Auction Name: 2026 March 21 Space Exploration Showcase Auction

Lot Number: 71037

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/33172*71037

Mercury-Atlas 6 (Friendship 7) "Results of the First United States Manned Orbital Space Flight" NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Report Book. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1962). An official NASA publication detailing the landmark mission of astronaut John Glenn aboard Friendship 7, America's first manned orbital flight, launched on February 20, 1962. This comprehensive report presents the results of the historic Mercury-Atlas 6 mission, including pre-launch preparations, spacecraft technical description, flight operations, telemetry and data analysis, and postflight evaluations. This document stands as a continuation of NASA's earlier reports on the first two U.S. manned suborbital flights. Its publication marked NASA's formal dissemination of mission results to engineers, scientists, and policymakers during the height of the Space Race. The cover features a technical illustration of the Mercury spacecraft, with the NASA seal at lower right. Quarto, perfect-bound in blue cardstock, 204 pages, illustrated. Very fine.

A foundational artifact of Project Mercury, it captures the moment the United States successfully placed a human into orbit, a milestone in space exploration history.

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