Astronaut Virgil Grissom chats with Astronaut John Glenn prior to entering the Liberty Bell 7 capsul…

Assisted by Astronaut John Glenn, Astronaut Virgil Grissom enters the Mercury capsule, Liberty Bell …

Astronaut John Glenn enters the Mercury spacecraft, Friendship 7, prior to the launch of MA-6 on Feb…

Astronaut John Glenn enters Mercury spacecraft, Friendship 7, prior to the launch of MA-6 on Februar…

Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, one of the original seven astronauts for Mercury Project selected by NASA…

Astronaut John Glenn gives ready sign during Mercury-Atlas 6 pre launch activities.

Capsule #2. Capsule complete in Lewis Hangar near Cleveland, Ohio. Lewis is now known as the Glenn R…

Mercury space capsule undergoing tests in Full Scale Wind Tunnel, January 1959. Full Scale Tunnel Pr…

Astronaut Alan B. Shepard is seen on the deck of the U.S.S. Lake Champlain after the recovery of his…

Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) flight configuration with cherry picker, on one of many tests conducted to…

Ham, the first chimpanzee ever to ride into space is shown off by his animal trainer at Cape Canaver…

Launch of Freedom 7, the first American manned suborbital space flight. Astronaut Alan Shepard aboar…

Mercury-Atlas on launch pad for pre-launch test of the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA9) on Launch Pad 14 at Cap…

A closeup of astronaut Alan Shepard in his space suit seated inside the Mercury capsule. He is under…

The famous "hand shake" welcome. Chimpanzee Ham is greeted by recovery ship Commander after his flig…

Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., makes his way from the elevator to the cleanroom atop the service to…

Launch of Mercury Atlas 9 rocket with astronaut Gordon Cooper onboard from Launch Pad 14 at Cape Can…

Alan Shepard, one of the three prime astronauts, is being inserted into a Mercury capsule. A flight …

Close-up view of the fueling of the Liberty Bell 7 for the Mercury-Redstone 4 (MR-4) mission. 1961.

 Astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr., Dr. William Douglas astronauts Flight Surgeon, and equipment special…

Mercury astronaut John H. Glenn Jr., wearing a new cowboy hat and a badge in the shape of a star, le…

Group shot of the original Mercury astronauts taken at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), Houston, …

Mercury-Atlas on the Launch Pad for Pre-launch test of the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA9) on Launch Pad 14 at…

Group shot of the original 7 Mercury astronauts in spacesuits at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC),…