Jerrie Cobb
Geraldyn “Jerrie” M. Cobb, first woman to pass astronaut testing in 1961 passes away at 88.
“After living sixty-six adventure filled years as a pilot and advocate for female pilots, and sharing over fifty years of her life with the indigenous Indian tribes of the Amazon, Jerrie’s humble smile and sky-blue eyes live on in our hearts. It is fitting that Jerrie was born in, and would leave us in, Woman’s History Month. Jerrie Cobb passed away peacefully on March 18, 2019 in Florida. Whenever we look to the heavens, we will see those sky-blue eyes and be reminded of her humble smile, deep compassion and steely determination.”
from this presentation by Amy Shira Teitel about politics and the Mercury 13:
“these are the first women who qualified for spaceflight in 1962 but never got to fly because it was 1962.”
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
RIP to another pioneer decades ahead of everyone else.
Strictly speaking, they did not qualify as astronauts. The took the same medical tests, and in one case, some flight tests, as the Mercury 7 astronauts. That was privately funded, and the person responsible (Dr. Randy Lovelace) never actually told those women they were in line for or would qualify to be astronauts. By most accounts, he did imply it and I think that’s a pretty shoddy way to treat people. But I don’t like the way this is typically presented, by focusing on what NASA and Congress said and did. That is worth criticizing. But they weren’t the only ones who deserve criticism.
It’s a story worth of repeating because in many ways it’s a point of departure.
I find myself rankled, as an example, by folks characterizing the civil rights movement as not having made substantial changes since Jim Crow. As one very involved in the 70s I know this isn’t true. But it’s also the case that there is so far yet to go.
And the same is true about the rights of women: do not forget how far we have come, but note as well the distance remaining.
Ms. Cobb death did make me read over the history of the “Mercury 13” (a term which was invented long after the events.) Two things worth mentioning occurred to me.
First, it is widely and correctly reported that women were not considered qualified to be astronauts at the time, because the qualifications including being a military test pilot. Trying to figure out who made that decision and why, I found that it was an internal NASA committee (note that very little in the movie, “The Right Stuff” is accurate, and the book is only somewhat better.) They had some good reasons for wanting military test pilots (experience with experimental vehicles, already having security clearances, etc.)
But from the context and the descriptions I could find, it isn’t clear if that three-man committee even realized they were disqualifying women. It almost seems as if that would have been a complete non sequitur. We’ve got more than enough problems with discrimination today, but at least the subject is on the table.
Second, when the issue came up at a congressional hearing, in 1962, Mr. Glenn was one of the people who testified for NASA. His comment, “The fact that women are not in this field is a fact of our social order,” and his following words on the subject, probably strike most people today as very offensive. But, to be honest, I think he was accurate. Unfortunately, that statement was viewed as an explanation and justification. From the distance of 57 years, I see it more as describing a symptom of a problem.
“a fact of our social order”
“equal protection” is among the finest two-word phrases ever conjured, and it provided the muscle that propelled the Civil Rights Movement of the 1970s.
As I have grown older, I felt that the difficult work of the 70s (and forward) were being dismissed by a new generation. I felt that the impetuous nature of youth failed to recognize what has been achieved, that our generation wasn’t given fair due.
Now I see that they are right, and that it is me who has failed to see. The ‘social order’ remains as the deep target because the mostly hidden sensibilities guiding choice-based lives remain in 1930.
Younger activists have identified “covert racism:” it is entrenched, and it is invisible to older Americans who should know better.
I count myself among those still needing a slap on the side of the head 🙂
Honestly, the “covert racism” isn’t unique to racism or discrimination. It’s rare for people to really doubt themselves or admit they have unconscious biases. Scientists make those mistakes all the time. If we have a theory we want to prove, and the new measurements confirm it, we declare victory. If the new measurements contradict our pet theory, most scientists will go back and double check the analysis of the measurements. You don’t hear people saying, “Wow, if that’s true, it proves what I’ve been saying for years. I’d better go back and make sure I haven’t made a mistake.” You do hear people saying, “That can’t be right, I probably made a mistake.” So the results which match our unconscious biases get far less scrutiny than those which contradict those biases.
It is also important to recognize where the rest of the world was in 1962. Chattel slavery was still legal in a number of North African and Middle Eastern nations like Saudi Arabia. At the time Saudi Arabia still had thousands of slaves the majority of whom were women. It was only last year women were given the right to drive cars in Saudi Arabia, but only if their husband or father approves and a male accompanies them in the car.
Although Russia did launch a woman into space it in that era it was simply for propaganda purposes. Russian didn’t send another women into space until the 1980’s and has flown only two more since. Currently there is only a single female cosmonaut whereas the most recent NASA astronaut class was split 50-50.
Yes, we have far to go yet, but it is also important to see how far we have come in changing behaviors and attitudes that have been part of human behavior since the Neolithic.
Still, people, and countries, can change…and fast! I wonder if anyone else was as surprised as I have been on the issue of homosexuality in general? Who would have thought only a decade or so ago that marriage would no longer be denied to gay people?
It’s like whiplash! Case in point: just about nothing vivified the ugliness of anti-gay bias than the AIDS epidemic.
And now? Maybe, just maybe, there’s a more hopeful future.
(Sorry for the hijack).
Yes, especially as the Trump Administration is now pressuring other countries, especially in the Middle East, to change their laws on LGBT.
In the talk, Ms Teitel makes several incorrect statements. The women were very impressive but again they did NOT qualify for space flight with the requirements in place. None of them were test pilots for instance. We can argue the validity of the requirements but they were the requirements. Sadly, Ms Teitel has a history of inaccurate statements and even plagiarism, hopefully she has learned.
Insightful comments, I was thinking about how Cobb must have felt when Tereshkova became first woman in space. But wait she was chosen for political reasons. The test pilot I can see as a requirement though first group of astronauts also had to be married. Through the years this was relaxed including don’t need to be a TPS grad. But now the question is do we need people in space? Look at amount of resources spent as compared to robotic missions. If we still require astronauts, what kind of people (skills, background, body type, personality)? Yes, this can be a very long thread (which we all been debating that in many other columns).
Hopefully, Ms. Cobb took some satisfaction in the role women now play in space operations, and will, no doubt, in the future.
RIP Jerrie Cobb!