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History Hounds | Fly Me to the Moon? The Story of the First Lady Astronaut Trainee

[History Hounds] Fly Me to the Moon? The Story of the First Lady Astronaut Trainee with Nicolle Zellner, Albion College

In 1961, Dr. William Randolph Lovelace II invited the nation’s best female airplane pilots to his medical facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he subjected them to physical and psychological exams designed to determine if they had “the right stuff” to fly in space. Now commonly known as the Mercury 13, that class of First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATs) included twins, a senator's wife, a few mothers, and a woman who would realize their shared dream of becoming an astronaut 60 years later.

We'd like to thank the Historical Society of Michigan (HSM), which supports local history organizations, like us! They are continuing to make their History Hounds Lecture Series available online for free to members of HSM’s member organizations. Register for this remote presentation by 3:00pm the previous day. Click here to register. Select “A member of an Organizational Member of HSM” to enjoy this presentation at no charge.