The Mercury 7, better known as the original men that were picked to fly for project Mercury, was publicly announced on April 9, 1959. Roughly two years later, on May 5, 1961, the first American man entered into space on the Mercury excursion. At the same time the Mercury 7 were making strides, so were a handful of ladies, better known as the Mercury 13. Dr. Randy Lovelace and Brigadier General Donald Flickinger privately funded the Lovelace Clinic in order to put women through the same tests that the Mercury 7 endured. The first call given was to Jerrie Cobb, a world-renowned pilot who began setting records at 16 when she began her pilot training. She passed every physical requirement that was thrown at her, just as the men did. From there, she helped Dr. Lovelace recruit 25 more women for the tests, 12 more passed the first round of tests just as she did. Cobb completed every single test that NASA required of its astronaut candidates and the goal was to have the rest of the women do the same. Sadly, shortly after Cobb and two other women, Wally Funk and Rhea Hurrle, advanced to another phase of testing, the program was shut down due to the lack of support from government agencies. The Mercury 13 never achieved their goal of going into space but their legacy will carry on forever as those who laid the groundwork for numerous other women to take a step through NASA’s door.
Mercury 13 Women:
Jerrie Cobb
Wally Funk
Irene Leverton
Myrtle "K" Cagle
Jane B. Hart
Gene Nora Stumbough [Jessen]
Jerri Sloan [Truhill]
Rhea Hurrle [Woltman]
Sarah Gorelick [Ratley]
Bernice "B" Trimble Steadman
Jan Dietrich
Marion Dietrich
Jean Hixson