As project Mercury began in the late 1950s, NASA's Langley Research Center was thrust full force into the national spotlight with the arrival in Hampton of the original seven astronauts.
As project Mercury began in the late 1950s, NASA’s Langley Research Center was thrust full force into the national spotlight with the arrival in Hampton of the original seven astronauts.
Under the tutelage of the Space Task Group, (from left front row) Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Scott Carpenter, Donald “Deke” Slayton, Gordon Cooper, (back row) Alan Shepard, Walter Schirra and John Glenn were trained at Langley to operate the space machines that would thrust them beyond the protective environment of Earth’s atmosphere.Image Credit: NASA