Mercury was the first US manned space flight project. Its objectives, modest-looking now, were: to place a manned spacecraft in orbit, investigate man's ability to function in space, and recover man and spacecraft safely. NASA announced the Mercury project in October 1958 a few days after it was established. In spring 1959 the first seven astronauts were selected, who became known as the Original Seven. They were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Virgil Grissom, Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton. They were all military men and highly trained and experienced test and fighter pilots. Following successful tests with chimpanzees, Alan Shepard made a brief (15 min) but successful suborbital flight - a lob into space and back - on May 5, 1961. The cramped Mercury spacecraft, or capsule, he rode in was named Freedom 7. (All the Mercury capsule names were followed by 7, after the Original Seven astronauts.) Virgil Grissom made a second suborbital flight, in Liberty Bell 7, the following July. Both capsules were launched by Redstone rockets. This paved the way for the first orbital flight by John Glenn on February 20, 1962. He made three orbits of the Earth in his capsule Friendship 7, launched by an Atlas booster. He became the first American in orbit and the third person in orbit, after Yuri Gagarin and Gherman Titov. Scott Carpenter repeated Glenn's feat in May next, in Aurora 7, while Walter Schirra in October completed six orbits in Sigma 7. Project Mercury came to an end in May 1963 when Gordon Cooper spent nearly a day-and-a-half in orbit in Faith 7. The objectives had been met and valuable experience had been gained. The ground had been prepared for the next American thrust into space - Gemini.
