A NASA Project Mercury Brochure With Photographs of the First Americans in Space – The Mercury 7 – Signed by All

An extremely uncommon memento of the birth of the U.S. manned space program.

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In response to the success of the launch of the first satellite by the Soviet Union in 1957, the United States determined to initiate a space program on an expedited basis. On October 7, 1958, the new National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced Project Mercury, its first major undertaking. The objectives...

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A NASA Project Mercury Brochure With Photographs of the First Americans in Space – The Mercury 7 – Signed by All

An extremely uncommon memento of the birth of the U.S. manned space program.

In response to the success of the launch of the first satellite by the Soviet Union in 1957, the United States determined to initiate a space program on an expedited basis. On October 7, 1958, the new National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced Project Mercury, its first major undertaking. The objectives were threefold: to place a human spacecraft into orbital flight around the Earth, observe human performance in such conditions, and recover the human and the spacecraft safely. At this early point in the U.S. space program, many questions remained. Could a human function ably as a pilot-engineer-experimenter in the conditions of weightless flight? If yes, who were the right people for the challenge? The NASA selection committee recognized that the unusual conditions associated with spaceflight are similar to those experienced by military test pilots. In January 1959, it received and screened 508 service records of a group of talented test pilots, from which 110 candidates were assembled. Less than one month later, through a variety of interviews and a battery of written tests, the NASA selection committee pared down this group to 32. Each candidate endured even more stringent physical and psychological examinations, and afterwards of the 32 candidates, 18 were recommended for Project Mercury. The initial group would consist of seven.

On April 1, 1959, NASA selected the first American astronauts, and at a press conference in Washington D.C. eight days later, it introduced the men to the public. The “Mercury 7” were Scott Carpenter, Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Walter Schirra Jr., Alan B. Shepard Jr., and Donald K. “Deke” Slayton. That same month, NASA put out a Project Mercury brochure to introduce the program to the press and American people. It featured photographs of the seven astronauts and Project Mercury Director Robert R. Gilruth on the front page, with a report on the project and information on the men selected as well. It also illustrated an image of the Mercury capsule during development and testing.

The Project Mercury Brochure, Langley Research Center, 4 pages, April 1959, signed by each Mercury astronaut and Gilruth vertically on the cover beside his portrait. Signed Project Mercury brocures are rare, this being just the second we have had. One feature they share is that, with the signatures partly over the portraits, there is some lack of contrast.

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