Irene H. Leverton (March 3, 1927July 23, 2017) was an American pilot and a member of the

Mercury 13 The Mercury 13 were thirteen American women who took part in a privately funded program run by William Randolph Lovelace II aiming to test and screen women for Human spaceflight, spaceflight. The participants—First Lady Astronaut Trainees (or ...

project.

Life

She was a member of the

Ninety-Nines The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots, also known as The 99s, is an international organization that provides networking, mentoring, and flight scholarship opportunities to recreational and professional female pilots. Foun ...

. In 1961, she was selected for the

Women in Space Program The Mercury 13 were thirteen American women who took part in a privately funded program run by William Randolph Lovelace II aiming to test and screen women for Human spaceflight, spaceflight. The participants—First Lady Astronaut Trainees (or ...

.who was selected to be one of the "Mercury 13" project women, passed away July 23, 2017, at the age of 90 in Paulden, Ariz. A Chicago native, she was inducted into the Women in Aviation Hall of Fame in 1966 and the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame in 2004. With an aviation career starting in 1944 and ending in 2011, she was a pilot, flight instructor and check pilot. In 1961, Leverton was selected for what is now known as the “Mercury 13” project, a privately funded program that enlisted women to undergo some of the same physical and psychological tests as the “Mercury 7” male astronauts. Although it was never an official NASA program, members of the First Lady Astronaut Trainees (also known as FLATs) secretly trained to become astronauts for America's first human spaceflight program in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Leverton moved to Phoenix and then to Prescott, where she started her business, Aviation Resource Management in 1985. She was a certificated Federal Aviation Administration Airline Transport Pilot and worked with the Civil Air Patrol squadron in Prescott as a check-ride pilot. She graduated from

San Jose State College San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

with an AA in 1976 later receiving her flight training from

Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is a private university focused on aviation and aerospace programs. Initially founded at Lunken Field in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1926, its main campuses are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Presco ...

References

External links

Space invaders
''Salon''

Mercury 13
Irene Leverton flew at a time when women weren't welcome in the pilot's seat
''Kingman Miner''
Aviation pioneer Irene Leverton
Embry-Riddle Alumni Association
Born to Fly: Cottonwood's Irene Leverton Leverton honored by aviation community
''The Verde Independent''
Achievers: Leverton continues more than 60 years of flying
''The Daily Courier'' category:1927 births category:2017 deaths People from Chicago American women aviators San Jose State University alumni Aviators from Illinois Mercury 13 Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University alumni {{Aviation-bio-stub