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Missions and Programs

Mercury Program

Also Known As Project Mercury
Early Crewed Spaceflight Milestone Missions

NASA's first crewed spaceflight program, running from 1958 to 1963, which put the first Americans into space and orbit, including Alan Shepard's suborbital flight and John Glenn's first American orbital flight.

Facts
Mission Type
Crewed spaceflight program 1
Launch Date
1961-05-05 1
Date of the first crewed Mercury flight, Freedom 7.
End Date
1963-05-16 1
Outcome
Successful; six crewed flights, proving the United States could launch humans into orbit and return them safely. 1
Mission Type
Mission Type (category)
Crewed Mission 1
Connections

Associated With

Christopher Kraft, Pioneers
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Wikipedia: Christopher C. Kraft Jr.Christopher Kraft, lead section
Maxime Faget, Pioneers

Principal designer of the Mercury spacecraft.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)

Crewed By

Alan Shepard, Astronauts and Cosmonauts
Source NASA Astronaut Biographies
Gus Grissom, Astronauts and Cosmonauts
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Gus Grissom (Wikipedia)Gus Grissom, lead paragraph section
John Glenn, Astronauts and Cosmonauts
Source NASA Astronaut Biographies

Operated By

NASA, Space Agencies and Companies
Source NASA History Office

Spacecraft Of

Mercury spacecraft, Spacecraft

The Mercury spacecraft was the crewed vehicle flown throughout NASA's Mercury Program.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Wikipedia - Project MercuryWikipedia: Project Mercury, lead section
Sources
1. NASA History Office
National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationView the Source
Wikipedia - Project Mercury
  • Project Mercury, lead section
    Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963.
  • Spacecraft Of: Mercury spacecraft, Wikipedia: Project Mercury, lead section
View the Source
NASA Astronaut Biographies
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • Crewed By: Alan Shepard
  • Crewed By: John Glenn
View the Source
Wikipedia: Christopher C. Kraft Jr.
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Christopher Kraft, Christopher Kraft, lead sectionView the Source
Gus Grissom (Wikipedia)
Crewed By: Gus Grissom, Gus Grissom, lead paragraph section
Quote, Crewed By: Gus Grissom, Gus Grissom, lead paragraph section
Grissom was the second American to fly in space
View the Source
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