Project Mercury
Shepard's orbital program
Project Mercury was the United States' first human spaceflight program, running from 1958 to 1963.
NASA selected seven military test pilots—the Mercury Seven—to fly solo missions in small capsules launched atop modified ballistic missiles.
The program achieved its goal of orbiting an American astronaut before the Soviet Union could claim total dominance in space.
Contest for orbital superiority
- Cold WarProlonged East-West standoff
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- SputnikFirst orbital spacecraft
- VostokSoviet space program
Yuri Gagarin · cosmonaut · prestige · propaganda · superpower · Kennedy · competition · catching up
Enclosed dose container
- astronautsCrew of spacecraft
- John GlennFirst American orbiter
- spacecraftVehicle for outer space
- mission controlEarth-based space operations hub
Alan Shepard · NASA · McDonnell · Langley · bioastronautics · flight plan · heat shield · ablative
Alabama Army installation
- AtlasSky-bearing Titan of myth
- boosterSomething that increases strength
- rocketPropulsion-driven spacecraft
- propulsionForce driving movement forward
thrust · staging · gantry · launch vehicle · retrorocket · jettison · throttle
Below orbital altitude
- orbitalRevolving around another
- launchSet into motion
- reentryComing back in
- splashdownSpacecraft's water landing
liftoff · trajectory · perigee · apogee · Cape Canaveral · launch pad · countdown
Early explorer or settler
- historicOf lasting significance
- trailblazerFirst to forge ahead
- pathfinderOne who discovers routes
- GeminiZodiacal sign of duality
Apollo · human spaceflight · milestone · anniversary · Smithsonian · commemorative · documentary · Tom Wolfe
space race
Contest for orbital superiority
- Cold WarProlonged East-West standoff
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- SputnikFirst orbital spacecraft
Vostok · Yuri Gagarin · cosmonaut · prestige · propaganda · superpower · Kennedy · competition · catching up
capsule
Enclosed dose container
- astronautsCrew of spacecraft
- John GlennFirst American orbiter
- spacecraftVehicle for outer space
Alan Shepard · mission control · NASA · McDonnell · Langley · bioastronautics · flight plan · heat shield · ablative · life support
Redstone
Alabama Army installation
- AtlasSky-bearing Titan of myth
- boosterSomething that increases strength
- rocketPropulsion-driven spacecraft
propulsion · thrust · staging · gantry · launch vehicle · retrorocket · jettison · throttle
suborbital
Below orbital altitude
splashdown · liftoff · trajectory · perigee · apogee · Cape Canaveral · launch pad · countdown
pioneer
Early explorer or settler
- historicOf lasting significance
- trailblazerFirst to forge ahead
- pathfinderOne who discovers routes
Gemini · Apollo · human spaceflight · milestone · anniversary · Smithsonian · commemorative · documentary · Tom Wolfe
Project MercuryApollo program
US moonshot initiative
Project Gemini · Apollo 11 · International Space Station · Gemini program · Skylab
Project MercuryManhattan Project
Clandestine atomic weapons program
project, projects, projected, projecting, projection, projections, projector, projectors, projectile