A retired Navy Reserve officer, Capt. Kathryn Sullivan holds the distinction of being both the first American woman to walk in space (1984) and the first to dive to Challenger Deep, located in the Marianas Trench, the deepest point in the world’s oceans (2020). Sullivan served in the Naval Reserve from 1988 to 2006 as an oceanography officer. Sullivan joined NASA in 1978 and among the first astronaut groups to include women. She left NASA in 1993 after flying on three Space Shuttle missions and logging 532 hours in space.

Last Updated: 29 March 2023