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Mercury Space Program
by Julieanna

Alan Shepard

The Mercury Space Program began in 1961 and ended in 1963. It was a two year program. Project Mercury was supposed to try to test how mankind would do in space.

The goals for project Mercury were to orbit manned space craft around our planet Earth.
Another goal they set was to investigate human's ability to function in space. The last goal they set was to try to recover both the man and space craft as safely as possible.

 We launched the first module of Project Mercury a year and three days after the Soviet Union launched the first Sputnik, it was the United States first space program. The objectives for them was to have six manned flights. Project Mercury also put the first american into a rocket and sent him to space. The first manned space project was a total success.

Our first American capsule was coned shape and only a one manned spaceship on the top of the ship with a cylinder mounded on top of it. John H. Glenn commanded this voyage.
 

Here are some capsules there astronauts the time they went up  the Duration that are entrusting you will learn new  things.

Name of Capsule                         Astronaut                                Launch Date                             Duration

Liberty Belle 7
Gus Grissom
July 21, 1961
4 hours 16 minutes
Freedom 7
Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
May 5, 1961
fifteen minutes
Sigma 7 
M. Schirra Jr.
February 20 1962
9 hours 13 minutes
Aurora
M. Scott Carpenter 
1962
4 hours 56 minutes
Friendship 7
John. Glenn, Jr.
February 20, 1962
4hours 55 minutes
Atlas 6
John Glenn
  
4 hours 55 minutes
Faith 7
L. Gordon
May 15 and May 16 1962
34 hours 19 minutes

 When the space program ended the objectives and goals were completed. They were a huge success. All of the astronauts were congratulated, the space program had the astronauts stay in the capsule and space as long as they could. That was the goal of the Mercury Space Program.

Credits:
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/solarsys.htm
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/history/mercury/mercury-goals.htm
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/history/mercury/flight-summary.htm
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/history/mercury/mercury-overview.htm#summary
http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/40thmerc7/glenn.htm
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/news/facts/hundred-toc.html
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/factoids/mercury.htm
Mercury Pictures: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/mercury/index.html
http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/luceneweb/fullimage.jsp?searchpage=true&maxresults=5&selections=MERMANOV&query=MERMANOV&browsepage=Go&hitsperpage=5&startat=0&field=missionid&pageno=1&photoId=S61-01250