by Ian Sales
It was not until fifteen years later, on 16 January 1978, that the first women were selected by NASA as astronauts, and a further five years when, on 18 June 1983, the first American woman, Dr Sally Ride, went into space. A woman would not command a flight into space until 23 July 1999: Eileen M Collins, on STS-93.
Picture credits: cover of Look magazine, 2 February 1960, featuring Betty Skelton; Jerrie Cobb undergoing medical testing at the Lovelace Clinic (Life magazine collection); cover of September 1961 issue of McCall’s magazine; Valentina Tereshkova (NASA); Jerrie Cobb and Janey Hart testifying before the congressional subcommittee (Life magazine collection).
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40th Anniversary of the Mercury 7
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Beyond Apollo
Big Blue Technical Diving News and Events
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Gemini: Bridge to the Moon
Johnson Space Centre History Portal
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Mercury 13 – Women of the Mercury Era
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Naval History Magazine, Vol 27 No 1 (online article)
The Space Review
USS Scorpion Search Operations Phase II
Wikipedia
