From Top Left: Alan B. Shepard, Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, L.
Gordon Cooper
Bottom Left: Wally Schirra, Donald K. "Deke" Slayton, John
Glenn and Scott Carpenter.
On April 9, 1959, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) introduced America’s first astronauts to the press (above).
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.
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