The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) presented the first American astronauts on April 9, 1959, who were nicknamed “the magnificent 7”.
These first astronauts were selected from among 32 candidates from the Navy, Navy and Air Force, to participate in Project Mercury, the first manned space program in the United States , originally Project Air Force , which was renamed as such after the birth from NASA.
Thus, the seven chosen astronauts were: Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Walter Schirra Jr., Alan Shepard Jr., and Donald “Deke” Slayton. All of them were chosen for their great experience as military pilots and for having the appropriate physical characteristics for the mission, since all of them were subjected to exhaustive medical and psychological examinations and harsh physical tests such as staying for an hour in a pressure chamber that simulated a height of 20 kilometers
Of the seven astronauts, only six finally flew , as Slayton was removed from the program after detecting a heart problem.
The first flight was carried out by Alan Shephard aboard Freedom 7 on May 5, 1961. It was a 15-minute ballistic (suborbital) flight. Next was John Glen, who on February 20, 1962 became the first American to orbit Earth with an Atlas launch vehicle, aboard the Friendship 7 capsule.
The seven magnificents
Alan Shepard
Alan Shepard was the first astronaut sent into space as part of Project Mercury. Shepard’s 15-minute space flight took place on May 5, 1991, aboard the Freedom 7 space capsule. Several years later, Shepard led the Apollo 14 mission to the moon, walking on the moon in 1971. .
Gus Grissom
Gus Grissom piloted Mercury’s second mission into space in a capsule called the Liberty Bell 7. However, neither Shepard nor Grissom orbited Earth. They were both aboard suborbital flights, reaching outer space and then returning to Earth.
John Glenn
The third Mercury Seven member in space during Project Mercury was John Glenn, who also became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962 aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft.
Scott Carpenter
Scott Carpenter was sent on the fourth Mercury mission in space aboard the Aurora capsule. Carpenter’s mission ran out of fuel and therefore NASA terminated the mission after two orbits of Earth instead of the initially scheduled three orbits.
Wally Schirra
Wally Schirra piloted the fifth Mercury mission aboard the Sigma 7 capsule.
Gordon Cooper
Gordon Cooper piloted the last mission of the project, which took 34 hours to circle Earth in the Faith 7 capsule.
Deke Slayton
The last member of the Mercury Seven, Deke Slayton, did not participate in a space mission during Project Mercury due to a health complication. However, Slayton reached space later in 1975 during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
Program legacy
Project Mercury was the first successful spaceflight to launch American astronauts into space with the goal of putting a human into Earth’s orbit . It was a historic achievement for NASA and provided valuable lessons that were instrumental in subsequent US Space Agency space programs.
