Mercury Project Summary

This document presents a summary of the planning, preparation, experiences, and results of Project Mercury and includes the results of the fourth United States manned orbital flight conducted on May 15 and 16, 1963, are also included. The papers are grouped into four main technical areas: The space-vehicle development, mission support development, flight operations, and mission results. The performance discussions contained in the various papers for the concluding Mercury mission form a continuation of the information previously published for the three manned orbital flights and the two manned suborbital flights. Although this document, to a limited degree, summarizes the results of the previous manned flights, the formal postflight reports published for these earlier missions should be consulted for greater detail. The material presented in this document has been prepared in a short. period of time. It reflects the close cooperation and intense efforts of the authors, the staff editors, and the printers, all of whom are to be commended for their dedicated efforts.