A woman in space

in Mathematics Economics Image Credit: NASA In the early years of the "space race" (1957-1975) two men sought to test a scientifically simple yet culturally complicated theory: that women might be innately better suited for space travel than men. In 1960 the thought of a woman in space was a radical one, and justifiably so. On the ground 75% of American women did not work outside the home and females were banned from military flight service altogether. In marriage, wives were required to have their husband's permission to take out a bank loan, buy property, or purchase large household goods such as a refrigerator. Despite the social odds, a Harvard-educated surgeon and a U.S. Air Force General sought to determine if, from a purely practical perspective, women were suitable for space flight. The latest look at the intersection of physiology, spaceflight and politics is captured in a new article entitled "A Forgotten Moment in Physiology: The Lovelace Woman in Space Program (1960-1962)," written by Kathy Ryan, Jack Loeppky and Donald Kilgore*. Their article appears in the September edition of Advances in Physiology, a publication of the American Physiological Society (APS; the-aps.org/press). The APS has been an integral part of the scientific discovery process since it was founded in 1887. The Mercury 7In 1957, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) launched Sputnik, the first unmanned orbital satellite, thus formalizing the race for space. The following year the U.S. government established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and in April 1959, NASA introduced the seven men who would comprise the first American astronaut group, better known as the Mercury 7 crew. Individually, the Mercury members made six flights between 1961 and 1963 of which two would reach space, defined as 62 miles above earth. In 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. Two Men's Vision for SpaceSometime before the mid-1950s two men had begun to seriously discuss the possibility of sending a woman rather than a man into space. One of the men was William R. ("Randy") Lovelace, II, a Harvard-educated physician, surgeon and aeromedical Rosetta Stone Language physiologist. During his years at the Mayo Clinic Lovelace co-developed a much-needed high altitude mask that delivered oxygen to pilots while in flight. At the time, aircraft cabins were not pressurized which lead to hypoxia-induced errors and accidents by pilots. Upon leaving Mayo he established the private Lovelace Foundation for Medical Education and Research, which received government contracts throughout the '50s to conduct aerospace research. Lovelace was also among the team of experts who developed the physiological, medical and psychological criteria by which astronaut candidates were assessed and selected, including the Mercury 7 team. General Donald Flickinger, Air Force chief of bioastronautics at the Air Force Air Research and Development Command (ARDC), was a member of the NASA Special Advisory Committee on Life Sciences and a friend and oft-time collaborator with Lovelace. In 1959 Flickinger established the Woman in Space Earliest (WISE) program at ARDC. Thereafter, he and Lovelace began to contemplate plans for testing women in space. Their proposition was based purely on physiology and practicality. They recognized that women's lighter weights would reduce the amount of propulsion fuel being used by the rocket's load and that women would require less auxiliary oxygen than men. They knew that women had fewer heart attacks than men and their reproductive system was thought to be less susceptible to radiation than a male's. Finally, preliminary data suggested that women could outperform men in enduring cramped spaces and prolonged isolation. The Mercury 13 Women Before WISE testing could begin the Air Force announced that it would no longer pursue the program. In response, Lovelace established a privately funded effort, the Woman in Space Program, in 1959. A total of 19 women were enrolled, most of whom had been selected from flight schools.

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