Meet Australia’s first Astronaut under the national flag

We speak with Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Australian Astronaut, Australian Space Agency in Adelaide for The Andy Thomas Space Foundation’s Australian Space Forum.

In 2023, as an employee of the Australian Space Agency, Katherine was invited by the European Space Agency (ESA) to undertake Basic Astronaut Training in Germany, becoming the first international astronaut candidate to do so.

In 2007, Katherine graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) – Aeronautical Engineering (Space) and a Bachelor of Science (Advanced) – Physics from the University of Sydney. She kept busy during her studies, completing internships as a mechanical engineer, as a physics researcher, and later, working as a computer programmer. She was also an Australian Army Reservist, a volunteer in the NSW SES, and travelled to India with Engineers Without Borders.

Upon graduation, Katherine became Australia’s first female astronaut. She is also the first person to train as an astronaut under the Australian flag.

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