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The Mercury Seven was the group of seven Mercury
Project Mercury

Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States. It ran from 1959 through 1963 with the goal of putting a human in orbit around the Earth....
 astronauts
Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a List of human spaceflight programs to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
 picked by NASA
NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, responsible for the nation's public list of space agencies....
 on April 9, 1959. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. This was the only astronaut group with members that flew on all classes of NASA manned spacecraft of the 20th century, from Mercury, through Gemini and Apollo, and ending with John Glenn
John Glenn

John Herschel Glenn Jr. is a former astronaut who became the third person and first American to orbit the Earth, and later, United States Senate....
's flight on the STS-95
STS-95

STS-95 was a Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Discovery mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 29, 1998. It was the 25th flight of Discovery and the 92nd mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program in April 1981....
 Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle

NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System , is the spacecraft currently used by the United States government for its human spaceflight missions....
 mission.

The last surviving members of the Mercury Seven, , are Glenn and Scott Carpenter
Scott Carpenter

Malcolm Scott Carpenter is a former test pilot, astronaut, and aquanaut. He is best known as one of the Mercury Seven astronauts selected for Project Mercury in April 1959....
.

ident Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David ?Ike? Eisenhower was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a General of the Army in the United States Army....
 insisted that all candidates be test pilots with college degrees.






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El 1996 00089a
The Mercury Seven was the group of seven Mercury
Project Mercury

Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States. It ran from 1959 through 1963 with the goal of putting a human in orbit around the Earth....
 astronauts
Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a List of human spaceflight programs to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
 picked by NASA
NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, responsible for the nation's public list of space agencies....
 on April 9, 1959. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. This was the only astronaut group with members that flew on all classes of NASA manned spacecraft of the 20th century, from Mercury, through Gemini and Apollo, and ending with John Glenn
John Glenn

John Herschel Glenn Jr. is a former astronaut who became the third person and first American to orbit the Earth, and later, United States Senate....
's flight on the STS-95
STS-95

STS-95 was a Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Discovery mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 29, 1998. It was the 25th flight of Discovery and the 92nd mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program in April 1981....
 Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle

NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System , is the spacecraft currently used by the United States government for its human spaceflight missions....
 mission.

The last surviving members of the Mercury Seven, , are Glenn and Scott Carpenter
Scott Carpenter

Malcolm Scott Carpenter is a former test pilot, astronaut, and aquanaut. He is best known as one of the Mercury Seven astronauts selected for Project Mercury in April 1959....
.

Selection process

President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David ?Ike? Eisenhower was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a General of the Army in the United States Army....
 insisted that all candidates be test pilots with college degrees. Because of the small space inside the Mercury capsule, candidates could be no taller than 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) and weigh no more than 180 pounds (82 kg).

NASA identified 69 candidates and brought them to Washington, DC for extensive physical and mental exams. Six candidates were rejected as too tall for the planned spacecraft. Another 33 failed or dropped out during the first phase of exams. Four more refused to take part in the second round of tests which included spending hours on treadmill
Treadmill

A treadmill is an Exercise machine for running or walking while staying in one place. The word treadmill traditionally refers to a type of mill which was operated by a person or animal treading steps of a wheel to grind grain ...
s and tilt tables and submerging their feet in ice water. The second phase of testing eliminated eight more candidates, leaving 18. From that group of 18, the first seven NASA Astronauts were chosen.

The astronauts wrote first-hand accounts of their selection and preparation for the Mercury missions in the 1962 book We Seven. Additionally, each of them separately wrote at least one book describing their astronaut experiences. In 1979 Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe

Thomas Kennerly Wolfe, Jr. , known as Tom Wolfe, is a best-selling United States author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s....
 published a less sanitized version of their story in The Right Stuff
The Right Stuff (book)

The Right Stuff is a 1979 book by Tom Wolfe about the pilots engaged in U.S. postwar experiments with experimental rocket-powered, high-speed aircraft as well as documenting the stories of the first Project Mercury astronauts selected for the NASA space program....
. Wolfe's book was the basis for the popular film directed by Philip Kaufman
Philip Kaufman

Philip Kaufman is an American film director and screenwriter. Although not noted for directing a large number of films, the films he has worked on have been done with recognizable intelligence and independence....
.

Group members


  • Malcolm Scott Carpenter
    Scott Carpenter

    Malcolm Scott Carpenter is a former test pilot, astronaut, and aquanaut. He is best known as one of the Mercury Seven astronauts selected for Project Mercury in April 1959....
    , USN, (1925 - )
MA-7 (Aurora 7)
Mercury-Atlas 7

Mercury-Atlas 7 was a Mercury program American manned space mission launched May 24, 1962.The Mercury capsule was named Aurora 7 and made three earth orbits, piloted by astronaut Scott Carpenter....
  • Leroy Gordon Cooper II
    Gordon Cooper

    Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr., also noted as Gordo Cooper, was an United States astronaut. Cooper was one of the Mercury Seven in Project Mercury, the first manned-space effort by the United States....
    , USAF, (1927 - 2004)
MA-9 (Faith 7)
Mercury-Atlas 9

Mercury-Atlas 9 was the last United States Mercury program manned space mission, launched on May 15, 1963 from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida....
, Gemini 5
Gemini 5

Gemini 5 was a 1965 manned spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the 3rd manned Project Gemini flight, the 11th manned American flight and the 19th spaceflight of all time ....
  • John Herschel Glenn II
    John Glenn

    John Herschel Glenn Jr. is a former astronaut who became the third person and first American to orbit the Earth, and later, United States Senate....
    , USMC, (1921 - )
MA-6 (Friendship 7)
Mercury-Atlas 6

The Mercury-Atlas 6 mission was the first attempt by the United States and Project Mercury to place an astronaut in orbit. The MA-6 mission was launched on February 20, 1962, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida....
, STS-95
STS-95

STS-95 was a Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Discovery mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 29, 1998. It was the 25th flight of Discovery and the 92nd mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program in April 1981....
  • Virgil Ivan (Gus) Grissom
    Gus Grissom

    Virgil Ivan Grissom, more widely known as Gus Grissom, was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts and a United States Air Force Aviator....
    , USAF, (1926 - 1967)
MR-4 (Liberty Bell 7)
Mercury-Redstone 4

Mercury-Redstone 4 was a Project Mercury manned space mission launched on July 21, 1961 using a Redstone .Its capsule was named Liberty Bell 7 and performed a Sub-orbital spaceflight flight piloted by astronaut Virgil Grissom....
, Gemini 3
Gemini 3

Gemini 3 was a 1965 manned space flight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the first manned Project Gemini flight, the seventh manned American flight and the 17th manned spaceflight from Earth of all time ....
, Apollo 1
Apollo 1

Apollo 1 is the official name that was later given to the never-flown Apollo/Saturn 204 mission. Its command module was destroyed by fire during a test and training exercise on January 27 1967 at Pad 34 atop a Saturn IB rocket....
  • Walter Marty (Wally) Schirra II
    Wally Schirra

    Walter Marty Schirra, Jr. was one of the original The Mercury Seven astronauts chosen for the Mercury program, America's first effort to put humans in space....
    , USN, (1923 - 2007)
MA-8 (Sigma 7)
Mercury-Atlas 8

Mercury-Atlas 8 was a Mercury program manned space mission launched on October 3, 1962. The spacecraft was named Sigma 7 and completed six earth orbits piloted by astronaut Wally Schirra....
, Gemini 6A
Gemini 6A

Gemini 6A was a 1965 manned spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the 5th manned Project Gemini flight, the 13th manned American flight and the 21st spaceflight of all time ....
, Apollo 7
Apollo 7

Apollo 7 was the first manned mission in the Apollo program to be launched. It was an eleven-day Earth-orbital mission, the first manned launch of the Saturn IB launch vehicle, and the first three-man American space mission....
  • Alan Bartlett Shepard II
    Alan Shepard

    Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. was the second person and the first United States in space. He later commanded the Apollo 14 mission, and was the List of Apollo astronauts....
    , USN, (1923 - 1998)
MR-3 (Freedom 7)
Mercury-Redstone 3

Mercury-Redstone 3 was a United States Mercury program manned space mission launched on May 5, 1961 using a Redstone , from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida....
, Apollo 14
Apollo 14

Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission in the Apollo program and the third mission to land on the Moon. The 9 day mission was launched on January 31 1971, with lunar touch down on February 5....
  • Donald Kent (Deke) Slayton
    Deke Slayton

    Donald Kent ?Deke? Slayton was one of the original "Mercury Seven" NASA astronauts. Initially grounded by a heart condition, he would serve as NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations....
    , USAF, (1924-1993)
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

mission_name = ASTP Apollo|insignia = ASTPpatch.png|crew_size = 3|command_module = CMmass |spacecraft_mass = total...


See also

  • Man In Space Soonest
    Man In Space Soonest

    Man In Space Soonest was a United States Air Force program to put a astronaut into outer space before the Soviet Union. MISS would have used a Thor booster, then later an Atlas rocket, to put a capsule into orbit....
  • Mercury 13
    Mercury 13

    Mercury 13 refers to thirteen United States women who, as part of a privately-funded program, underwent some of the same physiological screening tests as the astronauts selected by NASA on April 9, 1959 for Project Mercury....
  • Sochi Six
    Grigori Nelyubov

    Grigori Grigoyevich Nelyubov was a Soviet cosmonaut who was likely to have been the third or fourth person in space before his dismissal from the Soviet space program....