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Project Mercury
On October 7, 1958, T. Keith Glennan, the first administator of NASA, approved the Mercury Project . On December 17, 1958 he announced Project Mercury publicly. On December 29, 1958 North American Aviation got a contract to design and build Little Joe. http://www-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Mercurypao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mercury-overview.htm -
Little Joe
On August 21, 1959, "Little Joe" the rocket was a failed launch. It was a solid fuel rocket that was designed to test the Mercury spacecraft Launch Escape and Recover systems. The rocket had an electrical leak and pulled the spacecraft away from the launch pad. It reached an apogee of 2,000 feet and landed 2,000 feet away. The flight lasted 20 seconds.
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Freedom 7
On May 5, 1961, Alan B.Shepard was aboard the Freedom 7. This was the first successful American suborbital flight. This flight put the first American in space. It lasted 15 minutes and 28 seconds. http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/ -
Friendship 7
On Feburary 20, 1962, John H. Glen was aboard the Friendship 7.This was the first American three-orbit flight. This flight placed the first American to orbit earth. This flight lasted 4 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds. http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mercury-overview.htm -
Project Mercury stamp
The US Post Office honored the Mercury-Atlas 6 flight with the Project Mercury commemorative stamp on Feburary 20, 1962. The US Postal Service released a stamp honoring the 50th anniversary of the Freedom 7 on May 4, 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Mercury#Awards -
Faith 7
On May 15, 1963, L. Gorden Cooper was aboard the Faith 7 . This flight lasted 34 hours, 19 minutes and 49 seconds. This was the first 1 day flight for America. This was the last Mercury mission. The Faith 7 completed 22 orbits to evaluate effects of 1 day in space. This flight was from May 15 to May 16. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Mercury
