They had tea with Jackie Kennedy, appeared on the cover of Life magazine, and quickly grew into fashion icons. Trudy Cooper is the wife of Gordo Cooper, though they eventually divorce. You know her from the Fifty Shades franchise and from her role on Chicago Fire, but as Trudy, she's playing a pioneer in aviation as not only an astronaut's wife, but a pilot in her own right. Annie Glenn wife of John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth. Four in front (Schirra, Slayton, Glenn, Carpenter) and three in back (Shepard, Grissom, Cooper). See more ideas about astronaut, project mercury, wife. Excellent Condition Out of Stock. The average pay for a military test pilot was $7,000 a year. In the finale of The Astronaut Wives Club it seemed like many of the marriages were falling apart or had already. Life Magazine followed the Astronaut Wives during the space race, making them essentially America's first reality stars. For me, the key to this story was these seven women and who they are through the script, which is a version of who they are through their real lives and Life magazine. Location: Houston, TX, US Date taken: December 1968 Photographer: Lynn Pelham Jan 28, 2013 - Wife of Apollo 8 astronaut Frank Borman, Sue Borman. That said: "The Mercury Seven were a unique group of women and you sort of have to jump onboard with them as they get to know one another while their newly-picked husbands get to know each other socially at parties and memorably at the wives' first photo shoot with LIFE magazine," reflected Koppel in an interview with collectSPACE. All seven men have since died, with Glenn passing away last in 2016. Who were the Mercury Seven astronauts' wives? According to the Washington Post, all seven of the astronauts were married, but the show highlights three of their wives in particular: Annie Glenn, Trudy Cooper, and Louise Shepard. The Mercury 13 were thirteen American women who, as part of a privately funded program, successfully underwent the same physiological screening tests as had the astronauts selected by NASA on April 9, 1959, for Project Mercury.The term was coined in 1995 by Hollywood producer James Cross as a comparison to the Mercury Seven name given to the selected male astronauts. At the height of the space race, Life magazine helped transform the wives of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts from military spouses to American royalty. So, in which issue of LIFE was the photo published? The wives of Mercury 7 forged the blueprints for the wives that would follow in their footsteps, and none were thrust more into the spotlight than the wives of the Apollo 11 mission. Together they formed the Astronaut Wives Club, meeting regularly to provide support and friendship. We meet the Mercury 7 wives before they meet one another. Accompanying ABC's air date announcement was the first photo of the series' stars as the wives of NASA's "original" Mercury astronauts. The Mercury Seven were the group of seven astronauts selected to fly spacecraft for Project Mercury.They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1.Their names were publicly announced by NASA on April 9, 1959. They had tea with Jackie Kennedy, appeared on the cover of "Life" magazine, and quickly grew into fashion icons. Yet behind the thrills, the glamour, the celebrity status, ticker-tape parades, glossy magazine photo-shoots and receptions with monarchs and presidents, life for the wives Joan Archer became the wife of Buzz Aldrin. Image credit: Grand Central Publishing. An enigmatic woman who was always conspicuously quiet with reporters, Trudy relied on her kittenish eyes to say, Im happily married. Tonight on ABC their new drama The Astronaut Wives Club airs with an all new Thursday July 9, season 1 episode 4 called, Liftoff. Weve got your recap down below! The Collier as Commemoration: The Project Mercury Astronauts and the Collier Trophy. Walt Disney Television via Getty Images's "The Astronaut Wives Club" stars Yvonne Strahovski as Rene Carpenter. ABC series features the Wife Stuff of the areas first group of astronaut spouses | Local News | The Daily News People still learn of him today, and the rest of the group also, but what people may not learn about is the bravery of these mens wives. The cover of Lily Koppels The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story shows the brave Mercury Seven wives in an iconic LIFE magazine photo from 1959. To take some of the pressure off, NASA brokered a deal with LIFE magazine, giving the publication exclusive rights to all coverage of the Mercury Seven, as well as their Earthbound wives On April 9,1959, the U.S. introduced its first astronauts, and then launched their wives into the spotlight. The 10-episode miniseries spans 1959 to 1971, a decade-plus retold through the aid of NASA footage, Life magazine profiles and writer Lily Koppels 2013 oral history The Astronaut Wives As America's Mercury Seven astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, television cameras focused on the brave smiles of their young wives. In exchange, the magazine provided the astronauts with huge life insurance policies. Believe it to be a 1960-61 pic, with funny-looking boots. Lily Koppels The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Stor y will be released Tuesday, June 11, by Grand Central Publishing. Get to her a little bit better with our full interview. Overnight, these women were transformed from military spouses into American royalty. Image credit: Grand Central Publishing. When she met Gordo at the University of Hawaii, she was already a pilot herself. All of the Mercury Seven's wives have since died, the astronauts were each given $25,000 a year by LIFE magazine to give the outlet exclusive coverage of their work and Photo Search As America's Mercury Seven astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, television cameras focused on the brave smiles of their young wives. Enter Lily Koppels The Astronaut Wives Club, the true story of the spouses of Americas Mercury Seven, a group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1959 to head a number of new space missions. The magazines reporters and photographers were given exclusive access to the wives and their husbands, paying each couple $24,000 a year for the three-year project Mercury was set to run. See more ideas about john glenn, project mercury, space race. The elite "Mercury Seven" astronauts were the nation's heroes and their wives became American icons, glamorized in print magazines and on black and white TVs. LM-092159-GP. Trudy was born in February, 1929, in Seattle. The Astronaut Wives Club: Season 1 Photos. The last living member of the Mercury 7 couples who helped define Americas early space program, she On April 9,1959, the U.S. introduced its first astronauts, and then launched their wives into the spotlight. Here, LIFE.com offers a gallery of photos taken in the early days of Project Mercury. The pictures were made by long-time LIFE photographer Ralph Morsea man who spent so much time with the Mercury Seven (and, ultimately, with the Gemini and Apollo crews, as well) that John Glenn himself fondly dubbed Morse the eighth astronaut.