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EDITORIAL INFORMATION

Only five years after launching Explorer, its first primitive satellite, the USA was putting men into space in the first American manned spaceflight programme, Mercury. How was the technology developed, what were the problems to be overcome, and who were the people behind this programme? Project Mercury details the development of the Mercury programme, together with its associated infrastructure. It highlights the differences in Redstone/Atlas technology, drawing comparisons between ballistic capsules and alternative types of spacecraft. Astronaut selection and training is also covered, as well as tracking systems, flight control, basic principles of spaceflight and detailed accounts of individual flights.

(Extracted from the back cover).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

-Contents.

-List of Figures.

-List of Tables.

-Author's Preface.

-Acknowledgments.

-List of Acronyms.

-Part I. Genesis.

1. A War of Ideal.
2. Dreaming of Space.
3. Preparing for War.
4. Popularising Space Flight.
5. Defining the Frontier.

-Part II. Infrastructure.

6. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
7. Astronauts.
8. Operations Division.

-Part III. Hardware.

9. Mercury Spacecraft (Type D).
10. Developing the Mercury Spacecraft.
11. Mercury Spacecraft Earth Landing System.
12. Launch Space System.
13. Handling the Mercury Spacecraft at Cape Canaveral.
14. The Mercury Pressure Suit.
15. Mercury Little Joe.
16. Mercury Scout.
17. Mercury Redstone.
18. Mercury Atlas D.

-Part IV. Project Mercury Flight Programme.

19. The Race to Be First.
20. Sustained Effort.

-Part V. Aftermath.

21. Scientific Experiments.
22. Recovering Liberty Bell 7.
23. Project Mercury In Retrospect.
24. Project Mercury As a First Step.
25. Alternative Paths.

-Part VI. Appendices.

A. Astronauts' Biographies.
B. The "Mercury 13".
C. Hardware Dimensions.
D. How Space Flight Is Achieved.
E. The Human Element.
F. Tables.

-Bibliography and Sources.

-Index.