Mercury-Atlas 9: Faith 7

Occurred 61 years ago

For the final crewed mission of Project Mercury, astronaut Gordon Cooper completed 22 orbits around the Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

Mission Type

Human Spaceflight

crew

L. Gordon Cooper, Jr.

Launch

May 15, 1963

Landing

May 16, 1963

L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. poses for portrait in silve spacesuit and model craft in front of American flag — Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., one of the original seven astronauts for Mercury Project selected by NASA on April 27, 1959. The MA-9 mission, boosted by the Mercury-Atlas launch vehicle, was the last flight of the Mercury Project. The Faith 7 spacecraft orbited the Earth 22 times in 1-1/2 days.
NASA

Gordon Cooper holds his helmet as he completes simulated flight tests for his Mercury-Atlas 9 mission — Gordon Cooper, prime pilot for the Mercury-Atlas 9 mission, leaves Hanger S after completing the day’s simulated flight tests.
NASA

Astronaut Gordon Cooper in spacesuit holding helmet, in front of a yellow backdrop — Mercury astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr. is wearing a spacesuit during Mercury-Atlas 9 prelaunch activities.
NASA

The Mercury Atlas 9 rocket lifts off for Gordon Cooper's Faith 7 mission — S63-07603 (15 May 1963) — This is the launch of Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) on May 15, 1963, at 8:04 a.m. (EST) carrying astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., pilot. Astronaut Cooper made 22 orbits in 34 hours and 19 minutes, in the spacecraft designated the “Faith 7”.
NASA

Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper smiles while wearing his Mercury space suit. — S63-03974 (1963) — Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., prime pilot for the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) mission, relaxes while waiting for weight and balance tests to begin.
NASA

Mission Facts

Mission: Faith 7
Launch Pad: LC-14
Vehicle: Atlas (9)
Crew: L. Gordon Cooper, Jr.
Payload: Spacecraft No. 20, Launch Vehicle Number 130-D

Mission Objective

Manned 1 day mission in orbit.

Orbit

Altitude: 165.9 by 100.3 statute miles
Orbits: 22.5
Period: 88 minutes, 45 seconds
Duration: 1 Day, 10 hours, 19 minutes, 49 seconds
Distance: 546,167 statute miles
Velocity: 17,547 miles per hour
Max Q: 974 psf
Max G: 7.6

Launch

May 15, 1963

Mission Highlights

The mission was successful. Total time weightless was 34 hours, 3 minutes, 30 seconds.

Former Astronauts

L. Gordon Cooper, Jr.

Colonel Cooper was selected as a Mercury astronaut in April 1959. He piloted the “Faith 7” spacecraft which concluded the operational phase of Project Mercury. Cooper served as command pilot of the Gemini 5 mission. He served as backup command pilot for Gemini 12 and as backup commander for Apollo X. Colonel Cooper logged 222 hours in space. He retired from the Air Force and NASA in 1970.

More about Gordon Cooper, Jr.