The Mercury 13
“3…2…1… Liftoff! We have liftoff of Geraldine Cobb who makes the 6th Mercury flight and becomes the first American woman to enter space. As the Atlas booster ascends to orbit, Cobb’s Mercury spacecraft named “Together 13,” will begin a one-day journey around our Earth to test important spacecraft systems and conduct several scientific experiments in space. Cobb will also become the first woman in the history of….”
The above, of course, never occurred. However, it came closer to happening then most might think. Ironically, in the late 1950’s, in the infancy of space travel, the American space program was considering female astronauts. The motivation for female astronauts was sparked from scientific curiosity and a desire to beat the Russians if they eventually decided to launch a woman into space. Military officials, at the time, had heard rumors that Russians were training women cosmonauts.
In 1959, a handful of male astronaut candidates were going through rigorous physical and psychological examinations. Eventually, they would be narrowed down to a class of seven Alpha male heroes who would become the first American citizens to enter the hostile environment of space. The man in charge of these tests, Dr. Rudolph Lovelace, began to wonder, along with Military officials, if it would be prudent to begin training women by similar standards.
Lovelace soon found an ideal candidate: an aviation company’s first woman pilot, Geraldine “Jerrie” Cobb. Early in 1960 Cobb reported to the same facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico that the now famous Mercury Seven astronauts had been tested at just a year before. Her presence there was considered top secret and was not officially endorsed by the fledgling NASA. Cobb quickly passed the first round of three tests that would qualify her for astronaut status. These results encouraged Lovelace to continue on with training women to be astronauts. Lovelace, with the help of Cobb, contacted 25 other female pilots to take the battery of tests. Each candidate had to meet a stringent list of requirements: all must be under 35 years of age, in superior physical and mental condition, have a four year degree, a commercial rating to fly, and at least 2,000 hours of flight time.
In early 1961 the twenty-five candidates were tested. These women, who were sworn to secrecy, officially became known as FLATS, or First Lady Astronaut Trainees. They had to endure strange tests such as having ice water injected into their ears, or endure long tubes being inserted into their stomachs. Doctors even had candidates drink a glass of radioactive dye to examine body functions. In many tests, the women performed far better than their male counterparts. In one particular experiment, conducted inside a sensory deprivation tank, many of the FLATS were tested beyond ten hours without any ill effects, while male candidates only had to last three hours. By the summer of 1961, thirteen female pilots became the final group of candidates: Myrtle Cagle, Geralidine Cobb, twins Jan and Marion Dietrich, Wally Funk, Jane Hart (the wife of a Senator), Jean Hixson, Gene Jessen, Irene Leverton, Sarah Ratley, B. Steadmen, Jerri Truhill, and Rhea Woltman. However, Cobb and Funk were the only women to complete the final phase of training. This final phase, which was conducted in Pensacola, Florida, included flight training in centrifuges and ejection tests. During the early 1960’s Cobb even became something of a celebrity, conducting several interviews. Magazines and newspapers of the day wondered what type of hairstyle women would wear once in space, and how women astronauts would be able to improve male astronaut behavior in the confines of a capsule.
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