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Selecting the Mercury Seven

The Search for America's First Astronauts

  • Book
  • © 2011

Overview

Authors:
  1. Colin Burgess

    1. Bonnet Bay, Australia

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  • Contains authorized biographical sketches of all 32 pioneering astronaut candidates, even ones that didn't fly on the Mercury mission, the first U.S. manned space program
  • Authoritative, well researched, highly readable, and copiously illustrated, with many photographs of the first astronaut candidates published for the first time
  • Examines the goals and achievements of the Mercury team
  • Commemorates the 50th anniversary (in 2011) of the first manned U.S. space flight, with a Mercury astronaut onboard, in 1961
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Springer Praxis Books (PRAXIS)

Part of the book sub series: Space Exploration (SPACEE)

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxv
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Sailing in and out of war

    • Colin Burgess
    Pages 1-23

  3. The call goes out

    • Colin Burgess
    Pages 25-42

  4. Narrowing the field

    • Colin Burgess
    Pages 43-60

  5. The finalists

    • Colin Burgess
    Pages 61-137

  6. Tennessee patriot, pilot and poet

    • Colin Burgess
    Pages 139-204

  7. Lovelace Clinic, New Mexico

    • Colin Burgess
    Pages 205-225

  8. Wright-Patterson: the final hurdle

    • Colin Burgess
    Pages 227-271

  9. Announcing the Mercury astronauts

    • Colin Burgess
    Pages 273-282

  10. Back in contention

    • Colin Burgess
    Pages 283-302

  11. The Mercury Seven

    • Colin Burgess
    Pages 303-352

  12. Back Matter

    Pages 353-371
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Keywords

About this book

The names of the seven Mercury astronauts were announced in April 1959 amid a flurry of publicity and patriotism. This work provides biographical details of all thirty-two finalists for the seven coveted places as America's pioneering astronauts. All of the candidates were among the nation's elite pilots involved in testing new supersonic aircraft capabilities. Most had served as wartime fighter and bomber pilots; some were test pilots on top secret and sophisticated aviation projects, while others were fleet admirals, prisoners of war, and proposed pilots for spaceflight programs such as the Dyna-Soar (X-20). The names of all 32 finalists have been kept secret until very recently. "Selecting the Mercury Seven" also relates the history and difficulties behind the initial choice of candidates. The lives, motivations, military careers, and achievements of the unsuccessful twenty-five finalists are explored first in fully authorized biographies. Test pilots for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, each man has a fascinating and very different story to tell. All thirty-two men had to endure meticulous, demeaning, and brutal week-long medical examinations at the Lovelace Clinic in New Mexico. This was followed by another torturous week at the Wright Aeromedical Laboratory in Ohio, where they were subjected to extreme fitness and physiological testing, the sole purpose of which was to sort out the Supermen from the near-supermen. The final part of the book examines the accomplishments and spaceflights of the seven successful candidates, bringing their amazing stories right up to date.

Reviews

From the reviews:

“The author chronicles the testing/selection process of the candidates and includes brief biographies of the finalists. … The book presents more extensive biographies of the entire careers of the Mercury Seven astronauts along with photographs of historical importance. Summing Up: Recommended. Undergraduate students and general readers.” (J. Z. Kiss, Choice, Vol. 49 (6), February, 2012)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Bonnet Bay, Australia

    Colin Burgess

About the author

Colin Burgess' first book ("The Diggers of Colditz") was published in 1985. Since that time he has had twenty-three non-fiction books published in Australia and overseas, which includes three co-authored books for Springer-Praxis. With only a few exceptions, all of his published books within the last fifteen years have been on spaceflight. Since 2003 Colin has been the series editor and sometimes author for the Outward Odyssey series of twelve books for the University of Nebraska Press (UNP). Two of his co-authored spaceflight books for this publisher, "Into That Silent Sea" and "In the Shadow of the Moon," were finalists for the 2007 Eugene M. Emme Award for Astronautical Literature, given by the American Astronomical Society. "In the Shadow of the Moon" was also named as "2009 Outstanding Academic Title" by Choice Magazine.

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