Project Mercury Stamps

I just added these four 1962 Project Mercury stamps to my collection. They are not particularly valuable, but I like the unique American achievement they represent.

Project Mercury was the first U.S. manned spaceflight program. It had a very basic goal of putting an astronaut into orbit and then bringing him back down safely.

Scary, scary, stuff when you consider-

• NASA knew next to nothing about the effects space would have on an astronaut.
• They were using extremely volatile Redstone and Atlas rockets, which were famous for blowing up during launch.
• The Mercury “Space Capsule” was little more than a tin can with untested re-entry technology.

Imagine the job description: “Needed: Person to sit inside tin can with questionable life support, on top of highly volatile rocket that could blow up at any second. If by God’s Grace lift off is successful, applicant must be OK with knowledge that re-entry heat-shield and parachutes may not work.”

The patriotism and courage Alan Shepard demonstrated on May 5, 1961, when he rode that first American tin can into space, is awe-inspiring.

Oh, and of course to give credit where credit is due, similar Kudos to Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin who flew one month before Shepard, becoming the first human being to fly a tin can into space.

-JP


Below- In this NASA photo, Alan Shepard is shown being hoisted aboard a U.S. Marine helicopter after his successful mission. His Freedom 7 Mercury capsule can be seen just below him.