Mercury Program Timeline

(October 7, 1958 – May 15, 1963)

The Mercury Program was the United States' first human spaceflight program, conducted by NASA from 1958 to 1963. Its goal was to put a human into orbit around Earth and safely return them. The program included six crewed flights and paved the way for later Gemini and Apollo missions. More Less

Go to: Timeline | Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Program Origins

Sputnik 1 launch begins the Space Race

Oct 1957

The Space Race began with the 1957 launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1. Americans were shocked when the Soviet Union placed the first satellite into orbit in October 1957, leading to a growing fear that the US was falling into a 'missile gap'.

Image source: Sputnik 1

Explorer 1 success makes crewed spaceflight the next goal

Jan 31, 1958

After the successful launch of the Explorer 1 satellite in 1958, crewed spaceflight became the next goal for the United States.

Image source: Explorer 1

Explorer 1 success makes crewed spaceflight the next goal

NASA created with Dryden as Deputy Administrator

Oct 1, 1958

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was created on October 1, 1958, with Hugh Dryden, last Director of NACA, serving as Deputy. The agency achieved its first goal of launching a satellite into space, Pioneer 1, in 1958.

Image source: NASA

Project Mercury officially approved

Oct 7, 1958

Project Mercury was officially approved on October 7, 1958, becoming the first human spaceflight program of the United States.

Image source: Project Mercury

Project Mercury publicly announced

Dec 17, 1958

Project Mercury was publicly announced on December 17, 1958, revealing America's first human spaceflight program to the world.

Mercury granted top DX national priority rating

May 1959

President Eisenhower at first hesitated to give the project top national priority (DX rating under the Defense Production Act), which meant that Mercury had to wait in line behind military projects for materials; however, this rating was granted in May 1959, a little more than a year and a half after Sputnik was launched.

Project Mercury ends

May 1963

When Mercury ended in May 1963, both nations had sent six people into space, but the Soviets led the US in total time spent in space.

Spacecraft and Technology

Mercury spacecraft design selected from bids

Nov 1958

After bidding by potential contractors had been completed, NASA selected the design submitted as 'C' in November 1958. The Mercury spacecraft design was modified three times by NASA between 1958 and 1959.

Little Joe rocket redesigned for Project Mercury

1959

The Little Joe rocket used solid-fuel propellant and was originally designed in 1958 by NACA for suborbital crewed flights, but was redesigned for Project Mercury to simulate an Atlas-D launch.

Image source: Little Joe (rocket)

McDonnell Aircraft chosen as prime contractor

Jan 1959

In January 1959, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was chosen to be prime contractor for the Mercury spacecraft.

Final spacecraft configuration 'D' emerges after test failure

Jul 1959

After a design failed a test flight in July 1959, a final configuration, 'D', emerged for the Mercury spacecraft.

NASA responds to question about astronaut urination

Feb 1961

An inquiry on the subject was made in February 1961 by a student, but NASA responded by stating that 'the first space man is not expected to have "to go"'. It would take until the third flight in February 1962 before a dedicated urine collection device was installed.

Astronauts and Flights

Astronaut selection pool discussions begin

Dec 1958

At the end of 1958, various ideas for the selection pool were discussed privately within the national government and the civilian space program, and also among the public at large. By late 1958, NASA officials decided to move forward with test pilots being the heart of their selection pool.

Yuri Gagarin becomes first human in space

Apr 12, 1961

The Soviet Union put the first human, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, into a single orbit aboard Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961, beating the United States in the race to put a person into space.

Image source: Vostok 1

Yuri Gagarin becomes first human in space

Alan Shepard first American in space

May 5, 1961

Alan Shepard became the first American in space by making a suborbital flight on May 5, 1961, just three weeks after Gagarin's orbital flight.

Image source: Mercury-Redstone 3

Gus Grissom second American in space on Mercury-Redstone 4

Jul 21, 1961

Gus Grissom became the second American in space on Mercury-Redstone 4 on July 21, 1961. Grissom went on to participate in the Gemini and Apollo programs, but died in January 1967 during a pre-launch test for Apollo 1.

Image source: Mercury-Redstone 4

Gherman Titov flies day-long orbital mission

Aug 1961

Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov followed Gagarin with a day-long orbital flight in August 1961, further extending the Soviet lead in crewed spaceflight.

Image source: Vostok 2

Deke Slayton grounded due to heart condition

1962

Deke Slayton was grounded in 1962 due to a heart condition, but remained with NASA and was appointed senior manager of the Astronaut Office and later additionally assistant director of Flight Crew Operations at the beginning of Project Gemini.

Image source: Deke Slayton

Neil Armstrong selected as NASA's first civilian astronaut

1962

Civilian NASA X-15 pilot Neil Armstrong had been disqualified from Mercury, though he had been selected by the US Air Force in 1958 for its Man in Space Soonest program, which was replaced by Mercury. Armstrong became NASA's first civilian astronaut in 1962 when he was selected for NASA's second group, and became the first man on the Moon in 1969.

Image source: Neil Armstrong

John Glenn first American to orbit Earth on Mercury-Atlas 6

Feb 20, 1962

John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth on Mercury-Atlas 6 on February 20, 1962, making three orbits around the Earth and reaching the US orbital goal. From Cape Canaveral, 75,000 people watched the first American orbital flight being launched.

Image source: Mercury-Atlas 6

John Glenn first American to orbit Earth on Mercury-Atlas 6

Scott Carpenter flies Mercury-Atlas 7

May 24, 1962

Scott Carpenter was the second American astronaut in orbit and flew on Mercury-Atlas 7 on May 24, 1962.

Image source: Mercury-Atlas 7

Wally Schirra flies Sigma 7 on Mercury-Atlas 8

Oct 3, 1962

Wally Schirra flew aboard Sigma 7 on Mercury-Atlas 8 on October 3, 1962. In December 1965, Schirra flew on Gemini 6A, achieving the first ever space rendezvous with sister spacecraft Gemini 7.

Image source: Mercury-Atlas 8

Gordon Cooper flies final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9

May 15, 1963 - May 16, 1963

Gordon Cooper made the last flight of Project Mercury with Mercury-Atlas 9 on May 15, 1963, ending with a day-long, 22 orbit flight concluding on May 16, 1963.

Image source: Mercury-Atlas 9

Ground Control

Mercury Space Flight Network stations made ready

1960

Most missions followed the spacecraft from the Mercury Space Flight Network, a chain of 18 stations placed around the equator, which was based on a network used for satellites and made ready in 1960.

Mission Control Center moved to Houston

1965

Mission Control Center was moved from Cape Canaveral to Houston in 1965. Data from Mercury spacecraft were processed at the Goddard Space Center by a redundant pair of transistorized IBM 7090 computers and relayed to the Mercury Control Center at Cape Canaveral; other computers included an IBM 709 at Cape Canaveral, another IBM 709 in Bermuda, and a Burroughs-GE system providing Atlas radio guidance.

Image source: Mission control center

Legacy

Mercury astronauts receive number 7 lapel pin

1960

The design combining the symbol of Mercury with the number 7 was first issued to the Mercury astronauts in 1960 as a lapel pin.

Project Mercury monument unveiled at Cape Canaveral

1964

In 1964, a monument commemorating Project Mercury was unveiled near Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, featuring a metal logo combining the symbol of Mercury with the number 7.

Image source: Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 14

Gus Grissom dies in Apollo 1 fire

Jan 1967

Grissom died in January 1967 during a pre-launch test for Apollo 1. Other than Grissom, the other six Mercury astronauts survived past retirement and died between 1993 and 2016.

Image source: Apollo 1

Deke Slayton returns to flight status

Mar 13, 1972

On March 13, 1972, after doctors confirmed he no longer had a coronary condition, Slayton returned to flight status and the next year was assigned to the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, which successfully flew in 1975 with Slayton as the docking module pilot. After the ASTP, he managed the Space Shuttle Program's Approach and Landing Tests before retiring from NASA in 1982.

John Glenn elected to US Senate

1974 - 1999

Glenn quit NASA in 1964, when he came to the conclusion that he likely would not be selected for any Apollo missions, and was later elected to the US Senate, serving from 1974 to 1999.

Image source: John Glenn

The Right Stuff film portrays the Mercury program

1983

On film the program was portrayed in The Right Stuff, a 1983 adaptation of Tom Wolfe's 1979 book of the same name, in the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, in the 2016 film Hidden Figures, and the 2020 Disney+ series The Right Stuff.

Image source: The Right Stuff (film)

John Glenn returns to space aboard STS-95

1998

During his Senate tenure, John Glenn returned to space in 1998 as a Payload Specialist aboard STS-95.

Image source: STS-95

Key Facts

The Mercury Program was established by NASA on October 7, 1958, just months after the agency's creation.
Alan Shepard became the first American in space aboard Freedom 7 during a suborbital flight on May 5, 1961.
John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth aboard Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962.
The original Mercury Seven astronauts were selected in April 1959 from among military test pilots.
The program's final mission, Faith 7 flown by Gordon Cooper in May 1963, lasted over 34 hours and completed 22 orbits of Earth.

Source

This Mercury Program timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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