Remembering The "Other" Original Astronauts

by ANN Correspondent Aleta Vinas

Dr. W. Randolph Lovelace II and Brigadier General Donald Flickinger were nurturing an idea. Fresh from being part of the selection for the Mercury 7 astronauts, these two men thought women had the potential for spaceflight and might offer advantages over male candidates. 

Jerrie Cobb was the woman of their dreams. Cobb passed the same tests given to the male candidates and passed with flying colors.   Invitations were sent out to 25 other women pilots. Nineteen reported to Lovelace Clinic in Albuquerque, NM in 1961. Twelve passed the same tests that had been given to 110 men, which yielded the Mercury 7.

The women were brushed aside by Capitol Hill. The men, as we know, touched the sky.

The women who passed became known as the Mercury 13. They are: Jerrie Cobb, Bernice Steadman, Janey Hart, Jerri Truhill, Rhea Woltman, Sarah Ratley, Jan and Marion Dietrich, Myrtle Cagle (below), Irene Leverton, Gene Nora Jessen, Jean Hixson, and Wally Funk.

Now, the accomplishments as well as the trials and tribulations of all of the invitees will be celebrated in a permanent exhibit, believed to be the first of its kind, at the International Women’s Air and Space Museum at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, OH.

The exhibit -- entitled "Mercury Women: Forgotten Link to the Future" -- is scheduled to open November 10, 2006. Using artifacts, letters photos and more donated by the participants themselves, the exhibit will encompass the testing, the congressional hearings that ended the program and pay tribute to the women’s accomplishments before, during and after the program.

The museum is currently raising funds and collecting artifacts for the exhibit. Individuals and corporations interested in donating to the exhibit can do so in a number of ways. A permanent donor wall will honor contributors to the exhibit. A minimum of $75 for an individual, and $250 for a corporation, is required to ensure a place on the wall.

For more information visit the museum’s website at the FMI link, or call 216-623-1111.

FMI: www.iwasm.org