many were you able to interview, and were they open to talking about it? they were open to talk about it and it was painful for them to relive it. of the 13, 11 are still alive and i met all of them, spoke wial the ones who passed away, i spoke to their family members. i think it s fairt for all of them, this experience was a very important center of their lives, so they were most eager to be able to tell the story, that they feel like much of it has been largely forgotten, but it was difficult for them to relive the disappointment. 1983 was the first time a woman went up. american woman, yes. sall e the, and i want to give you this hat. what did the women do with their lives after the program ended? what did the women do with their lives afterwards? are we ok here? yes. all right. they went on to a variety of ve janie hart, who i mentioned in this last piece, shortly after she testi she got a call from a woman in new york that said we seem to be on the same w
its first man into space, 13 women underwent secret testing in hopes of becoming america s first female astronauts. they passed the same battery of tests at the legendary lovelace foundation as did the mercury 7 astronauts, but they were summarily dismissed by the boys club at nasa and capitol hill. the ussr sent its first woman into space in the 1963. the united states did not follow suit for another 20 years. martha ackman tells the story of these remarkable women, all cracker jack pilots and patriots who sometimes sacrificed jobs and marriages for a chance to participate in america s space race against the soviet union. martha ackman spoke extensively with these women and interviewed chuck yeager, john glenn, scott carpenter and others at nasa and in the white house, with firsthand knowledge of the program. it provocative tribute to those extraordinary women, the mercury 13 is an unforgettable story of determination, resilience and inextinguishable hope. we are greatly in