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In 1960–61, thirteen American women pilots, later known as the Mercury 13, passed the same first-phase medical tests that physician William Randolph Lovelace had helped design for NASA's first male astronauts. The private project was never an official NASA selection and was stopped before they could go further.

Mercury 13

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Lovelace began in 1960 with the record-setting pilot Jerrie Cobb, who passed all three phases of testing and ranked in the top 2% of candidates of either sex; she then helped him find the other women, and the aviator Jacqueline Cochran paid for much of the work. NASA, however, required its first astronauts to be military jet test pilots with a degree in engineering or the equivalent, and women could not train as military test pilots. In July 1962 Cobb and fellow pilot Jane Hart asked a congressional subcommittee to let the testing continue; astronaut John Glenn argued against it, and nothing changed. The name “Mercury 13” was coined in 1995. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983, and in 2021 Wally Funk, one of the thirteen, finally flew to space at 82.

Türkçe oku
1960–61'de, sonradan “Mercury 13” diye anılacak on üç Amerikalı kadın pilot, doktor William Randolph Lovelace'ın NASA'nın ilk erkek astronotları için hazırlanmasına yardım ettiği sağlık testlerinin ilk aşamasını geçti. Özel olarak yürütülen proje resmî bir NASA seçimi değildi ve kadınlar daha ileri gidemeden durduruldu.

Lovelace 1960'ta rekortmen pilot Jerrie Cobb ile başladı. Cobb testlerin üç aşamasını da geçti ve kadın erkek bütün adaylar arasında en iyi yüzde ikiye girdi; ardından diğer kadınların bulunmasına yardım etti. Masrafların büyük bölümünü havacı Jacqueline Cochran karşıladı. Ne var ki NASA ilk astronotlarında askerî jet test pilotluğunu ve mühendislik diplomasını ya da dengi bir eğitimi şart koşuyordu; kadınlar ise askerî test pilotu olarak yetiştirilmiyordu. Temmuz 1962'de Cobb ve pilot arkadaşı Jane Hart, bir Kongre alt komisyonundan testlerin sürdürülmesini istedi; astronot John Glenn buna karşı çıktı ve hiçbir şey değişmedi. “Mercury 13” adı 1995'te ortaya çıktı. Sally Ride 1983'te uzaya çıkan ilk Amerikalı kadın oldu; on üç kadından Wally Funk ise 2021'de, 82 yaşında, sonunda uzaya gitti.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Mercury 13
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