Kathryn D. Sullivan

Sullivan is one of those figures who quietly reframes what a single human life can contain. The first American woman to walk in space, a working geologist who flew three Shuttle missions, and later someone who descended to the deepest point of the ocean. I find that vertical range almost dizzying. What draws me to her is not just the firsts, but the seriousness of the science underneath them. She was a scholar before she was an icon. The Paterson kid who ended up studying Earth from orbit and the seabed embodies curiosity at its most disciplined, and I deeply admire that kind of quiet, sustained ambition.

Name (English)

Kathryn D. Sullivan

Name (Japanese)

キャサリン・D・サリバン

Reading

きゃさりん・D・さりばん

Born

October 3, 1951 (age 74)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Libra / Rabbit

Origin

Paterson, New Jersey, United States

Occupation

astronaut / geologist / scientist

High school

William Howard Taft Charter High School

University

University of California, Santa Cruz

Awards & achievements

• 2002 Ohio Women's Hall of Fame
• Women in Aviation International
• 2016 Rachel Carson Award
• 2004 United States Astronaut Hall of Fame
• 2004 Women in Space Science Award
• Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey
• 2020 BBC 100 Women
• 1985 International Space Hall of Fame

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A3%E3%82%B5%E3%83%AA%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BBD%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B5%E3%83%AA%E3%83%90%E3%83%B3

Tags

• New Jersey
• astronaut
• geologist
• scientist

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.