Project Mercury (1959–1963) was the first human spaceflight program of the United States. It ran from 1959 through 1963 with the goal of putting a human in orbit around the Earth. The Mercury-Atlas 6 flight on 20 February 1962, piloted by John Glenn, was the first Mercury flight to achieve this goal. U.S. Marines who were astronauts in the Mercury program:
- Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, first American to make an orbital flight. (Glenn also flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery)
Read more about this topic: List Of United States Marine Corps Astronauts
Famous quotes containing the words project and/or mercury:
“They had their fortunes to make, everything to gain and nothing to lose. They were schooled in and anxious for debates; forcible in argument; reckless and brilliant. For them it was but a short and natural step from swaying juries in courtroom battles over the ownership of land to swaying constituents in contests for office. For the lawyer, oratory was the escalator that could lift a political candidate to higher ground.”
—Federal Writers’ Project Of The Wor, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“The mercury sank in the mouth of the dying day.
What instruments we have agree
The day of his death was a dark cold day.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)