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NASA logo would not have been fair use; added names of astronauts to their missions
[[Image:Mercuryatlas9.JPG|thumb|right|300px|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]].
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 ==
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 '''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.
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 ==
== Mercury Missions ==
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
| Mission
| Mission
| Mission Date
| Mission Date
| Notes/Pilot name
|-
|-
| Mercury-Jupiter
| Mercury-Jupiter
| First test flight of Mercury spacecraft and Redstone rocket. (Failure)
| First test flight of Mercury spacecraft and Redstone rocket. (Failure)
| November 21st, 1960
| November 21st, 1960
| The "Popped Cork" Incident
|-
|-
| Mercury-Redstone 1A
| Mercury-Redstone 1A
| Carried first American to make a suborbital flight into space.
| Carried first American to make a suborbital flight into space.
| May 5th, 1961
| May 5th, 1961
| [[Alan Shepard]]
|-
|-
| Mercury-Redstone 4
| Mercury-Redstone 4
| Carried second American to make a suborbital flight into space.
| Carried second American to make a suborbital flight into space.
| July 21st, 1961
| July 21st, 1961
| [[Virgil I. Grissom]]
|-
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 6
| Mercury-Atlas 6
| Carried first American to orbit the Earth.
| Carried first American to orbit the Earth.
| February 20th, 1962
| February 20th, 1962
| [[John Glenn]]
|-
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 7
| Mercury-Atlas 7
| Manned spaceflight-3 orbits.
| Manned spaceflight-3 orbits.
| May 24th, 1962
| May 24th, 1962
| [[Scott Carpenter]]
|-
|-
| Mercury-Atlas 8
| Mercury-Atlas 8
| Manned spaceflight-6 orbits.
| Manned spaceflight-6 orbits.
| October 3rd, 1962
| October 3rd, 1962
| [[Walter Schirra]]
|-
|-
| Mercury Atlas 9
| Mercury Atlas 9
| Carried first American in space for over a day and last American to fly alone in Earth orbit.
| Carried first American in space for over a day and last American to fly alone in Earth orbit.
| May 15th-May 16th, 1963
| May 15th-May 16th, 1963
| [[Gordon Cooper]]
|-
|-
| Mercury 10
| Mercury 10
| Cancelled
| 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 Exploration]]
[[Category:Space Exploration]]