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New page: Started in 1958 and completed in 1963, Project Mercury was the United States' first human-in-space program. The objectives of the program, which made six manned flights from 1...
Started in 1958 and completed in 1963, Project Mercury was the [[United States]]' first [[human]]-in-[[space]] program. The objectives of the program, which made six manned flights from 1961 to 1963, were to orbit a manned spacecraft around [[Earth]], to investigate human ability to function in space, and to recover both man and spacecraft safely. Project Mercury was a success and led to Project Gemini.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| Project Mercury Designation
| Mission
| Mission Date
|-
| Mercury-Jupiter
| Test of Jupiter missile.
| Cancelled
|-
| Little Joe 1
| Test of launch escape system during flight.
| August 21st, 1959
|-
| Big Joe 1
| Test of heat shield and Atlas rocket.
| September 9th, 1959
|-
| Little Joe 6
| Test of Mercury capsule aerodynamics and stability.
| October 4th, 1959
|-
| Little Joe 1A
| Second test of launch escape system during flight.
| November 4th, 1959
|-
| Little Joe 2
| Carried a monkey 52.8 miles in altitude.
| December 4th, 1959
|-
| Little Joe 1B
| Carried a monkey 9.3 miles in altitude
| January 21st, 1960
|-
| Beach Abort
| Test of the Off-The-Pad abort system.
| May 9th, 1960
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 1
| First test flight of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas rocket.
| July 29th, 1960
|-
| Little Joe 5
| First flight of a standard Mercury capsule.
| November 8th, 1960
|-
| Mercury-Redstone 1
| First test flight of Mercury spacecraft and Redstone rocket. (Failure)
| November 21st, 1960
|-
| Mercury-Redstone 1A
| First test flight of Mercury spacecraft and Redstone rocket.
| December 19th, 1960
|-
| Mercury-Redstone 2
| Carried a [[chimpanzee]] 129.8 miles in altitude.
| January 31st, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 2
| Second test flight of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas rocket.
| February 21st, 1961
|-
| Little Joe 5A
| Third test of the launch escape system.
| March 18th, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Redstone BD
| Redstone rocket upgrade test flight.
| March 24th, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 3
| Third test flight of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas rocket.
| April 25th, 1961
|-
| Little Joe 5B
| Fourth test of the launch escape system.
| April 28th, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 4
| First orbital spaceflight of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas rocket.
| September 13th, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Scout 1
| Test of Mercury tracking network. (Failure)
| November 1st, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Redstone 3
| Carried first American to make a suborbital flight into space.
| May 5th, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Redstone 4
| Carried second American to make a suborbital flight into space.
| July 21st, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 6
| Carried first American to orbit the Earth.
| February 20th, 1962
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 7
| Manned spaceflight-3 orbits.
| May 24th, 1962
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 8
| Manned spaceflight-6 orbits.
| October 3rd, 1962
|-
| Mercury Atlas 9
| Carried first American in space for over a day and last American to fly alone in Earth orbit.
| May 15th-May 16th, 1963
|-
| Mercury 10
| 3 day manned spaceflight mission.
| Cancelled
|}
[[Category:Space Exploration]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| Project Mercury Designation
| Mission
| Mission Date
|-
| Mercury-Jupiter
| Test of Jupiter missile.
| Cancelled
|-
| Little Joe 1
| Test of launch escape system during flight.
| August 21st, 1959
|-
| Big Joe 1
| Test of heat shield and Atlas rocket.
| September 9th, 1959
|-
| Little Joe 6
| Test of Mercury capsule aerodynamics and stability.
| October 4th, 1959
|-
| Little Joe 1A
| Second test of launch escape system during flight.
| November 4th, 1959
|-
| Little Joe 2
| Carried a monkey 52.8 miles in altitude.
| December 4th, 1959
|-
| Little Joe 1B
| Carried a monkey 9.3 miles in altitude
| January 21st, 1960
|-
| Beach Abort
| Test of the Off-The-Pad abort system.
| May 9th, 1960
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 1
| First test flight of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas rocket.
| July 29th, 1960
|-
| Little Joe 5
| First flight of a standard Mercury capsule.
| November 8th, 1960
|-
| Mercury-Redstone 1
| First test flight of Mercury spacecraft and Redstone rocket. (Failure)
| November 21st, 1960
|-
| Mercury-Redstone 1A
| First test flight of Mercury spacecraft and Redstone rocket.
| December 19th, 1960
|-
| Mercury-Redstone 2
| Carried a [[chimpanzee]] 129.8 miles in altitude.
| January 31st, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 2
| Second test flight of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas rocket.
| February 21st, 1961
|-
| Little Joe 5A
| Third test of the launch escape system.
| March 18th, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Redstone BD
| Redstone rocket upgrade test flight.
| March 24th, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 3
| Third test flight of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas rocket.
| April 25th, 1961
|-
| Little Joe 5B
| Fourth test of the launch escape system.
| April 28th, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 4
| First orbital spaceflight of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas rocket.
| September 13th, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Scout 1
| Test of Mercury tracking network. (Failure)
| November 1st, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Redstone 3
| Carried first American to make a suborbital flight into space.
| May 5th, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Redstone 4
| Carried second American to make a suborbital flight into space.
| July 21st, 1961
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 6
| Carried first American to orbit the Earth.
| February 20th, 1962
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 7
| Manned spaceflight-3 orbits.
| May 24th, 1962
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 8
| Manned spaceflight-6 orbits.
| October 3rd, 1962
|-
| Mercury Atlas 9
| Carried first American in space for over a day and last American to fly alone in Earth orbit.
| May 15th-May 16th, 1963
|-
| Mercury 10
| 3 day manned spaceflight mission.
| Cancelled
|}
[[Category:Space Exploration]]