The Mercury monument, honoring the original seven astronauts, is shown here at sunrise at Pad 14 in December, 1964. Photo Credit: NASA.
The Mercury Monument stands outside of Complex 14 was dedicated on this day 49 years ago. The monument shows the number 7 (in honor of the “Original Seven” astronauts) inside of the astronomical symbol for the planet Mercury. Underneath the slab is a time capsule that contains artifacts related to Project Mercury, including photos, film footage, capsule blueprints, and even John Glenn’s Marine Corps pilot’s wings. It was dedicated on November 10, 1964 and is scheduled to be opened 500 years later in 2464. Only 451 years to go! Maybe Captain Kirk can do the reveal. All photos credit: NASA except where noted.
At Cape Canaveral Air Station, members of the 1998 astronaut candidate class (Group 17) pose in front of the Project Mercury monument at Launch Complex 14 during a tour of the station’s facilities. This 13-foot-high astronomical symbol for the planet Mercury was constructed by General Dynamics, the Atlas airframe contractor, and dedicated in 1964 in honor of those who flew in the Mercury 7 capsule. The class is at Kennedy Space Center taking part in training activities, including a flight awareness program, as well as touring the OPF, VAB, SSPF, SSME Processing Facility, launch pads, SLF, Apollo/Saturn V Center, and the crew quarters. The U.S. candidates in the ’98 class are Clayton C. Anderson, Lee J. Archambault, Tracy E. Caldwell (Ph.D.), Gregory E. Chamitoff (Ph.D.), Timothy J. Creamer, Christopher J. Ferguson, Michael J. Foreman, Michael E. Fossum, Kenneth T. Ham, Patricia C. Hilliard (M.D.), Gregory C. Johnson, Gregory H. Johnson, Stanley G. Love (Ph.D.), Leland D. Melvin, Barbara R. Morgan, William A. Oefelein, John D. Olivas (Ph.D.), Nicholas J.M. Patrick (Ph.D.), Alan G. Poindexter, Garrett E. Reisman (Ph.D.), Steven R. Swanson, Douglas H. Wheelock, Sunita L. Williams, Neil W. Woodward III, George D. Zamka; and the international candidates are Leopold Eyharts, Paolo Nespoli, Hans Schlegel, Roberto Vittori, Bjarni V. Tryggvason, and Marcos Pontes
Photo Credit: Air Force Space And Missile HIstory Center
The first international partnership in space wasn’t the International Space Station. It wasn’t even the Shuttle-Mir series of missions. It was the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first international human spaceflight. On July 15, 1975, an Apollo spacecraft launched carrying a crew of three and docked two days later on July 17, with a Soyuz spacecraft […]
MODERATOR: Good afternoon. Welcome to the campus of George Washington University in downtown Washington, D.C., for what promises to be a very remarkable afternoon. My name is John Logsdon. I am the director of the Space Policy Institute here at GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs. We are a very happy co-host, along with Lockheed […]
It’s been 20 years since the remarkable DC-X Delta Clipper Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO) test vehicle made its first flight. Many people still believe DC-X should have been the chosen vehicle for NASA’s X-33 RLV program but that Lockheed Martin’s VentureStar won only because of direct, and political, intervention by Vice President Al Gore, who proudly made […]
