As Project Mercury (named for the speed it would take to launch a man into orbit) was gradually revealed to the American public, in fact, it showed several remarkably American traits. The Soviet program relied on automated systems, and the human occupant of the spacecraft was essentially a passenger on a ground-controlled projectile – its first cosmonauts were parachutists whose most important skill would be the ability to reach the ground safely after ejecting from a returning vehicle. Project Mercury, on the other hand, placed great emphasis on the skills of its individual pilots; the Mercury Seven became working members of NASA’s Space Task Group (later the Manned Spacecraft Center), and were assigned responsibilities not only for the flights themselves, but also for the design of the spacecraft, simulators, life support systems, and other hardware and systems.

The Redstone rocket used for the first two Mercury missions was not powerful enough to lift a spacecraft to orbit, and the newer Atlas, the nation’s first successfully tested intercontinental ballistic missile, while more powerful, was still considered too unstable to risk as a launch vehicle.

One of the basic guidelines set forth by the Space Task Group was that existing technology and off-the-shelf equipment would be used wherever practical – not just as a cost-saving measure, but, in the heated race against the Soviets, to save time as well. Because much of the equipment was adapted from military applications, this guideline lent distinct Cold War undertones to the space program: the Redstone rocket that launched Shepard and Grissom into space was originally designed and used to deliver warheads for the first live nuclear tests by the United States. The astronaut’s silver spacesuits, coated with aluminum for better thermal protection, were individually tailored adaptations of the Navy’s Mark IV high-altitude pressure suit.

 

The Missions

Between August 1959 and November 1961, there were 20 unmanned missions in the Mercury program – four of which carried chimpanzees Sam, Miss Sam, Ham, and Enos into space and safely returned them to Earth. Each of the unmanned missions was designed to test functions of hardware such as spacecraft, boosters, escape systems, or tracking networks. It was the manned missions, however, that captured the public’s attention.

Unlike Gagarin, whose space flight was fully automatic, Shepard took some control over the flight, adjusting the capsule’s attitude (angular orientation) before re-entry. Also in contrast to the Gagarin’s mission, which was conducted in secret, the launch, return from space, and subsequent collection of Shepard by a Navy helicopter were seen on live television by millions of viewers.

When Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin entered Earth orbit on April 12, 1961, and became the first person in space, it was, in the United States, another disappointing reminder that America was in second place. While Shepard, astronaut of the first Mercury mission, later contended that it was an abundance of caution on NASA’s part that kept him from beating Gagarin into space, his argument neglected a larger point: Gagarin had not just entered space. He had orbited the earth. The Redstone rocket used for the first two Mercury missions was not powerful enough to lift a spacecraft to orbit, and the newer Atlas, the nation’s first successfully tested intercontinental ballistic missile, while more powerful, was still considered too unstable to risk as a launch vehicle.

 

Freedom 7

Gagarin’s achievement, however, did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the Mercury astronauts. In less than a month, on May 5, Shepard was launched on the mission known as Mercury-Redstone 3 in a capsule he had named Freedom 7. The flight took him on a ballistic trajectory that reached an altitude of 116 miles. Unlike Gagarin, whose space flight was fully automatic, Shepard took some control over the flight, adjusting the capsule’s attitude (angular orientation) before re-entry. Also in contrast to the Gagarin’s mission, which was conducted in secret, the launch, return from space, and subsequent collection of Shepard by a Navy helicopter were seen on live television by millions of viewers. Shepard found himself celebrated as a national hero, honored with parades in Washington, New York, and Los Angeles, and a private meeting with Kennedy at the White House.

Kennedy, who had recently suffered some serious foreign policy setbacks – including the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba and the overthrow of South Korea’s U.S.-supported government – was thrilled by the success of Freedom 7, and on May 25, he issued his famous challenge to Congress to commit to the long-term goal of landing on the moon by the end of the decade. Within a matter of months, the Gemini project was conceived, designed to build on Mercury’s successes and pave the way to the moon.