Woman Into Space

In 1959, blonde, blue-eyed Jerrie Cobb was selected to be the first woman to undergo the Mercury Astronaut tests at the Lovelace Foundation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "All my life," writes Jerrie Cobb, "I have wanted to fly . . . to share mankind's surge into the skies, to be part of the onrushing leap to the stars." She was the first woman to satisfy the criteria for space flight set by the NASA. Subjected to the identical battery of physical and psychological tests given to the seven male astronauts selected for Project Mercury, Jerrie Cobb's performance was described by a NASA official as "extraordinary." In this book, Jerrie tells her own amazing story. She describes her adventures as an international ferry pilot . . . her near-escapes with death while logging in more than 10,000 flying hours . . . her famous solo flights that set international records for speed, altitude and distance . . . and her role as America's #1 female astronaut candidate and special consultant to NASA on manned space flight. It was Jerrie Cobb's brilliant flying record which prompted NASA to invite her to undergo astronaut testing. Since 1957 Jerrie has established international records for speed, altitude and distance. Dr. W. Randolph Lovelace, II, chairman of NASA's Life Sciences Committee for Project Mercury, reported that Jerrie Cobb's favorable reaction to the tests indicated that women under stress, are able to withstand pain, heat, cold, monotony, and loneliness for longer periods and with less ill effects than men.