First into Space: Documents of Project Mercury

Article

“First into Space: Documents of Project Mercury” by Shane Bell
Published in Quest Volume: 27 #2 (2020)

Abstract

Among the files at the National Archives and Records Administration in Atlanta, is 6,700 cubic feet of NASA records from the three NASA centers in the region—Kennedy Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and Stennis Space Center.  Included among these are approximately 700 cubic feet of photographic negatives from KSC and MSFC.  This article presents scans of and discusses several important documents found in the Mercury Upper Level Management Files including those related to the confidential goals of Project Mercury, the telegram announcing Deke Slayton assumption of his new duties after his irregular heartbeat was detected, the Project Mercury information plan, and the letter terminating the program.

Citation

Bell, Shane. “First into Space: Documents of Project Mercury.” Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly 27, no. 2 (2020): 9-20.