Watch Trailer for MERCURY 13 - Remarkable Story of 13 Women Tested for Spaceflight in 1961

The Netflix documentary “Mercury 13” directed by David Sington and Heather Walsh is a remarkable story of the women who were tested for spaceflight in 1961 before their dreams were dashed in being the first to make the trip beyond Earth. An Official Selection of the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival and the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Mercury 13 will premiere on Netflix on April 20, 2018.

On April 9, 1959, NASA introduced their first astronaut class of all men, Mercury 7, to the world.

This is the story of the 13 women who were just as deserving of their place in space.

Mercury 13 is a remarkable story of the women who were tested for spaceflight in 1961 before their dreams were dashed in being the first to make the trip beyond Earth. NASA’s ‘man in space’ program, dubbed ‘Project Mercury’ began in 1958. The men chosen – all military test pilots – became known as The Mercury 7. But away from the glare of the media, behind firmly closed doors, female pilots were also screened. Thirteen of them passed and, in some cases, performed better than the men. They were called the Mercury 13 and had the ‘right stuff’ but were, unfortunately, the wrong gender. Underneath the obsession of the space race that gripped America, the women were aviation pioneers who emerged thirsty for a new frontier, but whose time would have to wait. The film tells the definitive story of thirteen truly remarkable women who reached for the stars but were ahead of their time. A Netflix original documentary directed by David Sington (The Fear of 13) and Heather Walsh.