Australians to become involved in human spaceflight.”
In a picture on social media, the Aussie astronaut declared her certificate of graduation is “going straight to the pool room”.
This is going straight to the pool room! 🇦🇺✨ pic.twitter.com/HKNJUavGeo
— Katherine Bennell-Pegg (@AussieAstroKat) April 23, 2024
‘The next giant leap’
There have been two other Australians who have travelled to space – Dr Andrew Thomas and Paul Scully Power – but both astronauts did so as US citizens.
This makes Bennell-Pegg not only the first Australian woman to be a trained astronaut, but the first Australian citizen who is eligible to travel to space.
Dr Andrew Thomas congratulated Bennell-Pegg on her extraordinary achievement.
“Congratulations on completing this major milestone as the first Australian astronaut,” Dr Thomas said.
“Now you are ready to make the next giant leap, as you boldly go where no Australian woman has gone before!”
Enrico Palermo, head of the Australian Space Agency, said the organisation is proud of Bennell-Pegg.
“She will return to Australia a qualified astronaut brimming with knowledge, insights and connections that will help generate global opportunities for our industry,” Palermo said.
Bennell-Pegg graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) – Aeronautical Engineering (Space) and a Bachelor of Science (Advanced) – Physics in 2007 from the University of Sydney. Throughout her studies, she interned as a mechanical engineer, a physics researcher and a computer programmer.
Following her undergraduate studies, Bennell-Pegg worked in Europe on several space projects, before moving back to Australia with her husband and two daughters in 2019. She then worked as the Assistant Manager of the Chief Technology Office at the Australian Space Agency for three years, before she was promoted as the Director of Space Technology.
In 2021, Bennell-Pegg applied to the ESA to undergo training to become an astronaut. Out of 22,500 applicants, just 25 were accepted into the program. She was one of them.
There are several elements involved in ESA’s astronaut training program, which up 40 people undergo every year at five different ESA training sites.
This includes parabolic flights (experiencing weightlessness and operating experiments in low-gravity), centrifuge training (learning how to manage the intensity of G-force on space flights), survival and medical training, plus much more.
The space industry in Australia is largely a male-dominated one: according to statistics published in The Conversation, just one in five people working in the industry are women.