“I would’ve liked to walk on the moon,” one of the subjects of “Mercury 13” confesses in a trailer for the documentary. “I could’ve walked on it, I could’ve kicked it out, I could’ve made dust — because I know the guys did. I could’ve done anything they did.”
The operative word here, of course is “could’ve.” Directed by Heather Walsh and David Sington, the doc tells the story of the Mercury 13, a group of female pilots who successfully tested for spaceflight as part of a secret program during the Space Race. These women proved their mettle and were set to become some of the United States’ first astronauts. But then the male powers that be stepped in.
“I was raring to go. That’s when NASA got wind of it,” a member of the Mercury 13 recalls in the trailer. “They did not want this program, pure and simple,” another pilot adds. Because the notion of women being astronauts was just too ludicrous.
NASA “was a good ol’ boy network,” as one of “Mercury 13's” characters puts it, “and there was no such thing as a good ol’ girl network.”
“Mercury 13” hits Netflix April 20. It marks Walsh’s first outing as a director. She previously served as producer on projects such as Licence to Krill” — a doc which was helmed by Sington — and docuseries “The Churchills” and “Nova.”
