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Jerrie Cobb poses next to a Mercury spaceship capsule. Although she never flew in space, Cobb, along with 24 other women, underwent physical tests similar to those taken by the Mercury astronauts with the belief that she might become an astronaut trainee. All the women who participated in the program, known as First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATs), were skilled pilots. Dr. Randy Lovelace, a NASA scientist who had conducted the official Mercury program physicals, administered the tests at his private clinic without official NASA sanction. Cobb passed all the training exercises, ranking in the top 2% of all astronaut candidates of both genders. Political pressure and internal opposition lead NASA to restrict its official astronaut training program to men despite campaigning by the 13 finalists of the FLAT program. (Photo by NASA)
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