From ancient astronomers to fantasy authors to modern-day scientists, visionaries dreamed for centuries about travel beyond Earth into outer space. On a spring day in 1959, America’s fledgling space agency introduced seven military test pilots who would turn the stuff of science fiction into the “right stuff,” launching the nation into the future.
Between May 15 and 16, 1963, 60 years ago, NASA astronaut Gordon Cooper flew the longest American human spaceflight to date. The goal of Project Mercury was to determine if people could survive the rigors of riding a rocket to orbit around the Earth and, once there, perform useful work. Cooper not only demonstrated humans could, he demonstrated his expert piloting skills by performing a pinpoint landing after many of the spacecraft systems failed.
As the second American to orbit the Earth and one of the Original 7 Mercury astronauts, Scott Carpenter was an icon of NASA’s early efforts to explore the new frontier of space. The goal of his Mercury Atlas-7 flight was to help confirm humans could not only survive in the weightless environment of space, but also do useful work there. The lessons learned included a reminder that spaceflight was far more dangerous than a daily commute to work.
“Liftoff, the clock is operating. We’re underway,” NASA astronaut John Glenn announced as he launched to as the first American to orbit the Earth. His spacecraft’s onboard mission elapsed time clock began counting his minutes in flight as he was boosted from Florida’s East Coast on Feb. 20, 1962 – 60 years ago. After his three-orbit mission, the U.S. Marine Corps colonel returned to Earth as the quintessential American hero.
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.
During the summer of 1965, the United States began to pull even in the space race with the Soviet Union. The eight-day Gemini V endurance mission doubled America’s spaceflight record set two months earlier. It also tested technology that would help make longer missions possible in the future.
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.