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The Mercury 7 On April 9, 1959, reporters and news media crammed into the ballroom of the Dolley Madison House…
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On Nov. 5, 1958, NASA, newly established to lead America’s civilian space program, formally established the Space Task Group (STG)…
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On May 16, 1963, NASA astronaut L. Gordon Cooper splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, completing the final mission of…
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On Oct. 3, 1962, astronaut Walter M. “Wally” Schirra completed America’s third and then-longest orbital spaceflight during the Mercury-Atlas 8…
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On May 24, 1962, astronaut M. Scott Carpenter completed America’s second orbital spaceflight during the Mercury-Atlas 7 mission. Carpenter flew…
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In February 1962, the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union was in full swing. Both nations…
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In 1962, John Glenn hurtled around Earth three times. In total, his historic flight — the first time an American…
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On April 9, 1959, NASA formally introduced to the nation and the world its seven Mercury astronauts. The event took…
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Project Mercury was America’s first human space flight program. The Space Task Group at Langley Research Center in Virginia initiated…
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Before NASA could send humans to space, the agency needed to better understand the effects of prolonged weightlessness on the…
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The Mercury-Redstone launch vehicle was the first crewed launch vehicle in the United States space program. The Mercury-Redstone provided NASA…
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During America’s first human spaceflight program, Project Mercury, the eyes of the world often focused on Cape Canaveral Air Force…