Did NASA Deny Hillary Clinton’s Childhood Aspiration of Becoming an Astronaut?
No, NASA did not reject Hillary Clinton’s childhood dream of becoming an astronaut. In fact, she never actually applied to become an astronaut. Clinton has, however, been a strong advocate for NASA and space exploration. As a child living in Illinois, she was inspired by the launch of Sputnik and the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. Clinton has said that she dreamed of being an astronaut and that she even wrote a letter to NASA asking how she could become an astronaut. Unfortunately, NASA did not respond to her letter and she went on to pursue a career in law and politics.
In 1994, while in the White House, she helped launch the Teacher in Space Program, a program that sought to send a teacher into space on a shuttle mission. She also publicly supported the International Space Station project, a project that was funded by the U.S. and Russia. Clinton has continued to support NASA and space exploration in the decades since. In 2008, Clinton proposed a plan to invest in space exploration and commercial space travel. She said that the plan would help foster international cooperation and collaboration in space exploration.
