You know about Sally Ride, but what about the other first American women astronauts?

And the fact that I didn't know much about the other five women at all made me think

this is a great opportunity to educate myself and also give them a more elevated platform.

The author of a new book tells us what these women accomplished.

It's Wednesday, October 18th, and today is Science Friday.

I'm Sifar, producer, D. Petersmith.

NASA didn't allow women to join its astronaut program until 1978.

Why did it take the agency almost 20 years to do so?

Space reporter Lauren Grush, the author of the new book The Sixth, the untold story of

America's first women astronauts, talks about these women's stories.

Why NASA dragged its feet on admitting them, the obstacles they faced from the media, and

the impact they had on the space program?

Here's our inflato.

If you were asked to name some of the first American astronauts, you probably wouldn't

have much trouble.

Alan Shipper, John Glenn, come to mind pretty easily.

But could you name the first women astronauts?

How about besides Sally Ride?

Could you?

It's a question that even space nerds might have trouble answering.

Well, a new book from Space reporter Lauren Grush centers those women's stories.

The Sixth, the untold story of America's first women astronauts, goes down.

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