Dr Peggy Whitson
This is Dr Peggy Whitson
Dr Peggy Whitson is the most experienced female astronaut in history, with 695 days in space and 10 spacewalks. She was the first woman to command the International Space Station, the first woman to command a private space mission, and in June 2025, at 65, became the oldest woman to orbit Earth.
From a farm in Iowa to the International Space Station
In 1969, Peggy Whitson lived on a farm outside Beaconsfield, Iowa, a town so small it has a population of about 15. As a 9 year old girl, she watched Neil Armstrong walk on the Moon, and it sparked something.
In 1978 she graduated high school, and NASA selected its first female astronauts, including Sally Ride. The Moon landing gave her a dream. Seeing women selected gave her permission to believe it could be hers.
She went on to earn a PhD in biochemistry from Rice University, then started applying to become a NASA astronaut. For a decade, she applied and was continuously rejected. Instead, she kept working at NASA as a researcher, building her expertise from the ground up.
In 1996, ten years after her first application, she was finally selected. And she never took her foot off the gas since.
What are Dr Peggy Whitson's major achievements?
She became the first woman to command the International Space Station, in a corps that had been all-male for its first two decades.
That mission nearly killed her. On re-entry, the Soyuz capsule malfunctioned, triggering an unplanned ballistic descent. She hit 8.2 Gs. The capsule landed 420 km off target on the Kazakh steppe. A Russian official later said their lives had been on a razor's edge.
She went back to space twice after that.
She became the only woman to command the ISS twice. The first woman and first non-military person to lead NASA's Astronaut Office. The first woman to command a private space mission. She has completed 10 spacewalks, more than any woman in history. In June 2025, at 65, she became the oldest woman ever to orbit Earth.
She spent a total of 695 days in space, more than any other American, more than any other woman.
Key facts
Born: 1960, Mount Ayr, Iowa
Education: PhD in Biochemistry, Rice University
Selected by NASA: 1996
Total time in space: 695 days
Spacewalks: 10
ISS commands: 2
Notable firsts: First woman to command the ISS. First woman to command the ISS twice. First non-military person and first woman to lead NASA's Astronaut Office. First woman to command a private space mission. Oldest woman to orbit Earth (age 65, June 2025).
"I like to say I'm determined; some people would call it stubborn. It depends on your perspective."
Last updated September 2026