Ninety-Nines.org: In a pueblo-style building in Southeast Albuquerque, a group of Lovelace Clinic aviation medicine experts put 31 astronaut candidates through a week of medical tests, chiefly involving being poked, prodded and given every test known to medical science. Thus the beginning of The Mercury Seven. In this year of 1959, America saw the greatest male heroes of modern life even before they flew in space.
Dr. R. Lovelace helped NASA draw up their profile of the perfect astronaut, based on years of medical testing experience of pilots. Again in 1959, Dr. Lovelace was in Miami, Florida attending an Aviation Convention, when he and Air Force Brigadier General Donald Flickinger wondered how women would handle the new frontier of space, if they were given a chance. General Flickinger had knowledge of the Russians preparing a non-pilot woman to be put into space and knew America had to act quickly if we wanted to launch a woman into space first. At this same Aviation Convention, Dr. Lovelace and General Flickinger met Aero Commander’s first woman pilot, Jerrie Cobb. Impressed by Jerrie’s experience and credentials, Jerrie was selected to be the first American woman to take the astronaut tests.
February 1960, Jerrie reported to the Lovelace Clinic under strict secrecy. She took all the Mercury Seven tests and did very well in the final analysis. These tests were called Phase I. Long time friend of Dr. Lovelace was famed aviatrix Jackie Cochran who generously supported the financial needs for the forth coming women to take Phase I. Lists were made of eligible women to participate in the Mercury Program from FAA records in Washington D.C. and The Ninety-Nines. Twenty-five women were contacted. The women were to be under 35 years of age, in good health, hold a second class medical, four year college education, a commercial rating or better and have over 2,000 hours of flying time. Jerrie Cobb helped in the selection, and if it had not been for Jerrie, the Mercury 13 would have never made it on paper much less into the testing phases. more
If only she were black or transgendered.
Could have won an Oscar…
A group of the best and brightest pioneers of the space program.
@LocoBlancoSaltine F.U. DBag. My pop was a biochemist on Gemini and Apollo, he said that those women whatever their so-called ethnicity were treated like dirt by arrogant insecure men. Go back to jacking off to gay porn ahole.
Whoa! Sounds like somebody doesn’t understand sarcasm.
Fred, have a Snickers…
Fred, Loco. Let me make your day.http://www.npr.org/2016/12/16/505569187/hidden-figures-no-more-meet-the-black-women-who-helped-send-america-to-space
Hey, the coffee doesn’t make itself…
had to know how wimmin could make sammiches in outer space for the men astronauts.
I wonder if they let them wear shoes inside the
capsule when they made sammitches?
Jackie Cochran was one of the best pilots to ever fly. Chuck Yeager and many other test pilots of the day accepted Jackie as a peer. Why no movie about Jackie? Well, she was married to millionaire Floyd Hudman, was very conservative and never left the cockpit without touching up her make-up. She was feminine to max. Hence, not “brave” enough in today’s parlance.
I had the privilege to meet Jackie once, and was a better person for having done so.
Fred D went to his “safe space”, maybe?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6xJzAYYrX8
“It was a different time,…”
Fred D.
Does he wear a hockey mask?