Of Minds & Men: The First Rendezvous in Space (Part 2)

By Ben Evans, on December 15th, 2013

Beautiful view of Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford’s Gemini VI-A spacecraft, viewed by astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell aboard Gemini VII. Schirra’s gutsy decision to sit tight after the 12 December pad abort ensured that this historic rendezvous mission could go ahead. Photo Credit: NASA

“It’s death … or the ejection seat!” […]

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From ‘Greasy Grissom’ to ‘Gruff Gus’: The Story of America’s Second Man in Space (Part 2)

By Ben Evans, on July 21st, 2013

The attempted rescue of the Liberty Bell 7 capsule from the waters of the Atlantic on 21 July 1961. After this image was taken, it would be 38 years—long after Gus Grissom’s death—before the spacecraft was recovered and again saw the light of day. Photo Credit: NASA

Fifty-two years ago this very day, […]

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Americans in Orbit: The Flight of John Glenn (Part 1)

By Ben Evans, on February 16th, 2013

Blurred and somewhat lacking in detail, this image of John Glenn in orbit aboard Friendship 7 represents one of the United States’ greatest advances in space technology in the 20th century: the effort to achieve piloted orbital flight. Photo Credit: NASA

More than half a century has passed since the United States launched […]

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50 Years Since Sigma 7: A Tale of Turtles

By Ben Evans, on September 23rd, 2012

Signed image of Dee O’Hara with Wally Schirra’s enormous urine specimen bottle. Photo Credit: NASA/Wallyschirra.com

Urine samples were part and parcel of an astronaut’s medical regimen in the days and weeks surrounding a mission. For the Mercury Seven, their nurse, Dolores ‘Dee’ O’Hara, was all-powerful. The astronauts feared that the doctors, whilst highly […]

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