Project Mercury Collection

Earth Path Indicator, Mercury 4, 1961. Creator: Honeywell
The Mercury space capsule carried this device, designed by the Honeywell Corporation, which allowed the astronaut to see his orbital track and heading

Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7 at the Science Museum, London, October 1965. New press conference to announce that astronaut Colonel John Glenn will open a London exhibition next week of the Mercury

Little Joe 5B High-Q-Abort Test, 1961. Creator: NASA
Little Joe 5B High-Q-Abort Test, 1961. " Little Joe" 5B launched a Mercury spacecraft in a high-Q-abort test. The ring-sail parachute lands the spacecraft off the shore of Wallops Island

Mercury Astronauts Receiving the Collier Trophy, White House, Washington, USA, 1963. NASA Administrator James E. Webb (center)

Shepard hoisted from Mercury capsule, 1961. Creator: NASA
Shepard hoisted from Mercury capsule, 1961. A U.S. Marine helicopter recovery team hoists astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. from his Mercury spacecraft after a successful flight

Mercury On Deck, 1063. Creator: NASA
Mercury On Deck, 1963. The crew of the U.S.S. Kearsarge spelled out the words " Mercury 9" on the ships flight deck while on the way to the recovery area where astronaut Gordon Cooper was

MA-1 capsule reassembled after explosion, USA, 1960. Creator: NASA
MA-1 capsule reassembled after explosion, USA, 1960. The main objectives of Mercury Atlas-1 (MA-1) were to recover the capsule and test the integrity of the Mercury capsule structure

Cooper and Faith 7 recovery, 1963. Creator: NASA
Cooper and Faith 7 recovery, 1963. US Navy divers install a stabilizing flotation collar around Gordon Coopers Mercury space capsule nicknamed " Faith 7" shortly after splashdown

Failed attempt to recover Liberty Bell 7, Atlantic Ocean, 1961 Creator: NASA
Failed attempt to recover Liberty Bell 7, Atlantic Ocean, 1961. After the hatch of the " Liberty Bell 7" opened prematurely, gallons of seawater entered the spacecraft

Gordon Cooper and capsule on deck, Pacific Ocean, 1963. Creator: NASA
Gordon Cooper and capsule on deck, Pacific Ocean, 1963. Recovery personnel bring the Mercury space capsule " Faith 7" onboard the recovery ship U.S.S

Navy frogmen swim to spacecraft to begin retrieval, Pacific Ocean, 1963. Creator: NASA
Navy frogmen swim to spacecraft to begin retrieval, Pacific Ocean, 1963. U.S. Navy frogman, deployed from the hovering helicopter, swims next to the spacecraft and makes contact with astronaut L

President Kennedy tours Mercury Control Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, 1962. President John F. Kennedy is briefed on the operation of Mercury Control Center following the Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6)

Beef and vegetables space food, Mercury Friendship 7 mission, 1962. Creator: Unknown
Beef and vegetables space food, Mercury Friendship 7 mission, 1962. This space food package contains pureed beef with vegetables

Capsule, Mercury, MA-6, 1962. Creator: McDonnell Aircraft Corp
In this historic capsule, John H. Glenn Jr. became the first American to orbit the Earth. Glenns flight was the third manned mission of Project Mercury

Mercury Capsule, 1959. Creator: NASA
On September 9, 1959, NASA launched this unoccupied Mercury spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a suborbital flight that lasted 13 minutes

Capsule, Mercury #15B, ca. 1963. Creator: McDonnell Aircraft Corp
This Mercury capsule, number 15B, is one of two left showing the complete one-man spacecraft in its orbital configuration

First aid kit owned by John Glenn, Mercury-Atlas 6 mission, 1962. Creator: Unknown
First aid kit owned by John Glenn, Mercury-Atlas 6 mission, 1962. This first aid kit was part of the equipment assigned to John Glenn for his historic mission aboard the Mercury spacecraft

Heat shield of Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7, pictured on arrival at the Science Museum, London, Monday 14th May 1962. The space capsule was piloted by astronaut John Glenn (20/02/1962)

Members of the public patiently wait to take a look at Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7, pictured on arrival at the Science Museum, London, Monday 14th May 1962

Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7, pictured on arrival at the Science Museum, London, Monday 14th May 1962. The space capsule was piloted by astronaut John Glenn (20/02/1962)

People queuing to take a look at Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7, which arrived at the Science Museum, London, Monday 14th May 1962

The Mercury Seven astronauts, 1959. A group photo in spacesuits of the seven test pilots chosen in April 1959 to participate in Project Mercury, NASAs manned space project

Mercury-Atlas 3 rocket launch, 1961
Mercury-Atlas 3 rocket launch. The small Mercury spacecraft (black) on top of the Atlas rocket is 2 metres long and only large enough for one crew member

Little Joe Launch Vehicle
Launching of the Little Joe launch vehicle on October 4, 1959 took place at Wallops Island, Va. This was the first attempt to launch an instrumented capsule with a Little Joe booster

Molded Astronaut Couches
Molded astronaut couches line the NASA Langley Research Centers model shop wall. The names of the test subjects (Langley employees) are written on the back

PROJECT MERCURY, 1961. Workers assembling Project Mercury space capsules for astronauts at the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation in St. Louis, Missouri. Photograph, 1961

The launch of the Mercury-Atlas 4 spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida
September 13, 1961 - View of the launch of the Mercury-Atlas 4 spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida

View of the liftoff of Mercury-Atlas 5 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida
November 29, 1961 - View of the liftoff of Mercury-Atlas 5 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The rocket is carrying space chimpanzee Eno

A model of the Mercury capsule undergoes floatation tests
June 8, 1959 - A model of the Mercury capsule undergoes floatation tests at NASAs Langley Research Center

Launching of the Mercury-Redstone 3 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida
May 5, 1961 - Launching of the Mercury-Redstone 3 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida

Pre-launch test of the Mercury-Atlas 9
May 14, 1963 - Pre-launch test of the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA9) on Launch Pad 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida

View of the Mercury-Atlas 3 liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida
April 25, 1961 - View of the Mercury-Atlas 3 liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida

The launch of the Mercury Atlas unmanned test flight
February 24, 1961 - The launch of the Mercury Atlas (MA-2), an unmanned suborbital Mercury capsule test

Mercury-Atlas 9 lifts off from its launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida
May 15, 1963 - Mercury-Atlas 9 lifts off from its launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida for the nations longest manned orbital flight

The unmanned Mercury-Atlas capsule sits atop its Atlas launch vehicle
September 13, 1961 - The unmanned Mercury-Atlas (MA-4) capsule sits atop its Atlas launch vehicle. The successful orbital flight followed the MA-3 mission, which was aborted earlier this year

Components of the Mercury spacesuit included gloves, boots and a helmet

Mercury-Redstone 3 prelaunch activities on the Mercury 5 launch pad
April 21, 1961 - Mercury-Redstone 3 prelaunch activities on the Mercury 5 launch pad

A NASA Project Mercury spacecraft is test launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida
February 21, 1961 - In this Project Mercury test, a spacecraft booster by a modified Atlas was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida

Mercury-Redstone 3 missile on launch pad, Cape Canaveral, Florida
1961 - Mercury-Redstone 3 missile standing alone on launch pad, Cape Canaveral, Florida

Little Joe on launcher at Wallops Island
August 21, 1959 - Little Joe on launcher at Wallops Island. Little Joe was a test of the escape and recovery systems on the Mercury spacecraft

An Atlas vehicle is shown as it is raised into its launch gantry. This Atlas attempted to launch a Mercury spacecraft (without any astronauts aboard) into orbital flight

Cutaway drawing of the Project Mercury Ballistic Capsule
Cutaway drawing used by the Space Task Group to explain the Mercury ballistic capsule to visitors at the first NASA inspection

The original seven astronauts of the Mercury Program. Left the right: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn
SPACE: ASTRONAUTS, c1961. The original seven astronauts of the Mercury Program. Left the right: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Virgil Gus Grissom, Walter Schirra

President John F. Kennedy pins NASAs Distinguished Service Medal on astronaut Gordon Cooper
KENNEDY & COOPER, 1963. President John F. Kennedy pins NASAs Distinguished Service Medal on astronaut Gordon Cooper, one of the first men in space

Project Mercury monument. Monument to the astronauts of the Project Mercury program. Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States

Mercury-Atlas 6 launch. Launch of the Atlas LV-3B rocket carrying the Friendship 7 spacecraft of the Mercury 6 mission. Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6)

Project Mercury spacesuit. Astronaut Virgil Gus Grissoms spacesuit from the Mercury 4 flight. This is a US Navy Mark IV high-altitude pressure suit with an outer shell of aluminium-coated nylon

Mercury Program Monument, Alan Shepard
Mercury Program Monument. Hand prints of the US astronaut Alan Shepard (1923-1998), at the Mercury Program Monument, Space View Park, Titusville, Florida, USA

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"Project Mercury: Pioneering the Path to Space Exploration" In the early 1960s, Project Mercury marked a significant milestone in human history as it propelled mankind towards the stars. This ambitious endeavor, led by NASA and supported by various organizations like Honeywell, showcased remarkable achievements that would forever change our understanding of space. One such accomplishment was the development of the Earth Path Indicator during the Mercury 4 mission in 1961. Created by Honeywell, this innovative device allowed astronauts to accurately navigate their spacecraft through Earth's orbit, paving the way for future space missions. The Little Joe 5B High-Q-Abort Test conducted in the same year demonstrated NASA's commitment to safety and reliability. Designed to simulate emergency situations during launch, this test proved crucial in ensuring astronaut well-being and mission success. Recognition for these groundbreaking efforts came when Mercury Astronauts were honored with the prestigious Collier Trophy at a ceremony held at White House in Washington D. C. , USA, in 1963. This accolade celebrated their bravery and dedication to pushing boundaries beyond what was previously thought possible. The iconic image of Alan Shepard being hoisted from his Mercury capsule symbolizes both triumph and resilience. Captured by NASA during Shepard's historic flight in 1961, it serves as a testament to human determination amidst challenging conditions. Mercury On Deck captures another pivotal moment as astronauts prepare for their missions on board these revolutionary spacecraft. The photograph taken in 1963 showcases meticulous preparations undertaken by NASA personnel before each launch – an essential aspect of ensuring crew safety and mission success. However, not all moments were filled with triumph; setbacks were also part of this extraordinary journey. The MA-1 capsule explosion incident that occurred in 1960 stands as a stark reminder of how complex space exploration can be. Yet even from failure arose valuable lessons that contributed to subsequent successes. Recovery operations played an integral role throughout Project Mercury's lifespan.