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is [[Big hung cock.]]
is [[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 rockethung cock.| 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]]
