Space is a hard enough place to get to from a technological stand point without American propaganda working against you.
During the early 1960s, both men and women underwent the arduous and, at times, bizarre training program to have the chance to be some of the first NASA astronauts in history.
When the training was over, many of the women finalists had higher scores than the men but instead of going to space, they were completely excluded from the final selection pool.
American women would remain grounded on US soil for another 30 years until 1983, when Sally Ride became the first American woman in space.
Here is the heart-breaking story of the women who were meant to be some of the first astronauts in space but were left on Earth.
Their outstanding achievements, pioneering efforts, and struggles are detailed in the PBS documentary "MAKERS: Women in Space", which is the third film in a series of six documentaries about women pioneers.
From the very beginning, engineers speculated that women would make ideal astronauts because they are generally smaller, lighter, and eat less than men.
Source: MAKERS: Women in Space
Economically speaking, less weight in the cockpit meant less fuel needed to launch the rocket into space and a cheaper trip with women astronauts.
Source: MAKERS: Women in Space
In 1958, the physician William Randolph Lovelace helped design and conduct a series of tests to select the first astronauts of the Mercury Program.
Source: MAKERS: Women in Space
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