The First Seven Astronauts

The First Seven Astronauts

Everything starts somewhere, and the space program began in earnest with the selection of the first seven astronauts that would participate in manned space flight. The NASA selection committee was made up of Charles Donlan, a senior management engineer; Warren North, a test pilot engineer; Stanley White and William Argerson, flight surgeons; Allen Gamble and Robert Voas, psychologists; and George Ruff and Edwin Levy, psychiatrists.

When the selection committee began their task, they received 508 applications. This number was reduced to 110 candidates after records were reviewed. The 110 candidates were brought together at an undisclosed location. A battery of tests were given and interviews were conducted. It took a month but the number of possible candidates was reduced to 32.

The 32 candidates were then subjected to even more stressful physical, psychological, and mental examinations. They were given full-body x-rays, tested in pressure suits, endured a variety of cognitive tests and really intense interviews. Finally, 18 or the 32 were recommended to the Mercury program without any medical reservations.

The final choices were made by Robert Gilruth, who was the head of the Space Task Group, as well as Charles Donlan, Warren North, and Stanley White.

The first seven astronauts selected for the Mercury program (the first manned space flight program) were :
 

1. Scott Carpenter, 
2. L. Gordon Cooper Jr., 
3. John H. Glenn Jr., 
4. Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, 
5. Walter M. Schirra Jr., 
6. Alan B. Shepard Jr., 
7. Donald K. "Deke" Slayton. 

Their names will resound through history forever.

Six of the original seven flew in Project Mercury. Only "Deke" Slayton did not fly because of a heart condition that had not been discovered. Deke later flew as a crewmember of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.