Vintage space, hosted by Discover Magazine which is also a Youtube Channel with over 325,000 subscribers. Shes a regular writer for discovery seeker and has hosted numerous space and science related shows. Among them nasas unexplained files. Shefi gives talks about spaceflight all over the u. S. And america. Please give a warm welcome to amy teitel. [applause] bring it down to short level. Good morning, everyone and thank you for coming out to listen to me talk first thing in the morning come for some including myself. Something weird about hearing your bio read like that. Ill try to live up to everything that was just intensely said about me. I want to start with, who here has heard of the socalled mercury 13 . Theres like like a decent numf hanscom maybe 15 or 20, or sometimes called the slack first lady astronaut training. Sorry. Theres no way to print my tux am going to read this off my phone. If you dont know, if you dont know the story of the socalled mercury 13 ill explain the codes later, dont worry. Basically its a a story of everything in equatorial africa sister of 13 women who train for spaceflight in the 1960s and took on nasa with the goal of writing the wrong of sexism. Nasa the type did not allow women into the ash not core and so they decided they needed to have his change. It went all the way to house subcommittee hearing in 1962 and spoiler alert, not really a spoiler, it didnt work. He spaceflight pioneers according to forbes were estimae candidates, according to nbc and the secret nasa program. They train for spaceflight according to reuters and could even mercury astronauts. The story that is usually told with all of the air quotes invariably features a hero named jerrie cobb. Jerry as a young woman come in early 30s 30s at the time. She was the first woman to take all the astronaut tests and was kind of a media darling. Shes the one who spearheaded it. It. Shes in a most familiar with the story. Shes a woman right here. And the stories also invariably feature a villain named jackie cochran. Here. Oman right and jack is basically like a disney villain. Shela swoops down from on high, thwarts her would be sisters in the subcommittee hearing, and then goesom home to her castle n a forest to confer with her pet raven purchased basically maleficent from sleeping beauty. The original, not the angelina jolie. This pops up with regularly pick someone gets allon excited becae this appealing feminist story, and its all wrong. That is why there is so many air quotes. The whole narrative is just not right. I will tell you a little bit about the story today. We will also kind of walk you through the process of how i came to write this book. When i started reading about the story i read the raw rock feminist one. She is a woman in her early 30s. In a male dominant field trying to be known for her skill. It hits home for me in a lot of way. It really felt like a great story to tell. Who doesnt love giving an unknown figure from history there do. As i started researching this. Is something bothered something bothered me about the characterization of a jackie. Why did they come out of the forest castle just to tell nasa and to Tell Congress that women should not fly in space. No one is that vindictive. Reading the transcript. Jerry is going on and on about women are smaller and lighter. Their Scientific Evidence to support that. In the 1960s. If you were too heavy for the rock. It would not get off the ground. In this congressional hearing. Its just not the right time for women. Technology is new. If a rocket goes with the woman on board. That wishes pushes it back. This villain kinda makes sense. Its dated. It makes a lot of sense. I have always loved melissa vent from sleeping beauty. I wanted to know more about this reallife disney villain. Luckily jackie wrote the memoir. This was the first resource i really read about. Immediately she emerged as this epic battle. I will give you the kohls note. I still cant get cliff notes top of mine. Jackie was an orphan. They were born into poverty and she got out of middletown life through the beauty industry. She learned to fly in her 20s in the 1930s and by the end of the decade was winning all kinds of awards. In the Second World War she actually read the air force service pilot. She ran for congress she was the first woman to break the sound barrier. She and i were such good friends. He wrote one of the memoirs at the house. Its a hell now very sad. One of the largest cosmetic companies in the country. It was on par with Elizabeth Arden at the time. The resounding silence of nose. One of the ten richest men in the country. One of the robber barons. He built america. They are the power couple to end all Power Couples and no one has ever heard of them. We know memoirs can be selfserving. Everyone can tell you that. Jackies memoir is no exception. I was able to find a lot of other sources to back up all of her records. There was stuff to back all that up. I cannot find anything to back up her orphan story. She actually made that bit up. Digging in to jackies early life was like the funnest thing in the world. Im very excited clerk at the clerks office. I think it was in georgia actually. Now that im here. Everything about jackies adult life as a pilot was right. It turns out to be so much more interesting. I want to read a very brief expert to read instead of try to calculate exactly the early life. The only thing you need to know going into this. She was not born jackie cochran. In a span of a decade they had been married and divorced welcomed a son and then buried him. Buried the father and the brother. Her sister and beloved brothers were all raising their own families. They held nothing but painful memories. One midsummer day. Her worldly possessions were packed into suitcases. Including the money she had gained. She bought a ticket and boarded a train heading north. She decided to reinvent her past. She would tell people she was an orphan. The pigments have taken her in but never really cared for her. She would never admit to knowing the biological family. They had been so poor and unloving that they had been fellers to leave the house 11 years old to leave work. She couldnt bear to erase robert junior entirely. Decided to keep the only thing she had left that they had shared a name. She would remain a cracker and to keep the little boy alive. Running their finger through the phone book. The space as they spent further north she faded into obscurity. She obtained that skill of a hairdresser and nurse. She decided but the world would absolutely no mr. Jacqueline cropp cochran. Dont you want to know so much more about her. Here is this woman who reinvented herself so completely but she is so complex. She was 23 by the time all that happened. Of course shes cannot become the fascinating character to dive into and really understand. She is the real forest dumb. No distractions there. She is not really the villain of the story. The story of women in space because jackie was everywhere it was really her story and everyone else kind of comes into and gives it that dynamic. I will put this back up so it continues to burn into your brain. Jerry was 25 years younger than jackie. Jackie learn to fly in the 1930s. It was rare. It wasnt totally uncommon. In the 30s with the pilot was the celebrities and all celebrities. Still names that they know even though what they did by todays standards. It is not a hotshot fighter pilot. Postwar they learn to fly as a teenager. In the 1950s when she was an adult it was still really hard for a woman to make a living as a pilot. And she did find a way. She worked in a lot of odd jobs to do it. She was a very good pilot but she was not remarkable in her era the way that jackie was remarkable in hers. Then the space age happened. It kind of ruined everything for everyone in the air. In 1959 nasa was created in 1958. They introduced the world to the first class of astronauts. These guys became celebrities overnight the way that they were celebrities in the 30s. These were seven men who have passed. They had jet test experience. If they were on over 180 pounds. That bracket rocket is not getting off the ground. 110 men in the country. Only men could qualify as test pilots. They met the basic requirements. Basic do wed we like you as a human test. And the last group went through extensive testing. Everyone has seen the right stuff. The scene where i forget to the actors name. That was very real. Fun times and good times. All of this medical testing. It was one of the oldest friends. It was the board. It was important. The world is introduced. They are the celebrities the right experience and age. Answer of the right physical fitness. To take the same test. Whether or not a woman would be able to be proved physically as fit. You cant really pass a medical test. She performed adequately enough. That they incorporated the results. Into a medical paper he have. In the fall of 1960 you have the words woman and astronaut in the same sentence what do you think the press is going to pick up as a story. The same way that you have discovery of evidence. They pass the same test. The media went crazy. And completely came up. With jerry at the center. And eventually they know the control of one is very forced sample size. They get more women to do the test. And jackie is involved. Randy asked her to be an advisor. There is more data points. The group of astronauts jerry is running around the country giving talks. The first woman astronaut. It was not your none of this is real at all. It becomes this he said she said. It was really hard to figure out what is real and what is not. Here is where the archives where the best friends. Jackie was good friends with president eisenhower. They kept every single scrap of paper that ever crossed the desk. I have so much fun. When you go to the archives. They give you a finding guide. Its a list of boxes. You can only look at some so much. The finding guide is this big. I dont know but theres probably 60 lineal feet of material. She kept every letter. A copy of every letter that she received. She was curious what they were saying about her and this whole woman astronaut business. To keep it straight, i was able to actually see what every person was saying. The ended up getting all the way to nasa. Jerry was sending telegrams for the white house. I was able to find that white house slip to say kennedy got this telegram from her have nasa answer it in dismiss her. All of the Little Details that showed how complicated it was. And how many people were unwittingly drawn into this same way. Letters that were not filed in the national archives. It really clarified the details. And among all of that. I was able to actually compare what jackie was saying versus what jerry was saying. I just want to read a quick letter. Ive had different all of these opinions were. This is jerry addressing a crowd at an event. Jerry and jackie work cohead lighting and event. I would not had known that except jackie keeps it in a certain order. This was no different she said. Everyone there to contribute to the best of their godgiven ability. Having been a professional pilot i felt like i confessed contribute to space research. To prove that they have the capabilities of actively controlling it. She had been appointed a nasa consultant. But she said i am the most un consulted consultant in any Government Agency today. Im certainly not a feminist nor do i want to be a space age. Stowe. But i would give my life to this purpose and counted as a blessing to serve my god and my country to the upmost. I hope to make that space like. Applause filled the room. They third stood and moved to the podium. Through the editorial license and did a fairly widespread belief. It was a very different version of the same story. It gets really messy and complicated as it goes back and forth. There is one other letter i want to reach you really quick. Like i said this got all the way to a house subcommittee hearing and that all the way to the house subcommittee hearing in even got to the point that jerry and another one of the woman pilots got a meeting with lbj when he was vice president. I have never heard of the letter before. It is like that handwritten signature. You can just pick it up. I love history. Thank you so much for your nice letter in the enclosure. Its fun to see how we have a good time with jerry cobb. It kinda says a lot doesnt it. So between all of these letters and even letters from the women that i was able to find no one agreed on what this program was supposed to be. Everybody wanted it to be Something Different largely for self serving purposes. It became this really interesting thing. Why was this program it looked like it was can happen. They were to go through some simulation testing. And no one would take responsibility for it. I can give away the Actual Energy for it. Exactly where the thread went. Why it became such a big deal and how it became an epic method of he said she said. The questions i will leave you with in the hopes that you will be curious enough to actually read it was jerrys dream actually realistic. Or was she right because she have all of the most powerful men in the country in her pocket. I dont want to give away any more spoilers than that i will now open this for questions. [applause]. What started you to become a space nerd. I was researching for my second grade program. And venus is awesome. Its right there in the sky. I dont remember if it happened before or after the project. My dad how to show me. I have this little book. And there was a cartoon. Im from canada. Nasas not everywhere in canada. I really want to know all about it. I just became fascinated with it. Something as big as the moon. And the bigger the answer becomes. This is really a facet of the space history even though its not. It sheds light on this weird story. Never really knew the right answers too. Can you tell us about your writing process. What does that week look like. And how long did this take. Do they let you take a picture of things. And then trying to get into a narrator. The writing process is a lot of solitary sitting at my desk. Writing the proposal was actually took more time than writing the actual book largely because i knew the proposal had to be really forward for nonfiction. It took almost a year and a half to get the proposal down where it was really solid in my agent did not let me go out with anything subpar. While all of that is happening. Im taking this research out. They well for the most part let you take a picture. I just sat there with my phone. Im knocking to be discerning. It gets to the point. I went to abilene kansas. Its really hard to get to. Lets just take this floyd box. Found some amazing stuff just by chance. I head about five or six pages of archive material not including pictures and that i got. Because jackie kept everything. And writing it was relative to quick. We now know that children and women are more susceptible than the radiation the deep space challenge of going to mars of course is going to result in a significant radiation dose. Maybe you dont take the High School Science or even send a woman did you encounter any of that in your research. For this book know, i did not look into any of that. Radiation at this point they knew it was can be a problem going to the moon. They figured you are going so fast. In the mission is so fast. Radiation from my understanding as a non physicist. Radiation is the big problem. No one is going to survive that trip with the radiation. That is the big one. We are talking two years. It is a lot of exposure. Have you talked to any of the current core of female astronauts and how they read the book and what are their reactions if you have. The book isnt actually out yet. So no one has read it. Very excited for it to be out. I dont know any of the core of astronauts. There are a bunch were on the list. Im very curious to know what they think of it. But no one has read and no one has thoughts yet. In all of your research have you come across anything that says the women had any particular physical advantages for example ive heard for contact air dance. From what i found the research for this was pretty limited it to the medical tests. It was really just a super extensive physical theres some merit to the idea that women consume fewer resources i can fit in a smaller space. Its something you can. The ability as a human not your ability as an eating machine. Or as a Waste Production machine. Good morning. Where there any major leads that you were not able to attract him. She is notorious. After that this whole thing died down. Working largely as a missionary pilot. She have a foundation. And that was most of her work. She lived very hard to get through. They came with a very strict do not disturb. I did not want to be that person who was pounding her. I did try to go through more friendly means. I was not able to talk with her. She wrote memoirs. I have her story. Also some the letters that they wrote. Even though i wasnt able to speak with her. It did not tell me much. I even went to her old house. Her old house is now a golf course. In preparation actually looked on youtube. I saw you many times. Can you tell us about your vintage black. Its hovering at the 330 mark. There is a lot of plateauing on youtube. The brief kind of background of that. I recently ran the vintage space into an open space. Unrelated but really cool. The blog really started as my own experience to try to figure out how to be up Popular Science writer. I just finished my degree. That was a good idea. Within a matter of months i was getting enough traction on the blog that it was work sticking it there. Those two things go hand in hand. The worst reality for a writer is that people dont like to read. People dislike to watch things. And gradually kind of got into it. And now have settled into a thing. I put up a video on youtube. Very irregularly. Especially surrounded a book lunch. I love having that thing under my control. I did an article when the cia trained spies that happened. Can you think of a more 1960s program. To spend millions of dollars on lets train cats. You know how hard it is to train a cat. I get to look at all kinds of things that i think are really exciting. And i mentioned that jackie had a cosmetics empire. Other records that she did. Rivalries of other pilots and stuff. They have a great romance in the book. I was kind of a home wrecking situation. Were looking into that. There are their other overlaps. Its very interesting and feeling a little days of our lives right now. I will dig into all of that. It is my internet baby. I want to do what i want with that. It is my little place for creative freedom. I think this is cool so you cannot learn about it. Try to make it fun. Should i slink off to the side there. Whats next is for the book to actually be released finally. Its so weird having a book. Next is to just head the book come out. And hope the people like it. And hope that people that it does well. Everything is very much wrapped up in to try to figure this out. There is a lot of this in my future right now. And some vacation. My background is in history. I did all of my studies in canada. In classics because i went to one if not the only school. You can do science without being in a lab. I love history and science. After my undergrad i did not know what i wanted to do. I did a degree in Corporate Communications and public relations. Which was not for me at all. It wasnt my jam. I gym. I did a masters degree. I thought this would be like influencing canada. You do that before your phd. I will go back to academia and figure out how to do the phd. It was not the right program are the right fit. A kind of soured me in academia just a little bit. I have this idea i dont want to spend five years writing something huge. That will meet the needs of those five people. I would rather spend that time writing that more people would do. My first book came out in 2015. It is a pre history of nasa and how all of the space agencies were very desperate really it was lot of interesting research. Doing something that feels fun. I did not like academic writing. Some papers are very dry. I have a nasa acronym dictionary. Is there anything else. I know we are close in time i want to be aware of that. I think we are good. [applause]. Dinky. [applause] thank you. Television has changed since cspan began 41 years ago but our mission continues. To provide an unfiltered view of government. Already they should we brought you primary election coverage, the president ial impeachment process, and now the federal response to the coronavirus. You can watch all of cspans Public Affairs programming on television, online or listen on our 40 radio at and the part of the National Conversation to cspans daily Washington Journal Program or through our social media feed. Cspan, created by private industry, americas cabletelevision company, as a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. Host why is espn
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