The second American to orbit Earth was astronaut Scott Carpenter who flew in the Aurora 7 capsule. John Glenn’s Atlas rocket launched his ‘Friendship 7’ into low Earth orbit on February 20 1962, becoming the second human to orbit the Earth after Yuri Gagarin. Gus Grissom flew the second suborbital flight atop the Mercury-Redstone rocket before the advent of the more powerful Atlas rocket required to reach orbital speeds. Facts About The Manned Mercury Spaceflightsįollowing many development flights, including a few dramatic failures, NASA launched a monkey and 2 chimpanzees into space and returned them safely proving that spaceflight was safe for humans.Īlan Shepard made the first manned spaceflight aboard ‘ Freedom 7’ becoming the first American in space. It was launched on one of two different rockets (which were designed as missiles for the Military) used during the program, the Mercury-Redstone and the more powerful Atlas rocket. Each astronaut named his capsule and included the number ‘7’ in its name. The capsule designed for the Mercury program was small and could only accommodate one astronaut who had to remain seated throughout. All but Donald Slayton would fly a Project Mercury mission. On 21JUL1961, another Mercury-Redstone launched Virgil Gus Grissom into space.In early 1959 NASA selected seven former test pilots to be the first group of astronauts – known as the Mercury Seven! They were Malcolm Carpenter, Leroy "Gordo" Cooper, John Glenn, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Walter "Wally" Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald "Deke" Slayton. A Museum staff member talks to the public about the history, collection, or personalities related to a specific artifact or exhibition in the Museum.
Project mercury vs project vostok series#
On 5MAY1961, a Mercury-Redstone launched America's first astronaut, Alan Sheppard, into space. The Ask An Expert lecture series at the National Mall building is presented every Wednesday at noon. The rocket was used to launch Mercury capsules on suborbital trajectories into space. The first successful Mercury-Redstone rocket flew on 19DEC1960. (Photos: Richard Kruse, 2007) Mercury-Redstone Although this spacecraft is flight-rated, it was not flown. Mercury Capsule on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (Photos: Richard Kruse, 2008) Mercury Capsule 17 (Unflown) Mercury 15B (Freedom 7 II) Capsule on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center. (Photos: Richard Kruse, 2009) Mercury 15B Capsule (Unflown) This spacecraft served as a backup for Wally Schirra's MA-8 (Sigma 7) mission. Mercury Capsule 12B on display at Kennedy Space Center.
(Photos: Kevin Barrett, 2009) Mercury Capsule 12B (Unflown) Launched on May 15, 1963, astronaut Gordon Cooper conducted 22.5 orbits in this spacecraft. Mercury MA-9 (Faith 7) Capsule on display at Space Center Houston. The last flight of the Vostok program was in June 1963 when Vostok 6 carried the first woman in space - Valentina Tereshkova. (Photos: Richard Kruse, 2009) Mercury MA-9 Capsule Amazing Fun Facts About The First Space Mission The Vostok spacecraft was part of the Soviet Vostok program which made 6 manned spaceflights between 19 as part of the Space Race with American’s Project Mercury. Launched on October 3, 1962, astronaut Wally Schirra conducted six orbits in this spacecraft. Mercury MA-8 (Sigma 7) Capsule on display at the Astronaut Hall of Fame. (Photos: Richard Kruse, 2008) Mercury MA-8 Capsule Launched on May 24, 1962, astronaut Scott Carpenter conducted three orbits in this spacecraft. Mercury MA-7 (Aurora 7) Capsule on display at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. (Photos: Richard Kruse, 2008) Mercury MA-7 Capsule Launched on February 20, 1962, astronaut John Glenn conducted three orbits in this spacecraft. Mercury MA-6 (Friendship 7) Capsule on display at the National Air and Space Museum. (Photos: John Karpiej, 2005) Mercury MA-6 Capsule Launched on July 21, 1961, astronaut Gus Grissom conducted a sub-orbital flight in this spacecraft. Suborbital missions were launched using Redstone rockets, while orbital flights were made using Atlas launchers. Two suborbital missions were followed by four orbital missions. The program included a number of unmanned test flights, some including primates, prior to flying human astronauts.Ī total of six manned missions were flown. Started in 1958, Project Mercury was the United States' first manned spacecraft program.
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