A milestone mission
As a child, Anna Fisher thought she’d be laughed at for dreaming of being an astronaut – in 1984 she became the first mother to go into orbit
John Bryson/Sygma via Getty Images
- Caroline Frost
Kristin Fisher always considered her childhood in Houston, Texas, pretty routine, boring even. But at college she had a late-night epiphany about her parents and what they did for a living. “I had this moment,” she remembers. “‘My parents are astronauts!’ I called my dad and shouted, ‘You went to space!’ He replied, ‘Kristin, go to bed.’”
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It might have taken their daughter a while to realise, but the Fishers were indeed pretty special, as is evident in their contribution to Once Upon a Time in Space, a new four-part BBC Two documentary series that revisits the awe-inspiring triumphs and devastating tragedies that punctuated the two-decade space race.
Of all the billions of people to have lived on our planet, fewer than 700 have ventured into space and, among them, only a handful of married couples. Kristin’s parents, Bill and Anna Fisher, met as medical students and bonded over a love of space. Teachers had complained that Bill was “too rocket conscious” as a schoolboy, while 12-year-old Anna was awestruck as she listened on a radio to Alan Shepard’s 1961 journey to become the first American in space. “I knew immediately that’s what I wanted to do,” she remembers.
Unlike Bill, Anna kept her dream quiet. “I was afraid people would laugh at me. At that time, women just weren’t allowed to do some of those things. I’m not sure women today realise how much things have changed.”
However, Anna’s ambition coincided with a change in Nasa’s recruitment process: for the first time, civilians were employed to join pilots on the Shuttle. In 1978, both Anna and Bill applied for the new role of “mission scientist”, but only one was selected. “It was kind of bittersweet, because I got the call and my husband didn’t,” says Anna. “I was so excited and happy, but I didn’t want to make him feel bad. I tried to hide my enthusiasm, but he was very good about it.”
I just wanted to be an astronaut, not a female astronaut – but we were paving the road
Anna Fisher
Fortunately for marital harmony, Bill was recruited two years later, and the Fishers became America’s first married astronauts. Life changed overnight, particularly for Anna, one of six women selected, as she prepared for her debut mission on the Space Shuttle Discovery. When it launched in November 1984 she took her place in history as the first mother in space, having given birth to Kristin the year before.
Anna is relieved there was no social media at the time. More than 20 years later, John Bryson’s famous photograph of her in her astronaut’s helmet went viral. Even then, she reports, the comments were divided, “between those saying it was great I went to space and the other half asking, ‘How could you leave your baby?’ I got a glimpse of what it would have been like if social media had been around. So that was a blessing.”
How did she feel herself about the prospect of flying into space at the age of 35, with all the risk it entailed, and leaving her infant daughter behind? “I worried about it, but I had made a commitment a long time before, just by applying to be an astronaut, so I didn’t spend a lot of time second-guessing myself.”
Anna and Bill Fisher with baby Kristin. BBC/KEO Films/Anna Fisher
Instead, Bill and Anna chose not to fly together; the documentary includes lots of home video deliberately filmed prior to their missions so, lest the worst should happen, their daughter would have memories of them all together. Now, Kristin reveals she’s relieved she was too young to understand the enormity of their work, and the risks her parents faced. However, the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree – since 2021, Kristin has been the space and defence correspondent for CNN.
The danger was brought horribly close to home with the explosions of Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003, both incidents killing all astronauts on board. These disasters devastated Nasa’s ambitions, and meant Anna never took another flight into space. She is philosophical. “I worked on the Shuttle programme, the Space Station and the Orion programme, so that’s three big projects. Not having a second or third trip is a bit disappointing, but not in the scheme of things.”
She remains proud, too, of her achievements, both as a woman and a mother. “I didn’t want to be a female astronaut, just an astronaut, but then you realise you are paving the road for the people that come after you. I’m very proud that all six of us women flew, and we all did a great job.
“Plus my two daughters have grown up to become amazing women. So that’s right up there too.”
LIFE IN SPACE
Astronaut Dan Tani on living on the International Space Station
You had little interest in space growing up. What changed?
My heroes were baseball players and comedians, and I had no idea what I wanted to do. I studied engineering, then had a job offer from Los Angeles so I thought I could buy a convertible, drive by the beach and enjoy the lifestyle -— and the job happened to be with an aerospace contractor. One day, a notice on the bulletin board said Nasa were recruiting. We were all joking, “Hey, we should apply. Who doesn’t want to be an astronaut?”
You ended up as a mission scientist on the International Space Station twice, first for 12 days, then for four months. What were the biggest challenges?
Separation from people was tough — I had two young children and I knew it was hard on my wife. I got all the attention and she did all the work. Physically, being weightless is easy on your body, and it’s hilariously fun to float around.
Astronaut Dan Tani. BBC/KEO Films/Gus Palmer
During your second trip, you learnt your mother had died and had to deliver her eulogy via videolink. How did you cope?
Space Station astronauts are the experiment: how do we deal with weightlessness, with life? I just happened to be the first American going through that particular experience [grieving a close relative while in space]. Being apart from my family was difficult, but at least I could talk about Mom and she got to see my launch.
How did space travel change your perspective on life?
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Work is still important to me, but it’s not going to get better than living on the Space Station. I put in thousands of hours up there; now I focus on my family and enjoying myself.
Authors
Caroline Frost
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