NASA's Project Mercury: The Race for Space

NASA initiated Project Mercury to compete with Russian space achievements. The project involved selecting and training seven military pilots as astronauts. The Mercury capsule was developed to be controlled from the ground, with astronauts having limited control. Safety systems were innovated due to rocket unreliability. After several unmanned launches, Alan Shepard's suborbital flight was followed by John Glenn's successful orbital flight, completing Project Mercury.

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