Project Mercury
Videos
Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and retur
Wallops Island test facility, 1961
Mercury Control Center, Cape Canaveral, 1963
Retropack: Retrorockets with red posigrade rockets
Landing skirt (or bag) deployment: skirt is inflated; on impact the air is pressed out (like an airbag)
Mercury Seven
Videos
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 an
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