The Mercury Project lasted from October 7,
1958 until the summer of
1963, launching the era of American
manned space flight and paving the way for the
Gemini and
Apollo projects of the 1960s. The seven original
astronauts were introduced to the public on April 9, 1959. The instantly famous
Mercury Seven were carrying out a project which had only three objectives:
By all accounts, the project was a historic success. The Mercury Project successfully transformed the efforts of more than 2 million Americans from all walks of life into a tangible and fantastically successful manned space program. Along with their Soviet rivals, the Mercury trailblazers unleashed the potential of 20th century technology to awe and inspire the world, beginning with Alan Shepard's 15-minute suborbital flight. The glory days of NASA start here.
Unmanned Missions
Manned Missions