Gordon Cooper was the last astronaut launched in this first U.S. manned space program
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Mercury Seven - Wikipedia  They are also referred to as the Original Seven or Astronaut Group 1. They piloted the manned spaceflights of the Mercury program from May 1961 to May 1963. These seven original American astronauts were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton.
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Gordon Cooper: Record-Setting Astronaut in Mercury ... - Space.com  Jan 31, 2014 ... Gordon Cooper had the longest flight among the original Mercury ... It turned out to be for NASA's astronaut program  the first applicants ... He piloted Faith 7 across 22 orbits solo  the last American government astronaut to fly ... his historical mission that he decided to take a brief nap on the launch pad.
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Mercury Crewed Flights Summary | NASA  Nov 30, 2006 ... Mercury, America's first human space flight program, introduced the nation to its first ... Astronaut: L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. Flight Summary: 34 hours, 19 minutes, 49 seconds - The last ..... Alan Shepard was chosen for the first manned Mercury launch, becoming the first American to fly in space on May 5, 1961.
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Gordon Cooper - Wikipedia  Cooper piloted the longest and final Mercury spaceflight in 1963. He was the first American to sleep in space during that 34-hour mission and was the last American to be launched alone to conduct an entirely solo orbital mission. In 1965, Cooper flew as Command Pilot of Gemini 5.
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Remembering Gordon Cooper | NASA  Official portrait of Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper ... Cooper's Mercury flight set a U.S. endurance record at the time, and he became the first astronaut to sleep in ... administrator for Manned Space Flight, had high praise for the launch teams at .... commanded the final moon landing mission, Apollo 17, in December 1972.
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'Last Man on the Moon' Documentary Brings Space Exploration Home  Feb 26, 2016 ... "Last Man on the Moon," a documentary about the life and experiences ... On Dec. 14, 1972, Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan became the last...
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John Glenn - Wikipedia  John Herschel Glenn Jr. (born July 18, 1921), (Col, USMC, Ret.), is a former aviator, engineer, astronaut, and United States senator. He was selected as one of the "Mercury Seven" group of military test pilots selected in 1959 by NASA to become America's first astronauts and fly the Project Mercury spacecraft. ... A member of the Democratic Party, he finally won election to the Senate in...
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Gemini 5, 50 Years Ago -- First Men in Orbit | National Review  Aug 29, 2015 ... En Route to the First Moon Landing  Gemini 5, Fifty Years Ago ... Geminis 1 and 2 tested the Gemini hardware and the Titan rocket that put it in orbit. ... The two men chosen to the fly the mission were Leroy Gordon Cooper and ... Gordo Cooper made the last Mercury flight, a mission from which he had...
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First man in space - Apr 12, 1961 - HISTORY.com
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Looking Back: The Mercury 7 | NASA  On April 9, 1959, NASA introduced its first astronaut class, the Mercury 7. ... Shepard's Freedom 7 Mercury capsule lifted off at 9:34 a.m. from Launch .... leader for NASA's manned space program, coaxes a smile out of astronaut John Glenn after .... The American public first met the seven men chosen to be this country's first...
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John Glenn - Wikipedia  John Herschel Glenn Jr. (born July 18, 1921), (Col, USMC, Ret.), is a former aviator, engineer, ... During the Korean War, Glenn was assigned to VMF-311, flying the new F9F Panther jet interceptor. ... Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, aboard Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962, on the Mercury-Atlas 6...
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Project Mercury Overview - Astronaut Selection | NASA  Yet the names of Carpenter, Cooper, Glenn, Grissom, Schirra, Shepard, and Slayton were .... Phase four of the selection program was an amazingly elaborate set of .... Shortly after the astronauts were introduced to the public, a literate layman asked ... Shepard's Freedom 7 Mercury capsule lifted off at 9:34 a.m. from Launch...
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STS-1 - Wikipedia  STS-1 (Space Transportation System-1) was the first orbital spaceflight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The first orbiter, Columbia, launched on 12 April 1981 and returned on 14 April, 54.5 hours later, having orbited the Earth 37 times. Columbia carried a crew of two  mission commander John W. Young and .... STS-1 was also the first U.S. manned space vehicle launched without an...
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6 Surprising Facts About the First Manned Space Mission  Apr 6, 2011 ... Fifty years ago, on April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the ... The total mission lasted just 108 minutes, and the trip once around the ... Soviet Air Force pilot when he made his first and only trip into space.
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What Was Project Mercury? | NASA  John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth on the Friendship 7 mission. Credits: NASA ... Project Mercury was the NASA program that put the first American astronauts in space. Astronauts made ... The project was named Mercury after a Roman god who was very fast. .... Read What Was the Space Shuttle? (Grades...
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In the Beginning: Project Mercury | NASA  Unmanned tests of the booster and capsule preceded the first human flight. ... but it was the pioneering legacy of Project Mercury and all those who worked ... Original Mercury astronauts stand in group for photo in front of spacecraft ... On April 9, 1959, NASA's first administrator, Dr. Keith Glennan, announced the names of...
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NASA - Yuri Gagarin: First Man in Space  Apr 13, 2011 ... April 12, 1961: Russian Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space. ... on the way to the launch pad) became the first human in space, ... Newspapers like The Huntsville Times (right) trumpeted Gagarin's ... Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space less than a month later.
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Neil Armstrong, first man to step on the moon, dies at 82 - The ...  Aug 25, 2012 ... That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind, he is famous for saying ... corps in 1962 and became the first U.S. civilian to be blasted into space. ... its hazardous, nine-mile final descent to the moon's Sea of Tranquility. .... He got his pilot's license on his 16th birthday, before he was legally old...
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CHRONOLOGY OF DEFINING EVENTS IN NASA HISTORY  NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan publicly introduced the astronauts in a press ... It was the first American space flight involving human beings, and during his ... Spacecraft Center, renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in 1973. ... The Titan rocket became a standard launch vehicle for the United States in the...
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Mercury Seven - Wikipedia  The Mercury Seven were the group of seven Mercury astronauts announced by NASA on April 9, 1959. They are also referred to as the Original Seven or Astronaut Group 1. They piloted the manned spaceflights of the Mercury program from May 1961 ... Of the seven, only John Glenn, who was the oldest, is still living; he went on...
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John Glenn - Wikipedia  John Herschel Glenn Jr. (born July 18, 1921), (Col, USMC, Ret.), is a former aviator, engineer, astronaut, and United States senator. ... He made his first solo flight in a military aircraft there. .... Glenn returned to space on the Space Shuttle on October 29, 1998, becoming, at age 77, the oldest person to go into space as a...