Public Domain
Award-winning pilot, Geraldyn "Jerrie" Cobb who trained to become an astronaut but never flew to space.
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.