Lecture Launches in the Sixties’ Woman in Space Program

PRESS RELEASE – In 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into space, but over twenty years earlier, 13 American women were engaged in a project to train the first female astronauts–the Woman in Space Program–and never got launched. On Feb. 20 at 2 p.m., aviation expert Philip Tartalone will lecture about the ill-fated program.

The Woman in Space Program ran from 1960 to 1962 and produced the “Mercury 13,” the first U.S. women to undergo the strenuous physiological and psychological tests for spaceflight. These women never got the opportunity to launch into orbit. Tartalone’s presentation will explore the genesis of the Woman in Space Program, the personalities involved, the testing, and the social mores of the early 1960s that ultimately doomed the program. The presentation is free with admission to the Museum.

About the Museum of Flight 

Founded in 1965, the independent, non-profit Museum of Flight is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, serving more than 560,000 visitors annually. The Museum’s collection includes more than 160 historically significant airplanes and spacecraft, from the first fighter plane (1914) to today’s 787 Dreamliner. Attractions also include the original Boeing Company factory, and the world’s only full-scale NASA Space Shuttle Trainer. The Museum’s aviation and space library and archives are the largest on the West Coast. More than 150,000 individuals are served annually by the Museum’s on-site and outreach educational programs. The Museum of Flight is accredited by the American Association of Museums, and is an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.

2016 Boeing Centennial Recognition
The Museum of Flight draws upon its unrivaled collection of Boeing aircraft, artifacts, images and documents to present The Boeing Company story during the year of its centennial, 2016. The Museum-wide Boeing recognition will be enhanced with public lectures, films and other presentations that focus on Seattle and popular culture during the past century.

The Museum of Flight is located at 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle, Exit 158 off Interstate 5 on Boeing Field halfway between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport. The Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $20 for adults, $17 for seniors 65 and older, $17 for active military, $12 for youth 5 to 17, and free for children under 5. Group rates are available. Admission on the first Thursday of the month is free from 5 to 9 p.m. courtesy of Wells Fargo. McCormick & Schmick’s Wings Café is on site. For general Museum information, please call 206-764-5720 or visit www.museumofflight.org