You must have heard of two astronauts who, literally, stepped out in space for over six hours for a spacewalk just two days ago. They exited the International Space Station (ISS) in outer space to upgrade the orbiting laboratory. This was epic as it was only the second spacewalk undertaken to the laboratory.
But do you know, that March 29, 2019 would have been an equally epic day because not one but two female astronauts were to undertake a spacewalk? But on March 25, 2019, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that it had to scrap the plan. Why? Because there was a lack of spacesuits in the right size. Baffling, right? Wait, there's more.
Christina Koch and Anne McClain, who eventually had to give up her place, were the chosen ones for this first-of-its-kind mission. Here's the justification that was given for the mission that was: “In this case, it’s easier (and faster!) to change space-walkers than reconfigure the spacesuit,” said NASA's spokesperson. The fact of the matter is microgravity makes you taller and the right spacesuit makes all the difference. Another fact of the matter is that the first woman to perform a spacewalk was Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya and that was 35 years ago. How much longer will we wait for the next woman?
They'll be fine
Sometimes, to us mere mortals, it feels like dropping out of prestigious varsities like Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge and so on is the very formula to success. And this is not some emerging trend set by the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. Even great writers like Percy Bysshe Shelley have done so back in the year 1811 and have earned eternal fame. Buckle up because this is an interesting story.
On March 25, 1811 Shelley dropped out of college for jointly authoring The Necessity of Atheism. You see, back in that time, it was against the law in England to argue about God’s existence publicly. Even though the poet refused to admit or deny the authorship, the poet's father pulled some strings and made it possible for him to join Oxford again. On one condition. That Shelley would renounce his atheism and do so publicly. Obviously, he refused, dropped out and started writing full-time.
Shelley is the same English poet who went on to give us gems like Ozymandias (who can forget the closing lines: My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!), Ode to the West Wind and many, many more.