Fighting for Space

by Amy Shira Teitel

  Memo from MacIntyre. May 12, 1958. United States Senate, 1949–1961. Committee on Armed Services Special Cmte. on Space and Astronautics. Box 357. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.

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  Elliott, “On a Comet Always.”

  “Minutes of the Meeting of the Working Group on Human Factors and Training.” April 24–25,1958. Lovelace, Dr. W. Randolph Folder. NASA Archives.

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  Swenson, Loyd, et. al. “Beginnings of Space Medicine,” in This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury, NASA. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4201/ch2-2.htm.

  “Invitation to Apply for Position of Research Astronaut-Candidate.” NASA Project A Announcement No. 1. December 22, 1958. Accessed August 18, 2019. https://history.nasa.gov/40thmerc7/invite.pdf.

  Swenson, Loyd, et. al. “Project Astronaut,” in This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury, NASA. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4201/ch5-8.htm.

  Swenson, Loyd S., Jr., James M. Grimwood, and Charles C. Alexander. This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury. NASA Historical Series SP-4201. Washington. 1966.

  “Telephone Conversation with Dr. T. Keith Glennan,” from Lee D. Saegesser. January 24, 1995. Courtesy of Francis French.

  “Memorandum of Conference with the President.” A. J. Goodpaster. December 22, 1958. Courtesy of Francis French.

  Burgess, Colin. Selecting the Mercury Seven: The Search for America’s First Astronauts. Chichester, UK: Springer-Praxis, 2011.

  Chapter 15

  Cobb and Rieker, Woman into Space: The Jerrie Cobb Story.

  “Mrs. Odlum Elected Head of Flier Group.” Los Angeles Times, April 17, 1958. Accessed August 10, 2019. https://www.newspapers.com/image/381007740/?terms=Jacqueline%2BCochran%2C%2BFAI.

  “International Aviation Education Commission of FAI.” March 16, 1959. Jacqueline Cochran Papers, 1932–75. Federation Aeronautique Internationale Series (FAI). Box 11. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  “Astronautics Sub-Committee of International Sporting Aviation Commission of FAI.” March 16, 1959. Jacqueline Cochran Papers, 1932–75. Federation Aeronautique Internationale Series (FAI). Box 11. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  “Astronautics Sub-Committee of International Sporting Aviation Commission of FAI.” March 16, 1959. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. Federation Aeronautique Internationale Series (FAI). Box 11. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Jacqueline Cochran to the President, Real Aero Club d’Espagna. February 1, 1959. Jacqueline Cochran Papers, 1932–75. Federation Aeronautique Internationale Series (FAI). Box 11. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Jacqueline Cochran to James Walsh. February 23, 1959. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. Federation Aeronautique Internationale Series (FAI). Box 11. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  “Memorandum from Miss Jacqueline Cochran.” January 21, 1959. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. Federation Aeronautique Internationale Series (FAI). Box 11. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  “150 Delegates to FAI Plan Visit Here.” Desert Sun, April 16, 1958. Accessed August 18, 2019. https://www.newspapers.com/image/238623577/?terms=Jacqueline%2BCochran%2C%2BFAI.

  “Hotel Accommodations for Members of Education Committee & Sub-Committee of CASA—Las Vegas.” Undated. Jacqueline Cochran Papers, 1932–75. Federation Aeronautique Internationale Series (FAI). Box 11. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

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  “Press Conference Introducing 7 Mercury Astronauts 1959 Part 1/3.” Bazi, accessed November 15, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXj5lc_QUOM.

  Glenn, John Glenn: A Memoir.

  Coffey, Ivy. “Sooner Pilot Hopes She Will Be Flying a Record-Breaker.” Daily Oklahoman. April 12, 1959.

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  Author interview with Francis French. July 31, 2019.

  Letter, Don Flickinger to Jerrie Cobb. December 7, 1959. Courtesy of Francis French.

  Letter, Don Flickinger to Randy Lovelace, December 20, 1959. Courtesy of Francis French.

  Caruthers, Osgood. “Back of Moon Seen First Time; Photo by Soviet Rocket Shows Fewer Craters than Face.” New York Times, October 27, 1959. Accessed November 17, 2018. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/10/27/83442730.pdf.

  Memorandum, Glen Wilson to Ken Belieu. “Significance of Soviet Moon Photographs.” October 28, 1959. United States Senate, 1949–1961. Subject Files, 1959. Box 730. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.

  Mieczkowski, Eisenhower’s Sputnik Moment: The Race for Space and World Prestige.

  Letter, Jacqueline Cochran to Lyndon Johnson. November 21, 1959. LBJA Famous Names. Box 2. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.

  Letter, Lyndon Johnson to Jacqueline Cochran. December 2, 1959. United States Senate, 1949–1961. “Master File” Index. Nor–Oa-Oe. Box 138. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.

  Memorandum to Senator Johnson. November 25, 1959. United States Senate, 1949–1961. Subject Files, 1959. Box 730. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.

  Woods, LBJ: Architect of American Ambition.

  Look magazine. Vol. 24 No. 3, February 2, 1959.

  Chapter 16

  Cobb and Rieker, Woman into Space: The Jerrie Cobb Story.

  “Wally Funk Schedule,” courtesy of Francis French.

  Steadman, Bernice Trimble. Tethered Mercury: A Pilot’s Memoir the Right Stuff…but the Wrong Sex. Traverse City, Michigan: Aviation Press, 2001.

  Woods, LBJ: Architect of American Ambition.

  Caro, Robert A. The Years of Lyndon B. Johnson: Master of the Senate. New York: Vintage Books, 2003.

  Caro, Robert A. The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent. New York: Vintage Books, 1990.

  Caro, Robert A. The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power. New York: Vintage Books, 1990.

  Caro, Robert A. Lyndon Johnson: The Passage of Power. New York: Vintage Books, 2012.

  Letter, Lyndon Johnson to Floyd Odlum. November 18, 1960. United States Senate, 1949–1961. “Master File” Index. Nor–Oa-Oe. Box 138. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.

  Chapter 17

  Cobb and Rieker, Woman into Space: The Jerrie Cobb Story.

  “A Woman Passes Test Given to 7 Astronauts.” New York Times, August 19, 1960.

  “A Lady Proves She’s Fit for Space Flight.” LIFE, August 29, 1960.

  “Spacewoman Ready for Flights with Men.” Washington Star, August 24, 1960.

  “Girls Ride to Space Still Long Way Off.” Dayton Daily News, September 29, 1960.

  Letter, Clark T. Randt to Randy Lovelace. September 23, 1960. Women/Mercury Astronauts Folder. NASA Archives.

  Ackmann, Martha. Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2003.

  Steadman, Tethered Mercury: A Pilot’s Memoir the Right Stuff…but the Wrong Sex.

  Dietrich, Marion. “First Woman into Space.” McCall’s, September 1961.

  Letter, Jeanne Williams to Jacqueline Cochran. November 30, 1960. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Marion Dietrich to Jan Dietrich. January 13, 1961. Courtesy of International Women’s Air and Space
Museum.

  Letter, Wally Funk to Jay Shurley. October 25, 1960. Courtesy of Francis French.

  Letter, Jerrie Cobb to Wally Funk. November 30, 1960. Courtesy of Francis French.

  Funk, Wally. “NASA Oral History,” interview by Carol Butler. NASA, July 18, 1999. Accessed August 19, 2019. https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/NASA_HQ/Aviatrix/FunkW/FunkW_7-18-99.htm.

  Letter, Jay Shurley to Wally Funk. November 2, 1960. Courtesy of Francis French.

  Letter, Wally Funk to Randy Lovelace. November 5, 1960. Courtesy of Francis French.

  Letter, Randy Lovelace to Wally Funk. November 11, 1960. Courtesy of Francis French.

  Letter, Wally Funk to Randy Lovelace. November 21, 1960. Courtesy of Francis French.

  Letter, Jerrie Cobb to Wally Funk. November 30, 1960. Courtesy of Francis French.

  Woods, LBJ: Architect of American Ambition.

  Weitekamp, Margaret A. Right Stuff Wrong Sex: America’s First Woman in Space Program. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004.

  Letter, Jacqueline Cochran to Randy Lovelace. November 28, 1960. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Interoffice Communication. “Information from Mrs. Quarles re Women Pilots.” December 6, 1960. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 138. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Jacqueline Cochran to Randy Lovelace. November 28, 1960. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Jacqueline Cochran to Randy Lovelace. December 27, 1960. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  “Jacqueline Cochran Stresses Top Role for Women in Space.” Dallas Morning News, Wednesday, January 18, 1961.

  Chapter 18

  Letter, Randy Lovelace to Floyd Odlum. June 8, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Jacqueline Cochran to Randy Lovelace. January 14, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Ackmann, Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight.

  Letter, Jan Dietrich to Floyd Odlum. January 23, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Jan Dietrich to Jacqueline Cochran. January 23, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Floyd Odlum to Randy Lovelace. February 6, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Randy Lovelace to Wally Funk. February 2, 1961. Courtesy of Francis French.

  Webb, James. “NASM Oral History Project.” Interview by David DeVorkin and Joe Tatarewicz. Washington, DC. February 22, 1985. National Air and Space Museum. Accessed August 19, 2019. https://airandspace.si.edu/research/projects/oral-histories/TRANSCPT/WEBB1.HTM.

  Bizony, Piers. The Man Who Ran the Moon: James E. Webb, NASA, and the Secret History of Project Apollo. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2006.

  Transcript, James E. Webb Oral History Interview I, 4/29/69, by T. H. Baker, Internet Copy, LBJ Library. Accessed August 19, 2019. http://www.lbjlibrary.net/assets/documents/archives/oral_histories/webb-j/webb.pdf.

  Woods, LBJ: Architect of American Ambition.

  Dryden, Hugh L. “Oral History Interview.” Interviewed by Walter D. Sohier, Arnold W. Frutkin, and Eugene M. Emme. Washington, DC., March 26, 1964. John F. Kennedy Library. Accessed August 19, 2019. https://www.jfklibrary.org/sites/default/files/archives/JFKOH/Dryden%2C%20Hugh%20L/JFKOH-HLD-01/JFKOH-HLD-01-TR.pdf.

  Interoffice Memorandum to Jackie from Floyd. March 6, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Dietrich, Marion. “First Woman into Space.” McCall’s, September 1961.

  Glenn, John Glenn: A Memoir.

  Wainwright, Loudon S. “The Chosen Three For First Space Ride.” LIFE, March 3, 1961.

  Steadman, Tethered Mercury: A Pilot’s Memoir the Right Stuff…but the Wrong Sex.

  Weitekamp, Right Stuff Wrong Sex: America’s First Woman in Space Program.

  Doran, Jamie and Piers Bizony. Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin. London: Bloomsbury, 1998.

  “Reds Orbit and Return Spaceman.” Philadelphia Daily News, April 12, 1961.

  Brooks, Courtney G., James M. Grimwood, and Loyd S. Swenson, Jr. Chariots for Apollo: The NASA History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft to 1969. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 2009.

  “Soviet Orbits Man and Recovers Him; Space Pioneer Reports: ‘I Feel Well’; Sent Messages While Circling Earth.” New York Times, Wednesday, April 12, 1961.

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  Hearing Before the Committee on Science and Astronautics, US House of Representatives. (H.R 6169.) April 12, 1961. Vice President, 1961–1963. Box 116. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.

  “Draft of Letter from the President to the Vice President.” April 1961. Vice President, 1961–1963. Box 117. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.

  “Record of the vice President on Space Activities during 1957–1962” prepared by Eileen Galloway. March 9, 1962. Vice Presidential Aide’s Files of George Reedy. Box 12. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.

  Woods, LBJ: Architect of American Ambition.

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  “Irene H. Leverton.” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Online. https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor-irene-h-leverton. Accessed October 22, 2019.

  Memorandum, John F. Kennedy to Lyndon Johnson. April 20, 1961. White House Famous Names, Service Set Box 6. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.

  “Memorandum for the President.” April 28, 1961. White House Famous Names, Service Set Box 6. The Lyndon B. Johnson Library.

  Cochran, Jacqueline. “Women in Space.” Parade, April 30 , 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. Articles Series. Box 7. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  “Parade Article,” April 18, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. Articles Series. Box 7. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Myrtle Thompson Cagle to Jacqueline Cagle. May 1, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

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  Letter, Bobby Galbreath to Jacqueline Cochran. May 12, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Myrtle Thompson Cagle to Jacqueline Cochran. June 20, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Cobb, Jerrie. “Woman’s Participation in Space” speech at Aviation/Space Writers Association 23rd Annual Meeting and News Conference. May 1, 1961. NASA Archives.

  “Last-Minute Qualms” in Swenson et. al., This New Ocean. Accessed August 19, 2019. https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4201/ch11-3.htm.

  Letter, Jacqueline Cochran to Judith Ostrozny. June 6, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.
/>   Letter, Lyndon Johnson to James Webb. May 5, 1961. 1962 Subject File. Science—Space and Aeronautics. [Women in Space] The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.

  Letter, Lyndon Johnson to James Webb. May 5, 1961. Vice President, 1961–1963. Box 116. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.

  French, Francis and Colin Burgess. Into that Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961–1965. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln. 2007.

  Cobb and Rieker, Woman into Space: The Jerrie Cobb Story.

  Letter, Randy Lovelace to Wally Funk. May 17, 1961. Courtesy of Francis French.

  Letter, Pat Jetton to Jacqueline Cochran. March 17, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Wally Funk to Jacqueline Cochran. March 17, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Frances Bera to Jacqueline Cochran. March 29, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Rhea Hurrle to Jacqueline Cochran. May 20, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Bernice Steadman to Jacqueline Cochran. May 6, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Irene Leverton to Jacqueline Cochran. June 23, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  Letter, Jerry Sloan to Jacqueline Cochran. May 21, 1961. Jacqueline Cochran: Papers, 1932–1975. General Files Series. Box 139. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

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