The Mercury Seven were the group of seven astronauts selected to fly spacecraft for Project Mercury. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. Their names were publicly announced by NASA on April 9, 1959: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. The ...

Jun 18, 2024 · Project Mercury was the NASA program that put the first American astronauts in space. Astronauts made a total of six spaceflights during Project Mercury. Two of those flights reached space and came right back down.

Oct 9, 2020 · Read on to meet NASA's first star travelers, the pioneering astronauts who became the first Americans in space. NASA. Donald "Deke" Slayton was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts —...

Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Union.

On April 9, 1959, NASA formally introduced to the nation and the world its seven Mercury astronauts. The event took place in the ballroom of the Dolley Madison House on Lafayette Square in Washington, DC, which then served as the first headquarters of the new space agency.

Nov 30, 2006 · And the Air Force assigned three captains, Donald Kent Slayton, Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr., and Virgil I. Grissom, to duty with NASA as test pilots, alias Mercury astronauts. On May 28, 1959, the astronauts were brought before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics in executive session.

Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. was selected as one of NASA’s original seven Mercury Project astronauts on April 27, 1959. During the astronaut selection process for Project Mercury, two personality and motivation tests initially appeared deceptively simple, almost like parlor games.

Apr 9, 2018 · It's been 59 years since seven men were presented to the world as NASA's first-ever astronaut class. The men, called the Original Seven, became overnight sensations in the United States.

Nov 28, 2024 · Project Mercury was NASA's program that launched the first American astronauts into space, completing a total of six crewed spaceflights.

The original seven astronauts selected for the Mercury program are: (front row, left to right) Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donald K. Slayton, John H. Glenn, Jr., and M. Scott Carpenter, (back row, left to right) Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Virgil I. Grissom and L. Gordon Cooper.