"Mercury Seven" NASA Astronaut Group One Photo Signed by All....
Description
The men with the "Right Stuff."
"Mercury Seven" NASA Astronaut Group One Photo Signed by All. A 10.375" x 8" B&W matte finish photo picturing the first seven astronauts chosen by NASA for their Man in Space project. This photo, showing the astronauts inspecting a Mercury Atlas model, was one of a series of photos taken April 30, 1959, at Langley Research Center. All seven of these brave men, who laid the groundwork for America's space program, have signed with the earliest forms of their signatures: "Alan B Shepard Jr." (1923-1998), "Walter M. Schirra Jr." (1923-2007), "John H. Glenn, Jr.", "Virgil I. Grissom" (1926-1967), "M. Scott Carpenter", "Donald K. Slayton" (1924-1993), and "Leroy G. Cooper, Jr" (1927-2004). An exceedingly desirable item and a cornerstone for any serious collection of astronaut autographs. Extremely fine condition with a tiny stray ink mark at the upper left border and just a hint of roughness at the left edge; there are some areas of light "silvering" observable at certain angles.More Information:
"The Mercury 7 astronauts were introduced to the American public in April 1959. The seven criteria for selection were as follows:
1. Less than 40 years old;
2. Less than 5 foot 11 inches tall:
3. Excellent physical condition;
4. Bachelor's degree in engineering or equivalent;
5. Test-pilot school graduate;
6. Minimum of 1,500 hours flying time;
7. Qualified jet pilot.
However, the process of choosing the first astronauts was elaborate and rigorous... Once selected, the astronauts began their training program at Langley. This included a 'little of everything' ranging from a graduate-level course in introductory space science to simulator training and scuba-diving. Training continued until the Langley Space Task Group was transferred to Houston, Texas." (From the original NASA description for this series of photos.)
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