Project Mercury Congressional Report
Video from the channel NASA Glenn Research and Technology about Project Mercury, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 19:18. Language: English. Video type: Archive footage.
What it shows
An informational NASA film, presented as a report to Congress, reviewing the status of Project Mercury, the US crewed orbital flight programme. It covers tests with capsule models in wind tunnels and a ballistic range, the drops of welded-sheet-metal capsules from C-130 aircraft to fine-tune the parachutes and recovery, the escape-system tests with Little Joe rockets, and the Big Joe flight atop an Atlas. The final part shows the training of the seven astronauts: the moulding of their seats, the heat chamber, the simulators and the centrifuge.
When and where it was filmed
The footage is contemporary. The narration presents as recent the three Little Joe launches of autumn 1959 and the recovery of the Big Joe capsule, launched from Cape Canaveral. The images come from NASA and military facilities, the North American Aviation plant, Wallops Island (Virginia), Langley and the acceleration laboratory at Johnsville (Pennsylvania).
Context
According to the film, the aerodynamic tests were carried out in 26 wind tunnels, with 70 models and 106 tests. The destroyer Strong recovered the Big Joe capsule after a flight that simulated the return from orbit. It had come through reentry in good condition, confirming the design. Astronauts Carpenter, Cooper, Glenn, Grissom, Schirra, Shepard and Slayton had been training since 27 April 1959.