The Right Stuff. The Mercury Program.

 Some guys have the right stuff, as Tom Wolfe said. Some pilots have the guts and the yearning to just see the stars and not through a telescope.  Some people just have to see nebulas up close and personal.

Some pilots just have the right stuff. 

Chuck Yeager sure had it. What a pilot. Not only was he a WW2 ace, but he was one of the first to break the sound barrier—an action that broke us into the age of jet travel, and therefore ushered in the term ‘supersonic’.  

But he was over the age limit when the government came calling. 

It was the late 1950s and the govt space program was just beginning. It was the job of NASA to find the YOUNG best of the best. And so they did. What we ended up with were the infamous Mercury astronauts. A truly brave bunch of guys.

Are you noticing anything strange here? By the standards of today I mean  anything glaringly odd?

No women?

No men of color?

Do you know that there were women pilots who were tested alongside these men? That there were women who could have flown if only the whole uterus thingie didn’t get in the way?

Meet some of the so called “ mercury 13”

Like I said.  Uterus.

And did we forget women inside NASA like Katherine Johnson? One of our most talented mathematicians?

Check this out:

https://www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography

See? Told you!

The film “Hidden Figures” is the one to see.

And yes, there were others who did not fit the white plasticine cookie cutter mold of the early 1960s establishment.  Others who clearly had an indelible impact on the space program, particularly in an age not yet occupied by computers  Gasp!  And, no cell phones! Double gasp!!!

People who had the “right stuff” in their brain cases.

Although NASA was not exactly an equal opportunity employer, they needed talent, and that did not always come in neat little white packages. 

There were also academics from outside of the program who contributed their time and energy toward the preparation and training of  prospective astronauts:

So, who were these men? Aviators and engineers.  Geologists and philosophers. But pilots all. Were they daredevils? I think you’d have to be, especially if you were gonna strap your ass to a rocket!

These were men like Alan Shepherd, John Glen, Gordon "Gordo" Cooper, Scott Carpenter, among others, were chosen by NASA from thousands of applicants.  These men were typically members of the armed forces, who had seen combat.  Many were also test pilots, who were ready and willing to take on a dangerous mission, if it meant going faster and higher than anyone had gone before.  This was truly pushing the outside of that envelope.  

All of these men were of a certain age, a certain height, and a certain weight.  They were also all white.  There were no women.  But, this was the 1960's, folks, and we cannot expect that the powers that be would suddenly become brilliantly aware of the non-egalitarian makeup of their flight crew.  However, since we could not be forward thinkers in a social sense, at least we would be agile in a technological sense.  And, so we were.  New metals were created, computers were devised, new mathematical models were begun, to relative success.  It was the age of experimentation, and idealism.  It was the age of adventure.  

It was the age of JFK.

In some sense, the American space race was inspired by JFK, and so the men chosen for this mission, reflected him to a certain extent.  These Mercury astronauts were supposed to be symbolic of Kennedy's administration--they were supposed to be the cream of the American male crop.  Whether or not that is true, is immaterial.  We believed it to be true, and so for a time, these men and their wives became instantly famous.  The funny thing is, that this occurred before any of these men went into space! Yet, it was enormously effective in getting the public support the program needed.  

There was a veritable avalanche of publicity for these young families, and before long, these families were the darlings of the public's eye.  Yet, still I say, no one had gone into space (Americans at least).

It was Yuri Gegarin who became the first man in space, and the Russians also were successful in getting a man to orbit the earth several times.  Now, these accomplishments were instrumental in kicking the Americans into high gear, and the pressure on the powers at NASA were enormous.  The questions you're maybe asking is how did the Russians do it? Well, they had better brains, for a while, working in their rocket program.  It was their heavy lifting rocket capacity that was literally stronger than that of the Americans.  Their rockets, at this early stage, were simply better designed.  

So, who among the Mercury astronauts would be the first American into space? No one knew.  It wasn't until quite close to the launch, that the world learned it would be Alan Shepherd.  Almost everyone agreed that Shepherd was one of the best pilots among the Mercury group, so it was no surprise that he was chosen to go first.  

It was on May 5, 1961, that Shepherd made his flight.  It was a short journey--just a few moments, but it broke the atmosphere, and taught NASA many things about manned flight into space.  America was jubilant--here was proof that we were on (at the very least) the playing field with Russia.  Overall, the mission was a success.

So, who went up next? It would be Gus Grissom, in July of 1961, one of the best pilots of the Mercury group.  Gus' mission did not go as smoothly as NASA's first attempt at space travel.  Oh, he made it past the atmosphere, and splashed down alright, but when he tried to exit the capsule, the explosive bolts on the hatch blew, causing the ship to sink.  Luckily, Gus did not go down with it.  But, this loss put a pall on the entire mission, and NASA, while not looking at this as a mission failure, could not exactly look upon it as entirely a success.  It was only after a review board studied the mission, and concluded that the glitch with the hatch bolts was the fault of the mechanism, and that Grissom was not responsible.

Friendship 7, commanded by John Glen, was next on the list of considerable accomplishments, and it launched in February of 1962.  Meant to orbit the earth several times longer than previous flights, Glen was only able to complete 3 before technical difficulties forced him to end the mission early.  

Faith 7 launched in May of 1962, and was the last flight of the Mercury program.  It was piloted by Gordon 'Gordo' Cooper.  22 orbits, lasting nearly 35 hours, it was a tremendous success.  

I just love the ending scene of "The Right Stuff."  Here is Dennis Quaid, as Gordo Cooper:

It was the longest and highest flight of the Mercury program, lasting almost 35 hours. For a moment, NASA rode the wind.  

Now, it was onto the next phase, the Apollo flights....  But, that is another story.