Seeker and has hosted numerous space and science related shows. Among them, nasas unexplained files. She gives talks about space night all over the u. S. And america. Please give a warm welcome to amy teitel. [applause] bring it down to short level. Good morning and thank you for coming out to listen to me talk first thing in the morning for some, including myself. Something weird about hearing your bioread like that. Ill try to live up to everything that was just intention l said about me. Intensely said. I want to start with the brief who here has heard of the story of the socalled mercury 13 . Oh, look at the number of hands, maybe 15 or 20 or sometimes called the first lady astronaut trainees. I dont no way to print my talk so ill read this off my phone. If you dont know the story over the mercury 13 ill explain it later. Basically its the story of everything in 13 women trained for space flight in the 1960s and can do on nasa with the goal of writing the wrong of sexism, analysis did not allow women some the Astronaut Corps so they decided they need to have the change. Went all the way to a house subcommittee hearing in 1962 and, spoil are alert north really, it didnt work. So these space flight pioneers, according to forbes, were astronaut candidates, according to nbc and a secret nasa program, they trained for space flight according to reuterss and could have been mercury astronauts according to air space. The story that is usually told withty air quotes invariably feet tiers hero named gerry cobb. The first william. Woman to tick the astronaut test and the name most familiar with the story, the woman right here. And niece stories also invariably feature a villain name Jackie Cochran, and jackie is basically like a disney villain. She swoops down from on high, thwarts her wouldbe sisters in Senate Hearings and then goes back, she is from Sleeping Beauty. The original one. So theres been a lot written about the story, pops up in the news with some regularity. Someone finds it and gets excited because this appealing a a feminist story, and its all wrong. The more i dug into this and the more i started researching it, thats why theres so many air quotes but a that whole narrative is just not right. So, im going to tell you about the story, the real story today. Also kind of walk you through the process of how i came to write this book which i will do tisso its burped into your memories. Burned into your memories. So, to start off, when i started read bought the story i read the rahrah one of gerry taking on nasa, a woman in her early 30s in a male dominant field trike be known for her skill. Hit home to me and it really felt like a great story to the because you want who doesnt love giving a unknown figure from history their due. So is a started researching the story, something bothered me about the characterization of jackie. There is Scientific Evidence to support women are smaller and lighter, fewer resources lighter payload. Remember in the early 60s if you are too heavy for the rocket if you are over 180 pounds the rocket would not get off the ground. Mass is at a premium here. In this congressional hearing, jackie goes on about how its just not theus right time for women. If the rocket blows up with john glenn on it, its bad, but technologies damage if it blows up with a woman on board, its because the woman did something wrong. That pushes womens progress back to start reading this and i thought this a villain kind ofof makes sense but its very dated obviously but for 1962, for cold war makes a lot of sense. Also, ive always love melissa funt from Sleeping Beauty i have that movie on my phone. It is beautiful and i loved her i wanted to know about this real life disney villain. Luckily jackie wrote memoirs. The first source i really read about her specifically immediately she emerged at this epic ba. I give the cold notes its the cliffy and notes, i still cant get cliff notes top of my socalled note, jackie was an orphan, she was born into abject poverty in florida she gott out of milltown life through the beauty industry. She was a hairdresser she learned to fly in her 20s in the 1930s, by the end of the decade is winning all kinds of awards, was so good the Second World War she led the Womens Air Force Service Pilots shrimp for congress was the first woman to break the sound barrier she is friends with multiple presence and she saved lbjs life when they, like she do. She wrote one of the memoirs at the house in the guest cottage. She ran one of the largest cosmetic companies in the country is one of t the luxury brands. It gets better as floyd odom is it sound file to anybody . Nose. Floyd is one of the richest men in the country. He was right at their the vanderbilts, the cargo knees engine he built america. They are the Power Couples and all Power Couples and no ones ever heard of them. We all know memoirs can be selfserving. Everyone can say that, jackies memoir is no exception. I wanted to see if everything she said was true. For the most part, yes. I was able to find a lot of other sources to wreck up her records, first woman to break the sound bear she was friends with chuck yeager, millie ehrhardt, i found all the septa backup but not hurt orphan story. She actually admitted she made that bit up. Digging into jackies early early life was like the funnest thing in the world e it in clued finding early divorce records of the very excited clerk at the Montgomery County clerks office. Did not even aware that was a think is in georgia actually. Everything about jackies adult life as a pilot she was right very brief excerpt to read it and try to capsule it jackies early life. The only thing any time going into this she was not pointing Jackie Cochran she was Betsy Pittman. Betsy had been married and divorced, welcomed a son and buried him. She buried her father and her brother. Her sisters and beloved brother joseph were all raising their own families and the only family betsy had left was her mother with whom she continued to clash. They held nothing but painful memories for betsy so she decided the time to come to make a clean break. One midsummer day in 19209, 23yearold betsy arrived at the train station in pensacola. Her worldly possessions were packed into suitcases in her life serve a gent savings was taco in her pocketbook including the money she gained from selling her beloved ford model t. She bought a ticket aboard a train heading north. Watch the countryside stream past the window, she decided to reinvent her past. She would tell people she was an orphan that the pittmans had taken her in but never really cared for her. This would explain her lack of family ties. She would never admit to knowing her biological family. And would instead tell people her foster parents, molly and ira had been so poor and unloving that she been forced to leave the house 11 years old to find work. She also decided never to tell anyone about her marriage or son. Though she could not bear to erase robert junior entirely she was her happiest memory part she needed to keep him with her somehow but decided to keep the only thing she had left that shared, a name. She would remain a cochran to keep her little boy live in her heart but she would tell people she picked the surname at random running her finger through phonebook. As a train spread further north, Betsy Pittman faded into obscurity. When she arrived in new york city days later, she retain betsy skills a hairdresser nurse, her obsession with cleanliness and nothing else no one would ever know Betsy Pittman she decided but the world would absolutely know ms. Jacqueline cochran. So that is our villain. Dont you want to know so much more about her . [laughter] here is this woman, who reinvented herself so completely, but she is so complex are so much in a back story purge she was 23 by the time all that happens. Of course shes going to become this fascinating character to dive into them really understand, she basically iun would say shes a real force. She was involved in every moment of history and new every Single Person but isnt tom hanks. No disrespect to tom hanks. She is not really the villain of the story for the story of women in space, because jackie was everywhere its really her story. And everyone else kind of comes into it and gives it that dynamic. So lets look at gerry as the woman who gives her context lets put this backup so continues to burn into your brain. Gerry was 25 years younger than jackie she grew up in a very different world for women. Jackie learned to fly in the 1930s when flying was really for the rich it was rare mike wasnt totally uncommon but it was fairly rare for a woman to flight let alone to be that good. But in the 30s, pilate was a celebrity to end all celebritie celebrities are still nays people know even though what they did by todays standard is still terrifying and amazing, this is not hotshot fighter pilots. Gerry grew up in a world where postwar she learned to fly as a teenager because it was accessible to younger girls to learn to fly. In 1950s when she w was an adult it was still really hard for a woman to make a living as a pilot but it was possible, she did find a way worked a lot of odd jobs to do it. But it was her passion its felt what she was brought on the earth to do. She was a very good pilate was not remarkable in her air of the way jackie wasnt hers. In the space age happened in my joke is just kind of ruined everything for everyone in the air by changing the game so completely. Tiny little ball of sputnik change the world. In 1959 nasa was created in 1958, nasa introduced the world to its first class of astronauts the class mercury seven astrons they became celebrities overnight the way pilots were slivers in the 30s. These were seven men they were all military test pilots, they had jet test experience were test pilots, and certain number of hours in the air, height and weight requirements because again if they were over 180 pounds at rocket is not getting off the ground and its a bad day for everyone. 110 men in the country because only men athe the time could qualify as test pilot sprayed 100 men met the base requirements they went their extensive personality test, psychological test, basic do we like he was a human test, and the last group, the last 34 went their extensive medical testing on the mexico everyone is seeing the right stuff . That sina came over the actors name, al sheppard is running down the hall with his gerry shirt open, that, that was very real. I have met they said that was real, fun times good times. All this medical testing this happened at the clinic brandy was one of Jackie Cochrans oldest friends, floyd oldham was the chairman of the foundation this is important so come of the world is introduced to the mercury astrons they are suddenly the celebritys of the sky everybody wants to be. And gerry happens to be at the right place, the right time the right background the right agent sorted the right ephysical fitness to take the same medical tests. Because Randy Lovelace is curious whether or not a woman would be able to be physically fit. She passed, he cant really pass a medical test but she performed adequately enough that he put her incorporated her results intoed a medical a paper he gave in a medical conference in the fall of 1960. Now, in the fall of 1960 you have the words woman an astronaut in the same sentence what you think the press is going to pick up as the story . [laughter] the press went nuts. His exact same way you have discovery of evidences water on mars. This water mars question mike two woman test positive for being able to be on mars theres a woman astronaut cant womans going into space nasas now training women . It becomes this media frenzy with gerry at the center. Eventually, lovelace being a doctor, we all know a control of one is a very poor sample guide, gerry and randy get more women to do the tests jackie was involved, randy asked her to be h the official advisor and theres more involved more data points. Here is where the story gets really messy. Because the media is saying theres a group of astronauts, female astron chinese nasas guinness in the first astronaut and a space. Gerry is right around the country giving talks saying she is going to be the first their 16ronaut and women in training which was not true. Jackie sitting there like none of this is real at all and everyone is asking me but no one is telling me anything. It becomes this he said she said, she said absolute mess. In writing this book it was really hard to figure out what is real and what is not. And here is where archives became my absolute best friend. If you are a nerd archives are the best thing ever. I guess said, jackie was good friends of president eisenhower. She was also an epic packrat. She p kept every scrap of paper that ever crossed her desk. Thats all in the Eisenhower Library. I had so much fun. So we go to the archives they give you a finding guide. The list of boxes, you can pull a box at a time. You can only look at so much for the finding guide is this. I dont know what, 60 linear feet of material . So good. She kept everything. She kept every letter, she kept a carbon copy of every letter she wrote. A copy of every letter she received, copies of letters she was cced on. She had copies of letters she asked people to send her because she was curious when they were saying about her and this whole woman astronaut business without telling her. So to keep it straight, i was actually to see what every person was saying and this is not just the women prayed this ended up getting all the way to nasa. It will all be to the president. Gerry was sending telegrams to the white house. I was able to find the white house routing slips to say candidate got this telegram from her, doesnt want to deal with it, have nasa answered and dismissedn her. All these Little Details only build the story of just how complicatede this was and how many people were unwittingly drawn into this insane fray. I also found some really weird ephemera on ebay which is the best and worst thing. Best for finding cool stuff worst thing for your bank account. Including littleknown memoirs people had written. Letters that were not filed in national archives. At all help to really clarify the details. And among all that was transcript of public talks and articles. I was able to compare what jackie was saying versus what s gerry was saying. I want to read a quick aware is this thing, give you guys a quick example of how difference all of these opinions were. So this is gerry addressing ary crowd at an event. Gerry in jackie for co headlining an event. Super fun i would not have known that other than jackie kept her diary in very good order. [laughter] women have long contributed to the advancement of science this is no different she said imploring everyone there to contribute to the best of their godgiven abilities. Having been a professional pilot for many years i feel i could best contribute to Space Research in the area of astronaut testing and training. To prove that women have the capabilities of actively participating in the spaceflights i had the privilege of undergoing three cases of astronaut testing. She didnt really. [laughter] she had been appointed and nasa consultant she erroneously told the gathered crowd paired 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 Harriet Beecher stowe. I certainly do not wish to be a harewood a marcher but would willingly give my life to this purpose and counted a blessing to have served my god and my country to thehe utmost. With god as my pilot, she finished, i hope to make that safe flight. Applause filled the room. Gerry regained her seat as jackie stood and moved to the podium before it moved on. The Lovely Foundation for medical research get the first medical checks to the large group of abstract candidates. Jackie did not waste time in a preamble. This unofficial volunteer medical project through publicity and Wishful Thinking became parlayed into the fairly widespreadid belief there is an astron program for women. As a very different version of the same story that women adjuster from gerry. So it gets really messy and complicated as they go back and forth. Theres one other letter i want to read you guys really quick. L so like i said this got all the way to a house subcommittee hearing although its a house subcommittee meeting. Even got to the point that gerry and another one of these women pilots, jeannie hart who is married to senator philip hart got a meeting to lbj when he was vice president. Now like i said jackie saved lbjs life one day. Id never heard of this letter before i found it in the lbj ansari and jackies archives which is so cool by the wayside handwritten signature of lbj and is not protected you can just pick it up. I love history. [laughter] dear jackie, thank you for your nice letter in the enclosure. It is always fun to see you had a good time telling terry cobb and parks about when they came to see me about lady after knox. Kind of says a lot doesnt . [laughter] [laughter] so between all of these letters and even letters from the women i was able to find, no one agreed on what this quote unquote woman Astronaut Program was supposed to be and everyonebe wanted it to be something different, largely for selfserving purposes. It became its really interesting thing to find out what actually happened. Why was this program mike it looks like its going to happen it looks like that women are going to go through the simulation testing and is canceled but who did it and no one would take responsibility for anything. F i managed to track that im not going to avoid the actual ending, did manage to track down so much exactly where this thread went. Why it became such a big deal in how it became such an epic mass of she said she said. The questions i will leave you with the hope should be cured enough to read it. Was jerrys dream realistic was jackie vindictive or right . Shed all the most powerful men in the country in her pocket effectively. I dont give anyway more spoilers than that. I will now open it up for. [applause] saying on time. [applause] oh good someone. [laughter] what started do to become a space there . For mys researchin