1959 : FIRST ASTRONAUTS INTRODUCED:
On April 9, 1959, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) introduces America's first astronauts to the press: Scott
Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil "Gus"
Grissom, Walter Schirra Jr., Alan Shepard Jr., and Donald Slayton. The
seven men, all military test pilots, were carefully selected from a
group of 32 candidates to take part in Project Mercury, America's
first manned space program. NASA planned to begin manned orbital
flights in 1961.
On October 4, 1957, the USSR scored the first victory of the "space
race" when it successfully launched the world's first artificial
satellite, Sputnik, into Earth's orbit. In response, the United States
consolidated its various military and civilian space efforts into
NASA, which dedicated itself to beating the Soviets to manned space
flight. In January 1959, NASA began the astronaut selection procedure,
screening the records of 508 military test pilots and choosing 110
candidates. This number was arbitrarily divided into three groups, and
the first two groups reported to Washington. Because of the high rate
of volunteering, the third group was eliminated. Of the 62 pilots who
volunteered, six were found to have grown too tall since their last
medical examination. An initial battery of written tests, interviews,
and medical history reviews further reduced the number of candidates
to 36. After learning of the extreme physical and mental tests planned
for them, four of these men dropped out.
The final 32 candidates traveled to the Lovelace Clinic in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they underwent exhaustive medical and
psychological examinations. The men proved so healthy, however, that
only one candidate was eliminated. The remaining 31 candidates then
traveled to the Wright Aeromedical Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, where
they underwent the most grueling part of the selection process. For
six days and three nights, the men were subjected to various tortures
that tested their tolerance of physical and psychological stress.
Among other tests, the candidates were forced to spend an hour in a
pressure chamber that simulated an altitude of 65,000 feet, and two
hours in a chamber that was heated to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. At the
end of one week, 18 candidates remained. From among these men, the
selection committee was to choose six based on interviews, but seven
candidates were so strong they ended up settling on that number.
After they were announced, the "Mercury Seven" became overnight
celebrities. The Mercury Project suffered some early setbacks,
however, and on April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited
Earth in the world's first manned space flight. Less than one month
later, on May 5, astronaut Alan Shepard was successfully launched into
space on a suborbital flight. On February 20, 1962, in a major step
for the U.S. space program, John Glenn became the first American to
orbit Earth. NASA continued to trail the Soviets in space achievements
until the late 1960s, when NASA's Apollo program put the first men on
the moon and safely returned them to Earth.
In 1998, 36 years after his first space flight, John Glenn traveled
into space again. Glenn, then 77 years old, was part of the Space
Shuttle Discovery crew, whose 9-day research mission launched on
October 29, 1998. Among the crew's investigations was a study of space
flight and the aging process.
history.com/tdih.do
(NASA) introduces America's first astronauts to the press: Scott
Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil "Gus"
Grissom, Walter Schirra Jr., Alan Shepard Jr., and Donald Slayton. The
seven men, all military test pilots, were carefully selected from a
group of 32 candidates to take part in Project Mercury, America's
first manned space program. NASA planned to begin manned orbital
flights in 1961.
On October 4, 1957, the USSR scored the first victory of the "space
race" when it successfully launched the world's first artificial
satellite, Sputnik, into Earth's orbit. In response, the United States
consolidated its various military and civilian space efforts into
NASA, which dedicated itself to beating the Soviets to manned space
flight. In January 1959, NASA began the astronaut selection procedure,
screening the records of 508 military test pilots and choosing 110
candidates. This number was arbitrarily divided into three groups, and
the first two groups reported to Washington. Because of the high rate
of volunteering, the third group was eliminated. Of the 62 pilots who
volunteered, six were found to have grown too tall since their last
medical examination. An initial battery of written tests, interviews,
and medical history reviews further reduced the number of candidates
to 36. After learning of the extreme physical and mental tests planned
for them, four of these men dropped out.
The final 32 candidates traveled to the Lovelace Clinic in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they underwent exhaustive medical and
psychological examinations. The men proved so healthy, however, that
only one candidate was eliminated. The remaining 31 candidates then
traveled to the Wright Aeromedical Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, where
they underwent the most grueling part of the selection process. For
six days and three nights, the men were subjected to various tortures
that tested their tolerance of physical and psychological stress.
Among other tests, the candidates were forced to spend an hour in a
pressure chamber that simulated an altitude of 65,000 feet, and two
hours in a chamber that was heated to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. At the
end of one week, 18 candidates remained. From among these men, the
selection committee was to choose six based on interviews, but seven
candidates were so strong they ended up settling on that number.
After they were announced, the "Mercury Seven" became overnight
celebrities. The Mercury Project suffered some early setbacks,
however, and on April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited
Earth in the world's first manned space flight. Less than one month
later, on May 5, astronaut Alan Shepard was successfully launched into
space on a suborbital flight. On February 20, 1962, in a major step
for the U.S. space program, John Glenn became the first American to
orbit Earth. NASA continued to trail the Soviets in space achievements
until the late 1960s, when NASA's Apollo program put the first men on
the moon and safely returned them to Earth.
In 1998, 36 years after his first space flight, John Glenn traveled
into space again. Glenn, then 77 years old, was part of the Space
Shuttle Discovery crew, whose 9-day research mission launched on
October 29, 1998. Among the crew's investigations was a study of space
flight and the aging process.
history.com/tdih.do
No comments:
Post a Comment