Editing Project Mercury (section)

== Astronauts ==
[[File:Project Mercury-Mercury Seven-Astronauts.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Left to right: [[Gus Grissom|Grissom]], [[Alan Shepard|Shepard]], [[Scott Carpenter|Carpenter]], [[Wally Schirra|Schirra]], [[Deke Slayton|Slayton]], [[John Glenn|Glenn]] and [[Gordon Cooper|Cooper]], 1962]]
NASA announced the following seven astronauts – known as the [[Mercury Seven]] – on April 9, 1959:{{sfn|Alexander & al.|1966|p=164}}{{sfn|Alexander & al.|1966|p=640}}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name
! Launch
! Rank
! Unit
! Born
! Died
|-
| data-sort-value="Carpenter, Scott" | [[M. Scott Carpenter]]
| 1962/5/24
| [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]]
| [[United States Navy|USN]]
| 1925
| 2013
|-
| data-sort-value="Cooper, Gordon" |[[L. Gordon Cooper]]
| 1963/5/15
| [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]]
| [[United States Air Force|USAF]]
| 1927
| 2004
|-
| data-sort-value="Glenn, John" |[[John H. Glenn, Jr.]]
| 1962/2/20
| [[Major (United States)|Major]]
| [[United States Marine Corps|USMC]]
| 1921
| 2016
|-
| data-sort-value="Grissom, Gus" |[[Virgil I. Grissom]]
| 1961/7/21
| [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]]
| USAF
| 1926
| 1967
|-
| data-sort-value="Schirra, Wally" |[[Walter M. Schirra, Jr.]]
| 1962/10/3
| [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lt Commander]]
| USN
| 1923
| 2007
|-
| data-sort-value="Shepard, Alan" |[[Alan B. Shepard, Jr.]]
| 1961/5/5
| [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lt Commander]]
| USN
| 1923
| 1998
|-
| data-sort-value="Slayton, Deke" |[[Donald K. Slayton]]
| 
| [[Major (United States)|Major]]
| USAF
| 1924
| 1993
|}

Alan Shepard became the first American in space by making a suborbital flight on May 5, 1961.{{sfn|Alexander & al.|1966|p=341}} [[Mercury-Redstone 3]], Shepard's 15 minute and 28 second flight of the ''Freedom 7'' capsule demonstrated the ability to withstand the high [[g-force]]s of launch and [[Atmospheric entry|atmospheric re-entry]]. Shepard later went on to fly in the [[Apollo program]] and became the only Mercury astronaut to walk on the Moon on [[Apollo 14]].{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=445}}<ref>Dunbar, B. (2015, May 12). Who was Alan shepherd? Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/who-was-alan-shepard-k4.html</ref>

[[Gus Grissom]] became the second American in space on [[Mercury-Redstone 4]] on July 21, 1961. After the splashdown of ''Liberty Bell 7'', the side hatch opened and caused the capsule to sink although Grissom was able to be safely recovered. His flight also gave NASA the confidence to move on to orbital flights. Grissom went on to participate in the Gemini and Apollo programs, but died in January 1967 during a pre-launch test for [[Apollo 1]].{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=442}}<ref>Documents – human Space Flight: A record of ACHIEVEMENT, 1961 – 1998. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4225/documentation/hsf-record/hsf.htm#mercury</ref>

John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth on [[Mercury-Atlas 6]] February 20, 1962. During the flight, the spacecraft ''Friendship 7'' experienced issues with its automatic control system but Glenn was able to manually control the spacecraft's attitude. He quit NASA in 1964, when he came to the conclusion that he likely would not be selected for any Apollo missions, and was later elected to the US Senate, serving from 1974 to 1999. During his tenure, he returned to space in 1998 as a Payload Specialist aboard [[STS-95]].{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|pp=440,441}}<ref>Dunbar, B. (2016, December 05). Profile of John Glenn. Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://www.nasa.gov/content/profile-of-john-glenn</ref>

Scott Carpenter was the second astronaut in orbit and flew on [[Mercury-Atlas 7]] on May 24, 1962. The spaceflight was essentially a repeat of Mercury-Atlas 6, but a targeting error during re-entry took ''Aurora 7'' 250 miles (400&nbsp;km) off-course, delaying recovery. Afterwards, he joined the Navy's "Man in the Sea" program and is the only American to be both an [[astronaut]] and an [[aquanaut]].<ref>Fox, S. (2015, February 20). Scott carpenter, 1925–2013. Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://www.nasa.gov/astronautprofiles/carpenter {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104004807/https://www.nasa.gov/astronautprofiles/carpenter/ |date=November 4, 2021 }}</ref>{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|pp=446–447}} Carpenter's Mercury flight was his only trip into space.

Wally Schirra flew aboard ''Sigma 7'' on [[Mercury-Atlas 8]] on October 3, 1962. The mission's main goal was to show development of environmental controls or life-support systems that would allow for safety in space, thus being a flight mainly focused on technical evaluation, rather than scientific experimentation. The mission lasted 9 hours and 13 minutes, setting a new U.S. flight duration record.<ref>40Th anniversary of Mercury 7: WALTER Marty Schirra, jr. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://history.nasa.gov/40thmerc7/schirra.htm</ref> In December 1965, Schirra flew on [[Gemini 6A]], achieving the first ever [[space rendezvous]] with sister spacecraft [[Gemini 7]]. Three years later, he commanded the first crewed Apollo mission, [[Apollo 7]], becoming the first astronaut to fly three times and the only person to fly in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.

Gordon Cooper made the last flight of Project Mercury with [[Mercury-Atlas 9]] on May 15, 1963. His flight onboard ''Faith 7'' set another U.S. endurance record with a 34-hour and 19 minute flight duration, and 22 completed orbits. This mission marks the last time an American was launched alone to conduct an entirely solo orbital mission. Cooper later went on to participate in [[Project Gemini]] where he once again beat the endurance record during [[Gemini 5]].<ref>Administrator, N. (2015, February 27). Remembering Gordon Cooper. Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_218.html</ref>{{sfn|Alexander & al.|1966|pp=640–641}}

Deke Slayton was grounded in 1962 due to a heart condition, but remained with NASA and was appointed senior manager of the Astronaut Office and later additionally assistant director of Flight Crew Operations at the beginning of [[Project Gemini]]. On March 13, 1972, after doctors confirmed he no longer had a coronary condition, Slayton returned to flight status and the next year was assigned to the [[Apollo–Soyuz Test Project]], which successfully flew in 1975 with Slayton as the docking module pilot. After the ASTP, he managed the Space Shuttle Program's [[Approach and Landing Tests]] (ALT) and Orbital Flight Tests (OFT) before retiring from NASA in 1982.

One of the astronauts' tasks was publicity; they gave interviews to the press and visited project manufacturing facilities to speak with those who worked on Project Mercury.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=99}} The press was especially fond of John Glenn, who was considered the best speaker of the seven.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=96}} They sold their personal stories to [[Life (magazine)|''Life'']] magazine which portrayed them as 'patriotic, God-fearing family men.'{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=100}} ''Life'' was also allowed to be at home with the families while the astronauts were in space.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=100}} During the project, Grissom, Carpenter, Cooper, Schirra and Slayton stayed with their families at or near Langley Air Force Base; Glenn lived at the base and visited his family in Washington DC on weekends. Shepard lived with his family at [[Naval Air Station Oceana]] in Virginia.

Other than Grissom, who was killed in the 1967 [[Apollo 1]] fire, the other six survived past retirement and died between 1993 and 2016.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=97}}

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AstronautAssignmentsChart-Mercury7.PNG|Mercury 7 astronaut assignments. Schirra had the most flights with three; Glenn, though being the first to leave NASA, had the last with a [[STS-95|Space Shuttle mission]] in 1998.<ref name=Glenn1998/> Shepard was the only one to walk on the Moon.
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===Selection and training===
Prior to Project Mercury, there was no protocol for selecting astronauts, so NASA would set a far-reaching precedent with both their selection process and initial choices for astronauts. At the end of 1958, various ideas for the selection pool were discussed privately within the national government and the civilian space program, and also among the public at large. Initially, there was the idea to issue a widespread public call to volunteers. Thrill-seekers such as rock climbers and acrobats would have been allowed to apply, but this idea was quickly shot down by NASA officials who understood that an undertaking such as space flight required individuals with professional training and education in flight engineering. By late 1958, NASA officials decided to move forward with test pilots being the heart of their selection pool.<ref name="NASA">{{cite web|last1=Dunbar|first1=Brian|title=Project Mercury Overview – Astronaut Selection|url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mercury/missions/summary.html|website=nasa.gov|date=March 17, 2015 |publisher=NASA|access-date=24 April 2018}}</ref> On President Eisenhower's insistence, the group was further narrowed down to active duty military [[test pilot]]s, which set the number of candidates at 508.{{sfn|Alexander & al.|1966|pp=160–161}} These candidates were [[USN]] or [[USMC]] [[United States Naval Aviator|naval aviation pilots]] (NAPs), or [[USAF]] [[U.S. Air Force aeronautical rating#USAF rating requirements|pilots of Senior or Command rating]]. These aviators had long military records, which would give NASA officials more background information on which to base their decisions. Furthermore, these aviators were skilled in flying the most advanced aircraft to date, giving them the best qualifications for the new position of astronaut.<ref name="NASA"/> During this time, women were banned from flying in the military and so could not successfully qualify as test pilots. This meant that no female candidates could earn consideration for the title of astronaut. Civilian NASA [[X-15]] pilot [[Neil Armstrong]] was also disqualified, though he had been selected by the US Air Force in 1958 for its [[Man in Space Soonest]] program, which was replaced by Mercury.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=173}} Although Armstrong had been a combat-experienced NAP during the Korean War, he left active duty in 1952.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=92}}{{refn|group=n|Armstrong left the Navy as a [[Lieutenant (junior grade)|Lieutenant, Junior Grade]] in the [[United States Navy Reserve|US Naval Reserve]], until resigning his commission 1960.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=118}}}} Armstrong became NASA's first civilian astronaut in 1962 when he was selected for NASA's second group,{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=201–202}} and [[Apollo 11|became the first man on the Moon]] in 1969.{{sfn|Nelson|2009|p=17}}

It was further stipulated that candidates should be between 25 and 40 years old, no taller than {{convert|5|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}, and hold a college degree in a [[Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics|STEM]] subject.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=92}} The college degree requirement excluded the USAF's [[Bell X-1|X-1]] pilot, then-Lt Col (later Brig Gen) [[Chuck Yeager]], the first person to exceed the [[speed of sound]].{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|pp=92–93}} He later became a critic of the project, ridiculing the civilian space program, labeling astronauts as "spam in a can."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Cloer|first1=Dan|title=Alan B. Shepard, Jr.: Spam in a Can?|url=http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/biography/alan-b-shepard/17449.aspx|website=vision.org|publisher=Vision|access-date=24 April 2018}}</ref> John Glenn did not have a college degree either, but used influential friends to make the selection committee accept him.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=440}} USAF Capt. (later Col.) [[Joseph Kittinger]], a USAF fighter pilot and stratosphere balloonist, met all the requirements but preferred to stay in his contemporary project.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|pp=92–93}} Other potential candidates declined because they did not believe that human spaceflight had a future beyond Project Mercury.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|pp=92–93}}{{refn|At the beginning of the project both President Eisenhower and NASA's first administrator, T. K. Glennan, believed that the US would put the first man in space, and that this would be the end of the Space Race.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=407}}|group=n}} From the original 508, 110 candidates were selected for an interview, and from the interviews, 32 were selected for further physical and mental testing.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=93}} Their health, vision, and hearing were examined, together with their tolerance to noise, vibrations, g-forces, personal isolation, and heat.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=98}}<ref>[[David Minard|Minard, D.]] (1964). Work Physiology. Archives of Environmental Health. 8(3): 427–436.</ref> In a special chamber, they were tested to see if they could perform their tasks under confusing conditions.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=98}} The candidates had to answer more than 500 questions about themselves and describe what they saw in different images.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=98}} Navy Lt (later Capt) [[Jim Lovell]], who was later an astronaut in the [[Project Gemini|Gemini]] and [[Apollo program]]s, did not pass the physical tests.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|pp=92–93}} After these tests it was intended to narrow the group down to six astronauts, but in the end it was decided to keep seven.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=94}}

The astronauts went through a training program covering some of the same exercises that were used in their selection.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|pp=103–110}} They simulated the g-force profiles of launch and reentry in a centrifuge at the [[Naval Air Development Center]], and were taught special breathing techniques necessary when subjected to more than 6 g.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=104}} Weightlessness training took place in aircraft, first on the rear seat of a two-seater fighter and later inside converted and padded [[cargo aircraft]].{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=105}} They practiced gaining control of a spinning spacecraft in a machine at the [[Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory]] called the Multi-Axis Spin-Test Inertia Facility (MASTIF), by using an [[Spacecraft attitude control|attitude control]]ler handle simulating the one in the spacecraft.<ref>{{cite web| title =Gimbal Rig Mercury Astronaut Trainer | publisher =NASA| date =9 June 2008| url =http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/history/mastif.html#.VIy1TnvAuJw|access-date = 13 December 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{YouTube| M3m5npzgVLY | "Gimbal Rig" }}</ref> A further measure for finding the right attitude in orbit was star and Earth recognition training in planetaria and simulators.{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|pp=105, 109}} Communication and flight procedures were practiced in flight simulators, first together with a single person assisting them and later with the [[Mission Control Center (NASA)|Mission Control Center]].{{sfn|Catchpole|2001|p=111}} Recovery was practiced in pools at [[Langley Air Force Base|Langley]], and later at sea with frogmen and helicopter crews.{{sfn|Alexander & al.|1966|p=346}}

<gallery mode="packed">
Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Prepares to Test Gravitational Stress.jpg|G-force training, [[Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster|Johnsville]], 1960
Mercury Astronauts in Weightless Flight on C-131 Aircraft - GPN-2002-000039.jpg|Weightlessness simulation in a [[C-131]]
Project Mercury AWT Gimbaling Rig close.jpg|MASTIF at [[Glenn Research Center|Lewis Research Center]]
Shepard in trainer before launch.jpg|Flight trainer at Cape Canaveral
B60 285b.jpg|Egress training at [[Langley Research Center|Langley]]
</gallery>
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