The Mercury Capsule
"You don't get in this-you put it on!"... Wally Schirra
Flown Project Mercury camera lens
It was the first flight of a standard Mercury capsule, launched on a Little Joe rocket. It's mission was to test the emergency escape system. The mission was a failure and the capsule nearly destroyed.
MR-1... the first Mercury Redstone "flight"
This electrical cable was used to connect the Mercury capsule to the Redstone rocket on which it sat. The story of MR-1's short, but interesting, flight plays an important part in the story of America's space program. The launch occurred on November 21, 1960... three weeks after the failure of Capsule #3's demise. America had entered the space race behind the Soviet Union and MR-1 proved to be the most embarrassing moment of the USA's effort to catch up. Read more about it here.
Ham's flight... the first monkey in space.
January 31, 1961, just two months after the "popped cork" flight of MR-1, and a month after the successful flight of MR-1A Ham entered the history books as he flew 129.8 miles above the Earth. Three months later Alan Shepard would become America's first man into space. This fitting was part of the flown Mercury capsule that took Ham into space.
A piece of Friendship 7... and a moment in history
This is the bolt and washer that broke in the process of securing the hatch to John Glenn's capsule, Friendship 7. On February 13, 1962, the world held it's collective breath anxiously awaiting for the first American to orbit the Earth while technicians feverishly worked to replace a single hatch bolt that had broken off and delayed the flight for 22 minutes. Guenter Wendt, the Pad Leader, placed this piece of history into his pocket and later preserved it in lucite.
Read the whole story in "The Unbroken Chain" by Guenter Wendt and Russell Still.
And the matching piece...
This is the plate nut removed from Friendship 7 that delayed the launching of America's first man into orbit. The hatch had to be removed and this plate nut was then drilled out and replaced. It's replacement is still attached to the capsule on display in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
A piece of John Glenn's spacesuit
This is a section of the umbilical hose from John Glenn's spacesuit. This hose segment was originally given to Tom Morley by John Glenn after his famous flight of becoming the first American to orbit of the Earth. Morley was a radio broadcaster who was assigned to cover the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo flights and developed many friendships among the early space pioneers.
A piece of Launch Complex 14
Where all the Mercury Atlas flights were launched.
Pad 19
This a huge bolt that was removed from the Pad 19 launch tower. Pad 19 was the launch site of all the Gemini missions. The bolt is forever suspended in aged, scratched, and yellowed lucite. It's obviously been viewed and handled a great deal. It's incredible.
"Almost flew" on GT-4
A great gag presentation, from the collection of Jim McDivitt, poking fun at flown items.
GT-7 bolt
A small flown bolt from the Gemini 7 spacecraft.
GT-8 AMU
I really like artifacts like this one. It didn't fly in space. It has little monetary value. It appears to be just a common bolt... but this one is special. For one thing it's handmade. There are indentations on each end where it was turned on a lathe, it wasn't just picked up at the hardware store but crafted according to engineered drawings, the machinist that made it even scratched his initials on the head.
I was given this bolt by Don Black who worked for McDonnell in the White Room during the Gemini program. This is the bolt that held the GT-8 AMU in place during shipping. Don told me that Neil Armstrong came out and gave him a hand installing the AMU in place on the Gemini spacecraft. Another small piece of our nation's space story.
The Gemini White Room
This is a little piece of tubing that was removed from the Pad 19 White Room before it's demise. Pad 19 was the location of the Project Gemini launches. Notice the remaining white patches of paint.
posted by N | 5:56 PM
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