Project mercury

On April 9th 1959, America’s first seven astronauts were introduced to the public. They were Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper Jr, John H. Glenn Jr, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Walter S…

An American aerospace engineer, test pilot, and the United States Air Force pilot, Gordon Cooper, is also the youngest of… The post Gordon Cooper: The Project Mercury Astronaut Speaks About Seeing UFOs And Aliens appeared first on Infinity Explorers.

In 1979, Tom Wolfe published The Right Stuff, a thrilling and personal account of the Mercury Seven – the Project Mercury Astronauts; the first seven Americans chosen to go into space. There are libraries of more detailed books on the subject, but none capture the spirit of the program and the times better than Wolfe’s masterpiece.

On April 9, 1959, NASA named its first seven astronauts. The Mercury Seven or the “Original Seven” as they were called, were: Navy aviators M. Scott Carpenter, Walter M. Schirra Jr. and Alan B. Shepard Jr.; three Air Force pilots, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., Virgil I. Grissom and Donald K. “Deke” Slayton; and Marine Corps pilot John H. Glenn Jr.

On the anniversary of Alan Shepard's historic 'Freedom 7' flight in 1961, LIFE.com features photos from that amazing, inspiring era.

ProudhappyThe US's space race made celebrities not only of astronauts, but also their wives, who opened their homes to the press and became America's first reality stars. The story of these unknown military women is told in a new book by author Lily Koppel, as Jackie May writes.

From the archives: Grissom’s infamous (and impactful) ocean landing turns 60 this week.

Project Mercury astronauts watching instructors, during desert training at the USAF Survival School

Astronaut. He was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts chosen for the Project Mercury, the United States' first effort to put men in space. He was the only man to fly in America's first three space programs: Mercury, Gemini and Apollo and has logged a total of 295 hours and 15 minutes in space. Born into an...

A few names epitomise the space race. One of them is like Alan Bartlett "Al" Shepard, Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998). Because Alan B Shepard was the first American in space. And it was on live TV...