Mercury Seven

The seven original American astronauts were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. They piloted the six spaceflights of the Mercury program that had an astronaut on board from May 1961 to May 1963. The group flew in the Mercury and Gemini missions, but died in 1967 in the Apollo 1 fire. The last was Alan Shepard in 1998, when he became the oldest American in space when he flew on Space Shuttle Discovery.

About Mercury Seven in brief

The seven original American astronauts were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. The Mercury Seven created a new profession in the United States, and established the image of the American astronaut for decades to come. They piloted the six spaceflights of the Mercury program that had an astronaut on board from May 1961 to May 1963. Members of the group flew on all of the NASA human spaceflight programs of the 20th century—Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the Space Shuttle. Glenn became the first American in orbit in 1962, and flew on the Space shuttle Discovery in 1998 to become, at age 77, the oldest person to fly in space. He was the last living member of theMercury Seven when he died in 2016 at the age of 95. The name was publicly announced by Glennan on December 17, 1958, the 55th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight. The objective of Project Mercury was to launch a man into Earth orbit, return him safely to the Earth, and evaluate his capabilities in space, although Project Mercury’s ambitions were far more limited than those of the Project Mercury. A three-man panel consisting of Charles J. Donlan, Warren J. North and Allen O. Gamble drew up a civil service job specification for astronauts. The panel proposed that astronauts be in civil service grades of 12 to 15, depending on qualifications and experience, with an annual salary of USD 8,330 to USD 12,770.

Although the entire program will be possible, in the early phases, without the presence of a man, the entire astronaut’s duties will be the same as those of a space shuttle pilot or airman. The group flew in the Mercury and Gemini missions, but died in 1967 in the Apollo 1 fire; the others all survived past retirement from service. They were the first Americans to walk on the Moon on Apollo 14 in 1971. All of them eventually flew in space; the last was Alan Shepard in 1998, when he became the oldest American in space when he flew on Space Shuttle Discovery. The mission was the first mission to orbit the Earth without the assistance of a spacecraft, and it was the only mission to do so with a crew of two people. It was also the first time that a man was sent into space without the help of an orbiting spacecraft. The project was called Man in Space Soonest (MISS) by the U.S. Air Force and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) The name came from a suggestion by Abe Silverstein, the director of Space Flight Development at STG, that the human space flight project be called Project Mercury; it was officially announced on December 1, 1958. A brainstorming session was held on December 2, 1958; someone came up with the term “astronaut” The term had been used in science fiction since the 1920s, but the word had been coined by a group of scientists.

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