Spaceflight is inherently dangerous. From the earliest days of designing spacecraft for crews, engineers have looked for ways astronauts could be rescued in the event of a mishap involving the rocket. An American-developed option — a launch escape system, or escape tower – was copied by the Soviet Union and it saved the lives of two Russian cosmonauts.
Maxime “Max” Faget (pronounced: fah-ZHAY) was one of the most important leaders in the history of America’s space program, but relatively unknown to the general public. He designed the Mercury capsule and was a key contributor to plans for spacecraft flown during NASA’s Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle Programs.
During America’s first human spaceflight program, the eyes of the world often focused on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. As the nation’s Project Mercury astronauts were taking their pioneering steps into space, a centerpiece facility in this effort for astronaut training, crew quarters and spacecraft processing was Hangar S at the Cape.
In the summer of 1969, the voice of Jack King was immortalized as he provided the countdown for the liftoff for the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. He was selected as the first chief of Public Information at the Florida spaceport in 1960. During a news media event just prior to the flight of America’s first person in space, King was witness to a prank by one of NASA’s Project Mercury astronauts.