United States manned spaceflight program (
1959-
1963) devoted to the goal of putting a man in orbit around the Earth. It was followed by the
Gemini and
Apollo programs.
Mercury spacecraft were one-man spacecraft. They were very cramped; it was said that the Mercury spacecraft were not ridden, they were worn.
The program included 20 unmanned launches. Not all of these were intended to reach space and not all were successful in their objectives. The fifth flight in 1959 launched a monkey named Sam into space. Other space-farers were Miss Sam the monkey and Ham and Enos, both chimpanzees.
The name Mercury comes from the Roman god (it is also the name of the innermost planet of the solar system).
Six manned flights took place under the Mercury program:
- May 5, 1961 -- "Freedom 7": Suborbital flight. Astronaut: [Alan Shepard]? -First American in space
- July 21, 1961 -- "Liberty Bell 7": Suborbital flight. Astronaut: [Gus Grissom]?
- February 20, 1962 -- "Friendship 7": Three earth orbits. Astronaut: [John Glenn]? -First American in orbit
- May 24, 1962 -- "Aurora 7": Three earth orbits. Astronaut: [Scott Carpenter]?
- October 3, 1962 -- "Sigma 7": Six earth orbits. Astronaut: [Wally Schirra]?
- May 15, 1963 -- "Faith 7": Twenty-two earth orbits. Astronaut: [Gordon Cooper]?
A seventh flight was cancelled when astronaut [Deke Slayton]? was disqualified for medical reasons.
Books:
- Wolfe, Tom. The Right Stuff. Sentimental, from the astronaut viewpoint, not meant to be taken as a strict history, but fascinating anyway.
External links:
- Official web site: http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/history/mercury/mercury.htm