Family Weekly
TV
KUW.WEU ET
THE ASTDBKIAyT
: 1
The Goal: I
A manned capsule orbiting the earth.
by Willy Ley
Author of "Rockets and Space Travel"
and "The Conquest of Space"
Tlc Man inside the capsule will be one of these (I to r): Lt. Cmdr. Walter Shirra, Lt. Crndr. Alan Shephard, Jr.,
Capt. Virgil Grissom, Capt. Donald Slayton, Lt. Col. John Glenn, Lt. Malcolm S. Carpenter, Copt. Leroy Cooper, Jr.
i
The question I was most often asked during af
recent lecture tour was: "What are the chances
of bringing back alive the first man who goes intq
orbit around the earth?" Here's mv answer: "IS
those in charge of the project have any doubts
about his safe return, he won't be sent out.
Sometimes I Quote an Air Foroe friend of mine
As you know, man will be preceded into space bd
a chimpanzee, and this officer told me: "After the
same chimp has come back twice in good shape,
i u go mto the briefing room and ask for a volun
teer for the manned flight."
This attitude about sums it un: the orbitaL
flight of Project Mercury will be anything but the
daredevil venture some people think it is. It will
be a feat in which PVprv fitpn Vine Vuwm nlannpHJ
discussed, criticized, and planned again, followed!
by countless preliminaries and "rehearsals."
To explain the plan, it might be useful to break
down into categories labeled "the goal," "the
man, the capsule" "the vreliminaries." and
finally, "the flight."
The Capsule will be mounted on Atlas rocket (second
from left); preliminary rockets are (I to r) Little Joe
Jupiter, and Jupiter C.
tamUy Weekly, July 5, J959