Quite a few children look up at the sky and dream of one day becoming an astronaut, but only a tiny number actually reach for the stars, and an even smaller number pass the exacting training required to succeed.
But growing up on Sydney’s northern beaches, Katherine Bennell-Pegg was determined to head into space.
In high school, she was asked to list three careers she aspired to pursue. She only wrote down one response—astronaut.
With her parents’ encouragement, she studied Maths, English, Chemistry, Physics, and Economics in her final year of high school and took part in a range of extra-curricular activities targeting a career in space: aerobatic flying lessons, amateur astronomy, sports, and debating.
In 2007, she graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Aeronautical Engineering (Space) and a Bachelor of Science (Advanced) in Physics. While studying, she also completed internships as a mechanical engineer and a physics researcher and later worked as a computer programmer.
She was also an Australian Army Reservist, a volunteer in the NSW State Emergency Services, and travelled to India with Engineers Without Borders.
Over the next decade, Ms. Bennell-Pegg worked across Europe on a range of space projects before returning to Australia in 2019 to join the Australian Space Agency, where she rose to become the Director of Space Technology.
In 2023, she was invited by the European Space Agency (ESA) to undertake basic astronaut training in Germany. She was the first international astronaut candidate to do so.
After 13 months of training, the 39-year-old mother of two became the first astronaut to graduate under the Australian flag.
International Space Station
The rigorous program takes astronauts through low-gravity flights, robotics, scientific experiments, survival, medical, and centrifuge training.Ms. Bennell-Pegg said one of the most memorable exercises was the centrifuge training.
“We get put into a little capsule in the dark and we go through the full g-force profile over a launch and return,” she said. “You just feel this crushing force ... you can imagine yourself in a rocket, on the capsule coming back and you know you can handle that and its effects. I was pretty dizzy afterwards—I may have walked into a pole.”
While there have been two other Australian astronauts, Andy Thomas and Paul Scully Power both travelled to space as American citizens, and Ms. Bennell-Pegg is the first Australian woman astronaut.
“We are proud of Katherine. She will return to Australia a qualified astronaut brimming with knowledge, insights, and connections that will help generate global opportunities for our industry,” Head of the Australian Space Agency Enrico Palermo said.
That has already begun, with her training leading to a delegation of Australian organisations presenting to ESA and German Aerospace Centre representatives during a trip in March 2024.
“Representing Australia is filled with opportunities to propel our nation’s science and technology forward in the global space arena and to raise the level of aspiration for the next generation,” Ms. Bennell-Pegg said.
“I hope my training and whatever comes next helps unlock the path for more Australians to become involved in human spaceflight.
“I want to be able to go into schools and tell kids an astronaut dream is a legitimate dream and to dream big,” she said.
