12/7/2022 0 Comments Project mercury vs project vostok![]() ![]() To the astronauts' surprise, the reporters asked about their personal lives instead of war records or flight experience, or about the details of Mercury. :16–18īecause they wore civilian clothes, the audience did not see them as military test pilots but "mature, middle-class Americans, average in height and visage, family men all," ready for single combat versus worldwide Communism. Although the agency viewed Project Mercury's purpose as an experiment to determine whether humans could survive space travel, the seven men immediately became national heroes and were compared by TIME magazine to "Columbus, Magellan, Daniel Boone, and the Wright brothers." Two hundred reporters overflowed the room used for the announcement and alarmed the astronauts, who were unused to such a large audience. NASA introduced the astronauts in Washington on April 9, 1959. (L to R) Cooper, Schirra (partially obscured), Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, Slayton, and Carpenter Glenn and Carpenter, however, did not technically meet all of their schools' degree requirements, but were awarded their bachelor's degrees after their 1962 space flights. Shepard exceeded the educational requirement by earning a Master of Arts degree in 1957 at the Naval War College. ![]() Grissom, Cooper, and Slayton were Air Force pilots Shepard, Carpenter, and Schirra were Navy pilots, and Glenn was a Marine Corps pilot.Īll seven attended college or military academies in the 1940s. :16 įrom the 18, the first seven NASA astronauts were chosen, each a "superb physical specimen" with an IQ above 130, and the ability to function well both as part of a team and solo. Four more refused to take part in the second round of tests, which eliminated eight more candidates, leaving 18. Another 33 failed or dropped out during the first phase of exams. Six candidates were rejected as too tall for the planned spacecraft. :14–15 The tests included spending hours on treadmills and tilt tables, submerging their feet in ice water, three doses of castor oil, and five enemas. Sixty-nine candidates were brought to Washington, DC, in two groups the candidates' interest was so great, despite the extensive physical and mental exams from January to March, that the agency did not summon the last group. :14Īfter an advertisement among military test pilots drew more than 500 applications, NASA searched military personnel records in January 1959 and identified 110 pilots-five Marines, 47 from the Navy, and 58 from the Air Force -who qualified. Other requirements included an age under 40, a Bachelor's degree or equivalent, 1,500 hours of flying time, and qualification to fly jet aircraft. Because of the small space inside the Mercury spacecraft, candidates could be no taller than 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) and weigh no more than 180 pounds (82 kg). Eisenhower insisted that all candidates be test pilots. The Mercury Seven in front of an F-106 Delta DartĪlthough NASA planned an open competition for its first astronauts, President Dwight D. The others all survived past retirement from service. Gus Grissom died in 1967, in the Apollo 1 fire. Glenn also flew on the Space Shuttle 36 years after his Mercury mission, to become the oldest person to fly in space at age 77. He represented the state of Ohio in the US Senate for 25 years. John Glenn, longest lived member of the Mercury 7, passed away on December 8, 2016. Members of the group flew on all classes of NASA manned orbital spacecraft of the 20th century - Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the Space Shuttle. These seven original American astronauts were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. They piloted the manned spaceflights of the Mercury program from May 1961 to May 1963. They are also referred to as the Original Seven or Astronaut Group 1. The Mercury Seven were the group of seven Mercury astronauts announced by NASA on April 9, 1959. Slayton and Glenn are wearing spray-painted work boots. This was the only time they would appear together in pressure suits. Back row: Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper front row:Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, John Glenn,Scott Carpenter. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |