"...With over 450 people having flown into space, odds are there has been at least one gay person in space already, but the conservative nature of NASA and the military heritage of many of the astronauts may combine to make it difficult for astronauts to be open about their sexual orientation. Add to that that US astronauts all live and train in Texas, where sodomy laws remained on the books until 2003 (when a Supreme Court ruling forced Texas to take them out), and you can begin to get a sense of the atmosphere. The atmosphere in Russia has not been much better.
There have been some recent victories however for gay people who love space. Former 'N Sync singer and commercial astronaut hopeful Lance Bass came out on the cover of People magazine in 2006 and George Takei, the actor who played the beloved Lieutenant Sulu on Star Trek, came out of the closet in 2005. Takei has become a major spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign and embarked on a nationwide speaking tour he called, "Equality Trek."
Of NASA's ten field centers, Ames and JPL in California, and Goddard in Maryland already have groups at their centers to support gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees. NASA Ames also hosted George Takei in a special event on October 11, 2007 for National Coming Out Day. But the space community at large, still has a long way to go. MORE..."
