Introduction
swayed toward a crash program even in the face of an American public anxiously awaiting the advent of manned space flight, was unusual.
There were a number of catalysts which created the conditions leading to the approval of the Mercury project, and many of these circumstances and events contributed directly to the goal of attaining manned space flight. Shortly after World War II, experimental missile tests were conducted in the White Sands, N. Mex. area to altitudes beyond the sensible atmosphere. During this same period, rocket aircraft research was initiated with the objective of piercing the sound barrier. Then from the early to the mid-fifties the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and industry scientists and engineers made the assault on the thermal barrier to resolve the reentry problem for the ballistic missile. These excellent mediums of research formed a natural progression for the NACA to attack the problems of manned space flight. Another factor contributing to the growing interest in the national space program was the planning and research that was devoted to the artificial earth satellite program for the International Geophysical Year. Then the flight of Sputnik I in 1957 furnished the "yeast" necessary for the American public to support a manned space flight project. Finally, the Atlas launch vehicle had reached a point in development at which serious consideration could be given for its application to manned space flight. At that time the Atlas was the only American launch vehicle capable of lifting a payload for the manned orbital requirements.
This document chronicles the three major phases of the Mercury program—conception, research and development, and operation. Even in this brief form, the reader can readily observe the meticulous attention to detail that was given by personnel of the NASA, other Government agencies, and American industry associated with the conduct of the program to assure mission success in our first manned step in space.
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