Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton was an American Air Force pilot, aeronautical engineer, and test pilot who was selected as one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts. He went on to become NASA's first Chief of the Astronaut Office and Director of Flight Crew Operations, responsible for NASA crew assignments.
Slayton in 1973
Deke Slayton as a bomber pilot during World War II
Deke Slayton (right) beside a Douglas A-26 bomber
Deke Slayton
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: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. The Mercury Seven created a new profession in the United States, and established the image of the American astronaut for decades to come.
The Mercury Seven in 1960 Back: Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper; Front: Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter
The Mercury Seven in front of an F-106 Delta Dart
(L to R) Cooper, Schirra (partially obscured), Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, Slayton, and Carpenter
Memorial at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14