Excerpts from the Mercury 13: the Untold Story of Thirteen American Women and the Dream of Space Flight by Martha Ackmann
Excerpts from The Mercury 13: The Untold Story of Thirteen American Women and the Dream of Space Flight
Published in 2003
In 1959 seven astronauts were introduced to the United States as the future of space travel. Known as the Mercury 7, the men became instant heroes, and they went on to make significant contributions to the U.S. space program. At the time Americans did not know that thirteen women had also qualified for spaceflights, undergoing the same rigorous testing and preparations as their male counterparts. Although none of these women—now called the Mercury 13—ever had the opportunity to travel into space, their pioneering spirit paved the way for future women astronauts. Had the Mercury 13 not proved to those in power that women could succeed in the field of aeronautics, Sally Ride (1951–), the first American woman to travel in space, may never have left the ground.
In 1958 the United States established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which integrated U.S. space research agencies and started an astronaut training program. The formation of NASA was a direct response to Sputnik 1, an artificial satellite (a man-made device that orbits Earth) that the former Soviet Union had launched the previous year (see First Satellite entry).
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