Women’s Space History

Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainees: RIP Janet Dietrich, One of the “Mercury 13” Women Astronaut Trainees

After Amelia Earhart (recent TIGHAR aviation archaeology research) and the militarism of the air I imagine it was hard to be allowed into the “culture of secrecy” around some of the future plans for space too, i.e. the military use of Gemini to gather intelligence, and other missions, the public loss of which, with women, would have been considered “counter-productive” to the mission as it was once defined. It took a long time to get a woman educator in space, Ms. Sally Ride’s anniversary there a few days ago notwithstanding, and after the Challenger space shuttle disaster too. They named the planetarium in Concord, New Hampshire after her, Christa McAuliffe, who said “What are we doing here? We’re reaching for the stars.”