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welcome to the first edition of a new TV

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series entitled the astronauts I'm Lynn

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Bondurant this first program highlights

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the u.s. Project Mercury program and

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documents the historic training

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activities the first seven astronauts

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underwent to qualify for the program

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were going back in time to 1959 this is

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a press conference april 9th 1959

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washington DC one of these seven young

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men will be the first American into

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space these are the astronauts United

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States project Hercules a substantial

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part of the imagination energy and

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genius of the United States is being

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devoted to the scientific exploration of

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our universe

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the launching pads and gantry's of the

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Atlantic Missile Range mount many of our

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experiments into the very nature of

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personnel please clear the launching

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this launch carried an earth satellite

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into orbit soon before the earth turns

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many hundred times a man will climb into

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a capsule of the Atlantic missile range

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and the world headlong into space why

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wireless ma'am go into space why does

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space with its belts of radiation

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meteorites SolarWinds unknown cosmic

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forces

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to explore his world man has always risk

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the unknown because it is unknown and

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man's nature is to know Project Mercury

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is a beginning for man in space it will

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take him 100 miles from the earth here

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we think there are no radiation belts

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solar winds are unknown cosmic forces

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but man the scientist the Explorer must

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see for himself each component of

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Project Mercury will be held up and

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measured in the unbending light of

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scientific truth will it work what does

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the problem of selecting pilots who

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represent the United States and space

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was approached from the same

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uncompromising direction from all of the

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active duty pilots in the Navy Marines

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and Air Force the service records are

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473 test pilots were selected for review

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110 met the basic qualifications each

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must be a graduate of a navy or Air

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Force test pilot school 1500 hours of

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flight time qualified in jet aircraft an

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engineering background younger than 40

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at the time of selection and 5 feet 11

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or less the national aeronautics and

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space administration asked 69 Navy

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Marine and Air Force officers of the 110

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who qualified to come to Washington for

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a briefing they were interviewed tested

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and asked to volunteer for the project

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mercury mission 6 were discovered to be

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too tall 16 declined and 47 volunteered

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32 were asked to continue through a

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series of capability tests which would

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indicate not the best man in the group

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but the various degrees of qualification

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32 candidates reported to the Lovelace

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clinic in Albuquerque New Mexico for an

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exhaustive series of physical

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examinations these tests were divided

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between those given under normal

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clinical procedures and a series used

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for the first time in project mercury a

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series of dynamic tests designed to

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measure the candidates abilities during

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physical stress laboratory studies were

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made in each physiological area as

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military pilots these men had passed

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yearly flight physicals but here at the

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loveliest clinic each measurable

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reaction of body chemistry each physical

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function was measured probed diagnosed

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what is the specific gravity of his body

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what is his blood volume water volume

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we are listening to his heart when the

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astronaut is orbiting in space the

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measure of his heart's contraction and

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expansion will be telemetered to the

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after a week of examinations the

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candidates were sent on to the right air

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Development Center in Dayton for stress

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this project mercury candidate is

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preparing for stress the weight of eight

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gravities will thrust upon him as he

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his reactions are studied the results

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will indicate how he fared under

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multiple gravity forces did he show a

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tendency to pull back no was his collar

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ins level low was it high now and we

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how does this affect his pulse and blood

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pressure and what about his mental

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balance his imagination his personality

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motivation

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how does he see the different problems

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of living

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and how his life affected in as an

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individual test his memory comprehension

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perception visualization asked him to

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describe himself in a hundred different

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now take him up to 65,000 feet for one

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hour in a pressure chamber now have him

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do this for five minutes they'll ask him

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to take a walk walk until his heart

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beats a hundred and eighty times a

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minute elevate the incline one degree

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every minute these tests continued until

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all 32 men had been evaluated seven men

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emerged from this competitive purgatory

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as the project mercury astronauts at

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mcdonald aircraft they saw a model of

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the space capsule they would ride into

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orbit they sat in the cockpit for the

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first time

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this is the beginning for each of them

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captain Donald case late united states

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Lieutenant Commander Alan B Shepard

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United States Navy age 35 from East

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Derry New Hampshire Lieutenant Commander

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Walter M shiraj jr. United States Navy

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age 36 from Wardell New Jersey captain

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Virgil I Grissom United States Air Force

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age 33 from Mitchell Indiana Lieutenant

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Colonel John h.glenn united states

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marine corps age 38 from New Concord

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Ohio captain Leroy G Cooper jr. United

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States Air Force age 32 from Carbondale

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Colorado lieutenant Malcolm scott

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Carpenter United States Navy age 33 from

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Boulder Colorado these officers were

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detailed by their services to report to

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the na sa at Langley field Virginia here

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the National Aeronautics and Space

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Administration space task group under

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the direction of robert gill Ruth had

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organized a training program for the

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astronauts they were excellent students

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and they had a realistic and tough

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minded approach to Project Mercury they

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had to know all the answers here they

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discussed the flight tests in the flight

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program they would ride both the red

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stone and the Atlas boosters but a man

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would not ride either booster until the

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full test program was a success

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the schedule included first instrumented

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capsules then capsules with a monkey

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aboard and then one of the seven would

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go into space the schedule also provided

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for the problems of flying near the

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earth they must maintain a proficiency

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out of this training together a strong

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esprit de corps develop they all felt

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that this must be a team effort

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involving all of Project Mercury

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recognition would undoubtedly go to the

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man who makes the first flight but the

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second third or fourth flights may

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produce far more scientific information

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soon all of the astronauts were busy

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qualifying themselves for a space flight

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they rode the human centrifuges of the

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Air Force and enable here they trained

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to increase their resistance to the

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forces of nature that were pitted

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but each new experience each small

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physical or mental victory was backed up

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by hours of classroom work the time had

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come to select the pressurized white

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suit they would wear all of the suits

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tested were air-conditioned at an

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attachable helmet and would protect the

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pilot from heat and from the deafening

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155 decibel noise of the blast-off the

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problem was to select the suit which had

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complete pressure integrity which was

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resistant to temperature and was not too

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bulky a suit which allowed comparative

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freedom of movement yet a suit which was

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completely reliable this modified US

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navy mark for suit worn by shepard was

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selected for further testing in the feel

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of space flight controls this trainer at

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n ASA's Lewis Research Center in

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Cleveland demonstrates the possible

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while the astronauts perfect themselves

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for their mission the hardware of

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Project Mercury is being tested

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evaluated reshaped and tested again off

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Wallops Island Virginia capsule drops at

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high altitude test the parachute and

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at 10,000 feet the parachute will open

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the astronaut riding its capsule will

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end in the Atlantic recovery area off

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the astronaut must learn to tolerate the

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heating he encounters during his fall

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back into the atmosphere these courts to

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among the astronauts Walter sure i is

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charged with the special problem of

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but there are some moments of rest for

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the astronauts here they sit in a

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projection room and watch the films

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taken of their visit to the Atlantic

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Missile Range cape canaveral on trips

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like this each man gathers information

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concerning his particular assigned area

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of individual study he is then

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responsible to the rest of the group for

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Oh

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Grissom's area of responsibility is the

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flight control system including the

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automatic pilot Cooper's area concerns

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the ballistic flights with the redstone

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Shepherd is concerned with tracking and

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Glenn has the cockpit area

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carpenter communication and navigation

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and slaton has the responsibility for

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knowing atlas and all of its systems the

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possibility that trouble may develop

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with the Atlas or the redstone during

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the countdown or during the take-off is

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looked squarely in the eye by the

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astronauts and the engineers behind the

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project but this booster was not a

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mercury big but imagine the worst

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possible situation for the astronaut

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that his capsule is now mounted on top

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of this Apple the escape rocket takes

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the tower the parachute opens and the

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success in a pioneer mission depends on

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optimal human performance and

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performance this is the voice of dr.

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Theodore Benzinger at the Naval Medical

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Center Bethesda Maryland they astronauts

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each take their afternoon of sweating it

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out in this gradient eat calorimeter in

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a temperature as hot as it is in here

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now for him and will later be for you

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Alan 14 degrees Fahrenheit your internal

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body temperature is protected by a

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physiological mechanism of very high

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power and precision in the submarine

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carbon dioxide chamber at that has dro

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the astronaut to learn that space

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medicine and submarine medicine have

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common problems under emergency

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conditions there is a danger of the

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presence of unusual amounts of carbon

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dioxide in the space capsule or a

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after two hours in the chamber under

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three percent carbon dioxide these men a

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time but they were convinced that they

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could function for quite a long time at

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least long enough to make a complete

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orbit of the earth and then to make an

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emergency re-entry and landing but

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before a man's life is risk in space

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animals will undergo the same

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operational stresses the animal research

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program connected with Project Mercury

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is an important core equity to research

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you

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the na sa research which created the

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individually molded couch was another

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step toward minimizing the hazard of

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this is the same man John Glenn sitting

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in his couch under 14 G's in the

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centrifuge at the naval aviation medical

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acceleration laboratory johnsville

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and this is Gus Grissom the astronauts

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consider this experience is probably the

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most important phase of their

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alan shepard as he takes the G load of

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to be able to take this physical beating

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these men must be conditioned like

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athletes and the astronauts find that

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the physical discipline of underwater

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swimming is oddly effective in training

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Navy underwater demolition team 21 of

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Little Creek Virginia supervises the

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instruction of the astronauts Al Shepard

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and Wally schirra have just completed a

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half-mile swim by compass course to the

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beach underwater swimming aside from

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being an excellent physical condition er

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accustoms the astronaut to a forced

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breathing discipline and closely

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approximates the condition of

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weightlessness which will be encountered

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now imagine if you will that you are

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watching the first project mercury

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launching at the Atlantic Missile Range

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Cape Canaveral

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at launch time the man capsule with its

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escape system is thrust into the sky by

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the two booster engines and one

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at an altitude of about 50 miles after

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some two minutes of flight the booster

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engines are turned off and jettison the

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sustainer engine continues its thrust

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toward orbital speed as the escape

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rocket fires pulling the escaped our

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orbital speed will be achieved at about

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100 miles altitude once in orbit

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explosive bolts release the capsule

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separation rockets on the capsule fire

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now the capsule automatic pilot rotates

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the capsule if the automatic pilot fails

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to respond or becomes erratic the pilot

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has controls to maneuver the capsule

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into proper orbital attitude through a

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periscope or through his window the

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pilot observes the earth below and the

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near the end of the third order when the

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capsule is several hundred miles west

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off the coast of California the signal

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for re-entry is given retro rockets fire

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causing the capsule to leave its orbital

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path now man and capsule for and meteor

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light plunged toward the earth plunging

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through the atmosphere the heat shield

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glows white hi the blunt end must be

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the low patrol aircraft sweep the

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at 10,000 feet the main parachute

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the bomb exploding some 3,000 feet under

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the ocean provides an accurate fix with

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this information patrol aircraft and

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ships converge on the spot where the

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capsule is expected to land when the

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capsule hits the water the parachute is

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released in sea dye marker spreads out

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on the surface of the water as a capsule

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floats in the see a signal light and

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automatic radio transmitter indicate the

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exact position so before the Earth turns

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many hundred times another booster will

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rest on the pad of the Cape

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and one of the astronauts will ride here

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on the shoulders of atlas this unmanned

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Atlas booster and capsule proved in the

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flight test experiment named Big Joe

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that this vehicle could perform the

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the castle without escape tower rocketed

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to 100 miles and was thrust downward to

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re-enter the Earth's atmosphere at a

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speed just below the predicted reentry

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speed the capsule was recovered the

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Atlantic Ocean the tests will continue

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the experiments of training will go on

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to put man into orbit these are the

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astronauts

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united states Project Mercury we hope

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that you enjoyed the first edition of

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the astronauts thank you for joining us

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until next time this is Lynn Bondurant