A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On April 9, 1959, NASA introduced the “Mercury Seven,” its first seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald “Deke” Slayton, to the world.
That day, in a gathering in the ballroom of the Dolley Madison House on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., the astronauts were seated at a long table on a makeshift stage, and NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan introduced them in alphabetical order:
“Malcolm S. Carpenter, Leroy G. Cooper, John H. Glenn, Virgil I. Grissom, Walter M. Schirra, Alan B. Shepard, and Donald K. Slayton … the nation’s Mercury astronauts!”
After a brief photo session, for the next 90 minutes the new astronauts responded to numerous questions from the reporters gathered in the ballroom. For most of the men, this was a new experience as they had little prior exposure to the media in their previous jobs as test pilots.
By the time the event concluded, it was clear to them that their lives had changed forever, and public attention would be as much a part of their jobs as training for and flying in space.
Chasing the USSR in the space race, the Americans had some catching up to do. But catch up they did.
Twenty-three days after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin traveled into space, Shepard made a 15-minute suborbital flight aboard Freedom 7, with five of those minutes in space. Years later, the commander of Apollo 14, Shepard took a golf club to the moon and hit two golf balls on the lunar surface to demonstrate lunar gravity.
Within three years, Glenn orbited the earth. A long public service career followed. A couple of months later, Carpenter followed him around the globe.
Schirra went into space three times, and perhaps was more known in later years as a TV analyst of space missions.
Grissom was the second to fly in space, later dying with astronauts Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee on Jan. 27, 1967, during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission in Florida.
Cooper piloted the longest and last Mercury spaceflight, Mercury-Atlas 9. During that 34-hour mission he became the first American to spend an entire day in space, the first to sleep in space and the last American launched on an entirely solo orbital mission.
Slayton became NASA’s first Chief of the Astronaut Office and Director of Flight Crew Operations, responsible for NASA crew assignments. He also helped develop the Space Shuttle.
The original seven were immortalized in Tom Wolfe’s 1979 book “The Right Stuff,” which became a 1983 epic historical drama film.
“Meet the volunteers for U.S. space trip,” read the headline in that day’s Deseret News. Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the Mercury 7 astronauts:
“Astronaut John Glenn’s reason why the Project Mercury mission was a success”
“Scott Carpenter, one of original Mercury 7 astronauts, dies at 88 (+photos)”
“Wally Schirra, space pioneer”
“Astronaut John Glenn’s reason why the Project Mercury mission was a success”
“Liberty 7 capsule pulled from ocean after 38 years”
“Stamp honors 1st American in space 50 years later”
“Former astronaut, U.S. Sen. John Glenn of Ohio has died at 95″