#VeteranOfTheDay Navy Veteran Kathryn Sullivan

Navy Veteran Kathryn D. Sullivan has dedicated her life to studying the ocean and outer space. As the first woman to dive to the deepest known point on Earth (the Challenger Deep) and the first woman to walk in space, her work has led the way for women’s roles in science and leadership.

Sullivan was born in October 1951 and grew up in Woodland Hills, California. She graduated high school in 1969, then obtained a Bachelor of Science in Earth Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1973. She completed a Doctorate in Geology from Dalhousie University in 1978; later in life, she was awarded five honorary degrees in recognition of her accomplishments.

Sullivan began her career at NASA when she was selected for shuttle support assignments, including software development, launch and landing photography, and other checkout and launch support roles and communications. She officially became an astronaut in August 1979 and completed three missions in space with her crew. On her first mission, Sullivan became the first woman to walk in space, conducting a scientific observation of Earth and testing satellite refueling. Her second mission was to the Hubble Space Telescope for nearly five days. Her final mission lasted nine days, capping off more than 532 hours in space.

Between 1988 and 2006, Sullivan traded the stars and space for ocean depths, having joined the Naval Reserve. As a lieutenant commander stationed at the former Naval Air Station Dallas, she commanded a unit of oceanographers and meteorologists. She was eventually promoted to captain as an oceanography officer. Simultaneously, she worked as president and CEO of the Center of Science and Industry, a museum in Columbus, Ohio, shaping its role in implanting scientific learning resources in classrooms around the country. After leaving the Naval Reserve, she served as the director of the Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy at The Ohio State University.

Sullivan’s service extended to a career in public service between 2011 and 2017 when she held positions nominated by President Barack Obama. Between 2011 and 2013, she worked as President Obama’s assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction. At the same time, she worked as the deputy administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She was appointed acting administrator of NOAA in 2013, serving until 2017.

Sullivan has received many honors, such as induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame, the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame and the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame, and nominations for positions under four different presidential administrations, among others.

In 2019, Sullivan wrote “Handprints on the Hubble: An Astronaut’s Story of Invention,” recounting her experience on the Hubble Space Telescope. In 2020, she traveled to the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench in an expedition that made her the first woman to reach the deepest known part of the ocean.

We honor her service.

Writer: Sarah McDonald

Editors: Cate Manning, Jessica Waldon

Researcher: Christopher Rosenquist

Graphic Designer: Saul Leon