As the US space program ramped up in the 1950s and 1960s, female pilots underwent testing and training as part of a program led by Dr. Randy Lovelace, who was in charge of medical evaluations for male astronauts and believed strongly that females should also be involved in space flight. Thirteen women, including Sarah Gorelick Ratley (main, in helmet, and inset, in the film) made the cut and often did better than the men - but the privately-funded program was axed before the women could complete the training. Undeterred, they took their case to Congress - and those Congressional hearings (bottom right) marked 'one of the first moments in the burgeoning women's movement,' says David Sington, who directed Mercury 13, a new Netflix documentary chronicling the pilots' experience. Testimony from John Glenn, however - as well as famed female pilot Jacqueline Cochran, who had unsuccessfully lobbied to become an astronaut herself - claimed that women had no place in space and the program remained closed. Many of the Mercury 13 were crushed and shocked at the lack of support from Cochran. Their contributions were not forgotten, however, and inspired astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot the space shuttle - who invited the Mercury 13 to the 1995 launch (top right)
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