| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| − | is [[Big hung cock.]]
| + | [[Image:Mercuryatlas9.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Mercury-Atlas 9 on the launchpad.]]Started in 1958 and completed in 1963, '''Project Mercury''' was the [[United States]]' first [[human]]-in-[[Outer space|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]]. |
| | + | |
| | + | == The Mercury Seven == |
| | + | |
| | + | The '''Mercury Seven''' were the original seven [[astronauts]] designated to fly in Project Mercury. They were M. Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper, [[John Glenn]], Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Walter "Wally" Schirra, [[Alan Shepard]], and Donald "Deke" Slayton. Selected for their performance in the [[United_States_Air_Force|Air Force]], several of these pioneer astronauts (including Wally Schirra) flew in all NASA rocket spacecraft - from Mercury to [[Project Gemini|Gemini]] to [[Project Apollo|Apollo]]. |
| | + | |
| | + | The successful mission of [[Apollo 11]] could not have been conducted without their efforts, for which one (Gus Grissom) gave his life in the [[Apollo 1]] tragedy, alongside fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger Chaffee. |
| | + | |
| | + | == Mercury Missions == |
| | + | {| class="wikitable" |
| | + | |- |
| | + | | Project Mercury Designation |
| | + | | Mission |
| | + | | Mission Date |
| | + | | Notes/Pilot name |
| | + | |- |
| | + | | 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 |
| | + | | The "Popped Cork" Incident |
| | + | |- |
| | + | | 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 |
| | + | | [[Alan Shepard]] |
| | + | |- |
| | + | | Mercury-Redstone 4 |
| | + | | Carried second American to make a suborbital flight into space. |
| | + | | July 21st, 1961 |
| | + | | [[Virgil I. Grissom]] |
| | + | |- |
| | + | | Mercury-Atlas 6 |
| | + | | Carried first American to orbit the Earth. |
| | + | | February 20th, 1962 |
| | + | | [[John Glenn]] |
| | + | |- |
| | + | | Mercury-Atlas 7 |
| | + | | Manned spaceflight-3 orbits. |
| | + | | May 24th, 1962 |
| | + | | [[Scott Carpenter]] |
| | + | |- |
| | + | | Mercury-Atlas 8 |
| | + | | Manned spaceflight-6 orbits. |
| | + | | October 3rd, 1962 |
| | + | | [[Walter Schirra]] |
| | + | |- |
| | + | | 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 |
| | + | | [[Gordon Cooper]] |
| | + | |- |
| | + | | Mercury 10 |
| | + | | 3 day manned spaceflight mission. |
| | + | | Cancelled |
| | + | |} |
| | + | |
| | + | [[Donald K. Slayton]] did not fly a Mercury mission. The flight surgeons grounded him for nearly a decade and a half after finding that he suffered from an occasional dysrhythmia of the [[heart]]. The other six astronauts then recommended to NASA administration that the astronaut corps should have a permanent chief, chosen among their number, and chose Slayton to fill that position. Slayton was the only chief that the astronaut corps ever had. He would finally fly the [[Apollo-Soyuz Test Project]] mission in 1975, the last mission flown with [[Project Apollo]] hardware. |
| | + | |
| | + | [[Category:Space Race]] |