But There's No Way To Get There
Nadezhda Kutelnaya has
trained for nine long years to be a Russian cosmonaut. She's beaten
the odds -- there are no other women currently part of the Russian
space program. But she's now reportedly losing hope that she will
ever leave the planet.
“A woman in space is an exception for today’s
Russia,” she says with a sigh, pointing out that every single
woman who applied for the Russian space program last month was
turned down cold.
“This is a mentality issue — Russian men claim they
want to protect women from difficult labor,” she says.
It's ironic to hear such bitterness from a woman whose country
sent the first female into space in 1963. Valentina Tereshkova's
brief flight was, at the time, seen as a victory for socialism in
its losing war against the West. Tereshkova became a role model for
women, even insisting that going into space was no more dangerous
than driving a car.
Russia sent another woman into space 19 years
In 1982, Svetlana Savitskaya rocketed into orbit for a lengthy
stay aboard the Russian MIR Space Station. “I envied her
terribly and told myself — why not me?” Kutelnaya
Kutelnaya worked up the courage to apply to the cosmonaut
program in 1994. She was accepted and did so well that she was
assigned to Russia's elite corps of astronauts for a trip to the
International Space Station. She was all ready to go in 2001. But
she was grounded.
Always A Bridesmaid
Kutelnaya was slotted to
board the ISS as an engineer. But she was bumped from the flight to
make room for the world's first space tourist.
American Dennis Tito payed $20 million for the
privilege of going into orbit (over the objections of NASA). It was
the closest Kutelnaya has come so far to actually doing her
Her hopes were briefly elevated in October, 2001,
when she was assigned as back-up for French astronaut Claudie
Haignere. Usually, the back-up cosmonaut can count on hitching the
next ride into orbit.
Once again, however, she was bumped by Russia's
desperate need for cold, hard cash. South African millionaire Mark
Sutterworth went to the ISS in April, 2002, paying the requisite
$20 million for the chance.
“The worst thing for me was to watch a spacecraft blasting
off without me,” she confessed, tears springing to her eyes.
“Russia’s space sector needs money. Besides, they
promised me nothing. My name did not appear on the team lists for
the next missions.”
The fire that burned so brightly in the eyes of young Nadezhda
dimmed even further after the Columbia tragedy last February. She
was told by Russian space officials that she would not be flying to
the ISS "anytime soon."
Still, Nadezhda stays in shape. She lives in a cramped Moscow
studio apartment with her retired husband and their four-year old
son. She won't give up she says.
How can she? In English, "Nadezhda" means "hope."