Sue Nelson has narrated 2 audiobooks on Listento.it by 2 authors, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 1 ratings. The most-rated is Sue Nelson.
Sue Nelson
Summary
Joining us in the Audible Studios to talk about her book Wally Funk’s Race for Space is science writer and broadcaster Sue Nelson. Wally Funk was one of the 13 members of the 1961 Women in Space Programme. The female aviation pioneer also became the first female air safety investigator for the NTSB and the first civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, with over 19,000 flight hours. Sue Nelson, former BBC science correspondent and Radio 4 presenter, documents Wally’s extraordinary life in her new book, Wally Funk’s Race for Space, published in 2018. Sue Nelson talks to us about the astronaut tests of the '60s, where her own interest in space began and the incredible life of aviation pioneer Wally Funk.
©2018 Audible Ltd (P)2018 Audible Ltd
Wally Funk's Race for Space
Summary
In 1961, Wally Funk was among the Mercury 13, the first group of American pilots to pass the ‘Women in Space’ programme. Wally sailed through a series of rigorous physical and mental tests, her scores beating many of the male candidates, including those of John Glenn, the first American in orbit. But just one week before she was due to enter the final phase of training, the programme was abruptly cancelled. A combination of politics and prejudice meant that none of the women ever flew into space. Undeterred, Wally went on to become one of America’s first female aviation inspectors and civilian flight instructors, though her dream of being an astronaut never dimmed. In this offbeat odyssey, journalist and fellow space buff Sue Nelson travels with Wally, now approaching her 80th birthday, as she races to make her giant leap - before it’s too late. Covering their travels across the United States and Europe - taking in NASA’s mission control in Houston and Spaceport America in New Mexico, where Wally’s ride to space awaits - this is a uniquely intimate and entertaining portrait of a true aviation trailblazer.
©2018 Sue Nelson (P)2018 Audible, Ltd