Jerrie's Quest For Space Flight
Media
Quotes
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"You are an inspiration to all of us who love flying and dream of space exploration." NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin
-
"Just
as Glenn represents the original seven astronauts, Cobb represents the
women who were prepared to make similar sacrifices for their country but
were denied the opportunity. It's time for NASA to right that wrong.
It's time to let Jerrie Cobb fly in space." Florida Today.
- "Jerrie
Cobb trained as one of America's original astronauts, until NASA decided
only men were fit for space exploration." Boston Herald
- "Jerrie
Cobb owned four world aviation records. She had flown 64 types of
aircraft, including a jet fighter. And she sailed through grueling
medical tests that involved swallowing a 3-foot rubber hose and being stuck
with electric probes. Cobb, then 29, certainly seemed to measure up
to the likes of John Glenn and Scott Carpenter for a place among America's
pioneering astronauts. She had the right stuff. But she was
the wrong sex. If Glenn can make a second trip, Cobb should finally
be allowed to make her first." Philadelphia Inquirer
- "When
NASA dumped its female astronaut training program in 1960, the agency all
but forgot the first woman cleared space travel. Jerrie Cobb had all
the right stuff, just like Glenn and his fellow Mercury astronauts.
Now if NASA wants to study the effects of age on men's ability to fly in
space, wouldn't it be logical to learn the same thing about women.
Cobb deserves that much." Tampa Tribune
- "It
is rare for a country to be able to right a wrong while the victim is still
living. The United States now has that opportunity with JerrieCobb.
She deserves her first trip in space at least as much as John Glenn deserves
his second." Minnesota Women's Press
- "If
John Glenn deserves a second ride in space at age 77, what about former
space trainee Jerrie Cobb? The veteran aviator, a decade younger,
never got her first shot at orbiting the globe. The national Organization
for Women and its president, Patricia Ireland, contend that Cobb
was denied a chance at a space mission solely because NASA deemed women
unsuitable. "Sexism was the only thing that kept Jerrie Cobb out of
space in 1960, and it cannot be allowed to stand in her way now,"
Ireland said at a news conference.
- "If
NASA wants to study the effects of space travel on aging, then it is imperative
to make these studies on women," she said. "After all, women are the
majority of the elderly." Associated Press
- "Astronaut
Jerrie Cobb, Our Other American Legend. "In 1960 Jerrie ranked in the top
2% of both men and women tested for astronaut training. Clearly,
she had the right stuff. "We love our heroes. We need our John Glenns
and Jerrie Cobbs. They're so important in defining who we are and
hat we stand for. Perhaps now it's time we validate that importance
to yet another American hero. "Let's offer Jerrie Cobb that opportunity
to fly into space that we denied her so long ago. It's not too late.
She's fit and ready to go. "A mission to study the
Amazon
from space? Perhaps that or even helping build and operate the International
Space Station would be a fitting tribute to a woman who still possesses
so much of The Right Stuff." John Shepler's Writing In A Positive
Light
- "It's
logical that a woman will be next and there is no one in America more
qualified and deserving to be in that space shuttle than Jerrie."
NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin
- "Go
Jerrie! Go and do what most of us only dream of. Go for us.
We're with you all the way." e-mail messages.