Sarah Ratley (née Gorelick; August 30, 1933 – March 17, 2020) was an American pilot and one of the Mercury 13 female astronauts group.
Sarah Gorelick | |
|---|---|
 Ratley in 1995 | |
| Born | Sarah Lee Gorelick[1] August 30, 1933 Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | March 17, 2020 (aged 86) |
| Known for | Mercury 13, aviation |
Biography
editBorn in Kansas City, Kansas, Gorelick learned to fly in 1949 and raced in the Powder Puff Derby and toured with the Ninety-Nines.[2] She graduated from the University of Denver with a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics, minoring in physics, chemistry and aeronautics, then worked as an engineer at AT&T.[1][2]
During a tour of Europe she heard about a space research program which produced the Mercury 13, and was invited to take part upon her return.[3] She underwent invasive testing, including freezing the inner ear with ice water to induce vertigo. She said of the experience, "The tests didn't bother me at all [...] When you are young you can take anything. My mind was made up: I was going to pass."[4]
After the Mercury 13, Gorelick became an accountant with the Internal Revenue Service and in 2007 received an honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Wisconsin.[1]
Gorelick died on March 17, 2020.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Sarah Lee Gorelick Ratley". National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ a b "Gorelick, Sarah Lee nee Ratley". Astronautix. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ^ "The Mercury 13: The women who trained for space flight until NASA shut them down". CBC. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ Nicole Branan (September 1, 2007). "A woman with wings". University of Denver Magazine. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ "Sarah Ratley, 'Mercury 13' pilot (1933–2020)". CollectSPACE.com. Retrieved April 1, 2020.