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Mercury 4

Mercury 4

Mercury 4 was a Mercury program manned space mission launched on July 21, 1961 using a Redstone rocket. Its capsule was named Liberty Bell 7 and performed a suborbital flight piloted by astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom. It reached an altitude of over 118.26 statute miles (190 km) and traveled about 300 miles (480 km). The Redstone was MRLV-8 and the spacecraft was Mercury spacecraft # 11, the first one with a centerline window instead of two portholes.

Crew


- Gus Grissom (flew on Mercury 4 & Gemini 3)

Backup Crew


- John Glenn

Mission Parameters


- Mass: 1286 kg
- Maximum Altitude: 190.39 km
- Range: 486.15 km
- Launch Vehicle: Redstone rocket

Liberty Bell 7

Mercury spacecraft # 11, was designated to fly the second manned suborbital flight in October, 1961. It came off McDonnell's St. Louis production line in May 1960. Spacecraft # 11 was the first Mercury operational spacecraft with a centerline window. It was closer to the final orbital version than was Alan Shepard's Freedom 7.

Explosive hatch

Spacecraft # 11 also had a new explosive side hatch. This would allow an astronaut to exit the spacecraft quickly in the event of an emergency. Emergency personnel could also trigger the explosive hatch from outside the spacecraft by pulling on an external lanyard. The original exit procedure was to climb out through the antenna compartment, after removing a small pressure bulkhead. This was a difficult and slow procedure. Removal of an injured or unconscious astronaut through the top hatch would be nearly impossible. The original side hatch was bolted shut with 70 bolts and covered with several spacecraft shingles. It was a slow process to open the original hatch. McDonnell engineers came up with two different quick release hatches for the Mercury spacecraft. One with a latch, used on Ham's MR-2 and Shepard's MR-3 missions. The other design was an explosive release hatch. The quick release latching hatch weighed 69 pounds (31 kg), too much of a weight addition to use on the orbital version of the spacecraft. The explosive hatch design used the 70 bolts of the original design; but each quarter-inch (6.35 mm) titanium bolt had a 0.06 inch (1.5 mm) hole bored into it to provide a weak point. A mild detonating fuse (MDF) is installed in a channel between the inner and outer seal around the periphery of the hatch. When the MDF is ignited, the resulting gas pressure between the inner and outer seal causes the bolts to fail in tension. There were two ways to fire the explosive hatch during recovery. On the inside of the hatch was a knobbed plunger. The pilot could remove a pin and press the plunger with a force of five or six pounds force (25 N). This would detonate the explosive charge which would shear off the 70 bolts and propel the hatch 25 feet (8 m) away in 1 second. If the pin was left in place, a force of 40 pounds (180 N) was required to detonate the hatch. An outside rescuer could blow open the hatch by removing a small panel near the hatch and pull a lanyard. The explosive hatch weighed only 23 pounds (10 kg).

Window

The new rectangular window on spacecraft # 11 replaced the two 10 inch (254 mm) side portholes that were on Freedom 7. The Corning Glass Works of Corning, New York, designed and developed the multilayered panes that made up the new window. The outer pane was Vycor glass was 0.35 inch (8.9 mm) thick. It could withstand temperatures of 1500 to 1800 °F (820 to 980 °C). The inner pane was made up of three inner glass panels bonded to make the inner pane. One panel was a 0.17 inch (4.3 mm) thick sheet of Vycor, the two others made of tempered glass. This new window assembly was as strong as any part of the spacecraft pressure vessel.

Controls

The manual controls for Mercury 4 incorporated a new rate stabilization control system. This allowed fine control of spacecraft attitude movements by small turns of the hand controller. Previously a lot of jockeying of the device was needed to attain the desired attitude. This rate damping or rate augmentation system gave finer and easier handling qualities and a redundant means of firing the pitch, yaw, and roll thrusters. Before the Mercury 4 flight, Lewis Research Center and Space Task Group engineers had determined that firing the posigrade rockets into the booster-spacecraft adapter, rather than in the open, developed 78 percent greater thrust. This achieved a greater spacecraft-booster separation through a kind of "pop-gun" effect. By using this technique, the spacecraft separated at velocity of about 28.1 feet per second (9 m/s) rather than 15 feet per second (5 m/s) using the old procedure. Mercury 4 flight would take advantage of this new procedure. Additional hardware changes to Mercury 4 were a redesigned fairing for the spacecraft-Redstone adapter clamp-ring and additional foam padding was added to the head area of the contour couch. The fairing changes and additional foam were used to reduce vibrations the pilot experienced during the boost phase of flight. The spacecraft instrument panel was rearranged to provide a better eye scan pattern.

Mission description

In January, 1961, NASA's Director of the Space Task Group, Robert Gilruth, told Gus Grissom that he would be the primary pilot for Mercury 4. John Glenn was the backup pilot for the mission. Redstone launch vehicle MRLV-8 arrived at Cape Canaveral on June 8, 1961. A mission review on July 15, 1961 pronounced Redstone MRLV-8 and Mercury spacecraft # 11 ready to go for the Mercury 4 mission. Also, on July 15, 1961 Gus Grissom announced he would name Mercury 4, Liberty Bell 7. Grissom said the name was an appropriate call-sign for the bell-shaped capsule. He also said the name was synonymous with "freedom". As a tribute to the original Liberty Bell, a "crack" was painted on the side of the capsule. The Mercury 4 mission was planned as a repeat of MR-3. It was to reach an apogee of 116 miles (187 km). The planned range was 299 miles (481 km). Grissom would experience a maximum acceleration of 6.33 g (62 m/s²) and deceleration of 10.96 g (107 m/s²). The launch of Liberty Bell 7 was first planned for July 16. The cloud cover was too thick and the launch was postponed until July 18. On July 18, it was again postponed due to weather. Both times, the pilot had not yet boarded the spacecraft. On July 19, 1961, Grissom was aboard the Liberty Bell 7 when the flight was delayed again due to weather. At that point, it had just 10 minutes 30 seconds to go before launch. On the morning of July 21, 1961, Gus Grissom entered the Liberty Bell 7 at 8:58 UTC and the 70 hatch bolts were put in place. At 45 minutes prior to the scheduled launch, a pad technician discovered that one of the hatch bolts was misaligned. During a 30 minute hold that was called, McDonnell and NASA Space Task Group engineers decided that the 69 remaining bolts should be sufficient to hold the hatch in place and blow it at the appropriate time. The misaligned bolt was not replaced. The Liberty Bell 7 was launched at 12:20:36 UTC, July 21, 1961.

Liftoff

Grissom later admitted at the postflight debriefing that he was "a bit scared" at liftoff, but he added that he soon gained confidence along with the acceleration increase. Hearing the engine roar at the pedestal, he thought that his elapsed-time clock had started late. Like Shepard, he was amazed at the smooth quality of the liftoff, but then he noticed gradually more severe vibrations. These were never violent enough to impair his vision. Grissom's cabin pressure sealed off at the proper altitude, about 27,000 feet (8.2 km), and he felt elated that the environmental control system was in good working order. The suit and cabin temperature, about 57.5 and 97 °F (14 and 36 °C), respectively, were quite comfortable. Watching his instruments for the pitch rate of the Redstone, Grissom saw it follow directions as programmed, tilting over about one degree per second. Under a 3 g (29 m/s²) acceleration on the up-leg of his flight, Grissom noticed a sudden change in the color of the horizon from light blue to jet black. His attention was distracted by the noise of the tower-jettison rocket firing on schedule. The pilot felt the separation and watched the tower through the window as it drifted off, trailing smoke, to his right. At two minutes and 22 seconds after launch, the Redstone's Rocketdyne engine cut off after building a velocity of 6561 feet per second (1,969 m/s). Grissom had a strong sensation of tumbling during the transition from high to zero acceleration, and, while he had become familiar with this sensation in centrifuge training, for a moment he lost his bearings. The Redstone coasted for 10 seconds after its engine cut off; then a sharp report signaled that the posigrade rockets were popping the capsule loose from the booster. Although Grissom peered out his window throughout his ship's turnaround maneuver, he never caught sight of his launch vehicle.

Flight

With turnaround accomplished, the Air Force jet pilot for the first time became a space pilot, assuming manual-proportional control. A constant urge to look out the window made concentrating on his control tasks difficult. He told Shepard back in Mercury Control that the panorama of Earth's horizon, presenting an 800 mile (1,300 km) arc at peak altitude, was fascinating. His instruments rated a poor second to the spectacle below. Turning reluctantly to his dials and control stick, Grissom made a pitch movement change but was past his desired mark. He jockeyed the handcontroller stick for position, trying to damp out all oscillations, then made a yaw movement and went too far in that direction. By the time the proper attitude was attained, the short time allocated for these maneuvers had been used, so he omitted the roll movement altogether. The manual controls impressed Grissom as very sluggish when compared to the Mercury procedures trainer. Then he switched to the new rate command control system and found perfect response, although fuel consumption was high. After the pitch and yaw maneuvers, Grissom made a roll-over movement so he could see the ground from his window. Some land beneath the clouds (later determined to be western Florida around the Apalachicola area) appeared in the hazy distance, but the pilot was unable to identify it. Suddenly Cape Canaveral came into view so clearly that Grissom found it hard to believe that his slant-range was over 150 miles (240 km). He saw Merritt Island, the Banana River, the Indian River, and what appeared to be a large airport runway. South of Cape Canaveral, he saw what he believed to be West Palm Beach.

Reentry

With Liberty Bell 7 at an altitude of 118.26 miles (190.32 km), it was now time to position the spacecraft in its reentry attitude. Grissom had initiated the retrorocket sequence and the capsule was arcing downward. His pulse reached 171 beats per minute. Retrofire gave him the distinct and peculiar feeling that he had reversed his backward flight through space and was actually moving face forward. As he plummeted downward, he saw what appeared to be two of the spent retrorockets pass across the periscope view after the retrorocket package had been jettisoned. Pitching the spacecraft over into a reentry attitude of 14 degrees from Earth-vertical, the pilot tried to see the stars out his observation window. Instead the glare of sunlight filled his capsule, making it difficult to read the panel dials, particularly those with blue lights. Grissom felt that he would not have noticed the 0.05 g (0.5 m/s²) light if he had not known it was about to flash on. Reentry presented no problem. Grissom could not feel the oscillations following the acceleration buildup; he could only read them on the rate indicators. Meanwhile he continued to report to the Mercury Control Center on his electric current reading, fuel quantity, acceleration, and other instrument indications. Condensation and smoke trailed off the heatshield at about 65,000 feet (20 km) as Liberty Bell 7 plunged back into the atmosphere. The drogue parachute deployed on schedule at 21,000 feet (6.4 km). Grissom said he saw the deployment and felt some resulting pulsating motion, but not enough to worry him. Main parachute deployment occurred at 12,300 feet (3.7 km), which was about 1,000 feet (300 m) higher than the design nominal altitude. Watching the main chute unfurl, Grissom spotted a six inch (150 mm) L-shaped tear and another two inch (50 mm) puncture in the canopy. Although he worried about them, the holes grew no bigger and his rate of descent soon slowed to about 28 feet per second (9 m/s). Dumping his peroxide control fuel, the pilot began transmitting his panel readings.

Splashdown

A "clunk" confirmed that the landing bag had dropped in preparation for impact. Grissom then removed his oxygen hose and opened his visor but deliberately left the suit ventilation hose attached. Impact was milder than he had expected, although the capsule heeled over in the water until Grissom was lying on his left side. He thought he was facing downward. The capsule gradually righted itself, and, as the window cleared the water, Grissom jettisoned the reserve parachute and activated the rescue aids switch. Liberty Bell 7 still appeared watertight, although it was rolling badly with the swells. Preparing for recovery, he disconnected his helmet and checked himself for debarkation. The neck dam did not unroll easily; Grissom tinkered with his suit collar to ensure his buoyancy if he had to get out of the spacecraft quickly. When the recovery helicopters, which had taken to the air at launch time and visually followed the contrails and parachute descent, were still about two miles (3 km) [373] from the impact point, which was only three miles (5 km) beyond the bullseye, Lieutenant James L. Lewis, pilot of the primary recovery helicopter, radioed Grissom to ask if he was ready for pickup. He replied that he wanted them to wait five minutes while he recorded his cockpit panel data. Using a grease pencil with the pressure suit gloves was awkward, and several times the suit ventilation caused the neck dam to balloon, but the pilot simply placed his finger between neck and dam to allow the air to escape. After logging the panel data, Grissom asked the helicopters to begin the approach for pickup. He removed the pin from the hatch-cover detonator and lay back in the dry couch. "I was lying there, minding my own business," he said afterward, "when I heard a dull thud." The hatch cover blew away, and salt water swished into the capsule as it bobbed in the ocean. The third man to return from space was faced with the first serious emergency; Liberty Bell 7 was shipping water and sinking fast. Grissom had difficulty recollecting his actions at this point, but he was certain that he had not touched the hatch-activation plunger. He doffed his helmet, grasped the instrument panel with his right hand, and scurried out the sloshing hatchway. Floating in the sea, he was thankful that he had unbuckled himself earlier from most of his harness, including the chest restraints. Otherwise he might not have been able to abandon ship. Lieutenant John Reinhard, copilot of the nearest recovery helicopter, reported afterward that the choppers were making their final approach for pickup. He was preparing to cut the capsule's antenna whip (according to a new procedure) with a squib-actuated cutter at the end of a pole, when he saw the hatch cover fly off, strike the water at a distance of about five feet (1.5 m) from the hatch, and then go skipping over the waves. Next he saw Grissom's head appear, and the astronaut began climbing through the hatch. Once out, the pressure-suited spaceman swam away. Instead of turning his attention to Grissom, Lewis completed his approach to the sinking spacecraft, as both he and Reinhard were intent on capsule recovery. This action was a conditioned reflex based on past training experience. While training off the Virginia beaches the helicopter pilots had noted that the astronauts seemed at home in and to enjoy the water. So Reinhard quickly clipped the high-frequency antenna as soon as the helicopter reached Liberty Bell 7. Throwing aside the antenna cutting device, Reinhard picked up the shepherd's hook recovery pole and carefully threaded the crook through the recovery loop on top of the capsule. By this time Lewis had lowered the helicopter to assist Reinhard in his task to a point that the chopper's three wheels were in the water. Liberty Bell 7 sank out of sight, but the pickup pole twanged as the attached cable went taut, indicating to the helicopter pilots that they had made their catch. Reinhard immediately prepared to pass the floating astronaut the personnel hoist. But at that moment Lewis called a warning that a detector light had flashed on the instrument panel, indicating that metal chips were in the oil sump [375] because of engine strain. Considering the implication of impending engine failure, Lewis told Reinhard to retract the personnel hoist while he called the second chopper to retrieve the pilot. Meanwhile Grissom, having made certain that he was not snared by any lines, noticed that the primary helicopter was having trouble raising the submerged spacecraft. He swam back to the capsule to see if he could assist but found the cable properly attached. When he looked up for the personnel line, he saw the helicopter start to move away. Suddenly Grissom realized that he was not riding as high in the water as he had been. All the time he had been in the water he kept feeling air escape through the neck dam. The more air he lost, the less buoyancy he had. Moreover, he had forgotten to secure his suit inlet valve. Swimming was becoming difficult, and now with the second helicopter moving in he found the rotor wash between the two aircraft was making swimming more difficult. Bobbing under the waves, Grissom was scared, angry, and looking for a swimmer from one of the helicopters to help him tread water. Then he caught sight of a familiar face, that of George Cox, aboard the second helicopter. Cox was the copilot who had retrieved both the chimpanzee Ham and Astronaut Shepard. With his head barely above water, Grissom found the sight of Cox heartening. Cox tossed the "horse-collar" lifeline straight to Grissom, who immediately wrapped himself into the sling backwards. Lack of orthodoxy mattered little to Grissom now, for he was on his way to the safety of the helicopter, even though swells dunked him twice more before he got aboard. His first thought was to get a life preserver on. Grissom had been either swimming or floating for a period of only four or five minutes, "although it seemed like an eternity to me," as he said afterward. As the first helicopter moved away from Grissom, it struggled valiantly to raise the spacecraft high enough to drain the water from the impact bag. Once the capsule was almost clear of the water, but like an anchor it prevented the helicopter from moving forward. The flooded Liberty Bell 7 weighed over 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg), a thousand pounds (450 kg) beyond the helicopter's lifting capacity. The pilot, watching his insistent red warning light, decided not to chance losing two craft in one day. He finally cast loose, allowing the spacecraft to sink swiftly. Martin Byrnes, aboard the carrier, suggested that a marker be placed at the point so that the capsule might be recovered later. Rear Admiral J. E. Clark advised Byrnes that in that area the depth was about 2,800 fathoms (5.1 km). Substantial controversy ensued as Grissom reported that the hatch had blown prematurely without his authorization. Engineering teams concluded this was unlikely. Mrs. Grissom was not invited to the White House as per the forming tradition with Shepard's wife upon his successful mission completion. Subsequent independent technical review of the incident has raised doubts as to the veracity of the incident report conclusions that Grissom blew the hatch and was responsible for the loss of the spacecraft. There is strong evidence that the Astronaut Office didn't accept Grissom's guilt in the fact that he was chosen to command the first Gemini flight. Several years later, during an interview on April 12, 1965, Grissom said he thought the hatch may have been triggered because the external release lanyard came loose. On Liberty Bell 7, the external release lanyard was only held in place by a single screw. It was better secured on later flights. Ironically, the inability to open a hatch swiftly contributed to the death of Grissom, as well as Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee, in the Apollo 1 launch-pad fire.

Recovery of Liberty Bell 7

One day shy of the 38th anniversary (July 20, 1999), of Mercury 4's suboribital flight, a team led by Curt Newport and financed by the Discovery Channel, lifted the Liberty Bell 7 capsule off the floor of the Atlantic ocean and onto the deck of a recovery ship. The capsule was found after a 14-year effort by Newport and his team at a depth of nearly 15,000 feet (4.5 km), 300 nautical miles (550 km) southeast of Cape Canaveral and was in surprisingly good condition. Some of the interior aluminium panels showed deterioration but some fabric pieces, including Grissom's personal parachute were perfectly intact. The recovery failed to answer some of the questions surrounding the prematurely blown hatch. The recovery team ran out of time and was not able to continue the search for the hatch itself. A camera that was running during the flight was located but was found broken open and the film inside was damaged beyond repair. After Liberty Bell 7 was secured in the deck of the recovery ship, experts removed and disposed of an explosive device that was supposed to detonate in the event of the capsules sinking but which failed to explode. After the capsule was made safe, it was placed in a container filled with seawater to prevent further corrosion. The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center disassembled and cleaned the capsule and keeps it on display in their museum. Liberty Bell 7 was recovered exactly 30 years to the day after man first landed on the moon.

See also


- Splashdown

External link


- [http://aesp.nasa.okstate.edu/fieldguide/pages/mercury/mr-4.html Field Guide to American Spacecraft] Pictures of Liberty Bell 7 on display after recovery and restoration.

Reference


- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4201/cover.htm This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury - NASA SP-4201]
- [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/sc-query.html NASA NSSDC Master Catalog]
- [http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/mission_trans/MR04_TEC.PDF Results Of The Second U.S. Manned Suborbital Spaceflight July 21, 1961 (NASA)]
- [http://techreports.larc.nasa.gov/ltrs/PDF/1999/tm/NASA-99-tm209824.pdf Liberty Bell 7 Recovery Evaluation and Nondestructive Testing - NASA - December 1999 (PDF format)]

Mercury Redstone Sub-Orbital Flight Events


Category:Human spaceflights Category:Mercury program

Mercury program

Project Mercury was the United States first successful manned spaceflight program. It ran from 1959 through 1963 with the goal of putting a man in orbit around the Earth. Early planning and research was carried out by NACA, while the program was officially carried out by the newly created NASA. The name Mercury comes from the Roman god (it is also the name of the innermost planet of the solar system). The Mercury program cost $1.5 billion in 1994 dollars. See NASA Budget.

Spacecraft

__NOTOC__ Mercury spacecraft (also called a capsule or space capsule) were very small one-man vehicles; it was said that the Mercury spacecraft were not ridden, they were worn. Only 1.7 cubic meters in volume, the Mercury capsule was barely big enough to include its pilot. Inside were 120 controls: 55 electrical switches, 30 fuses and 35 mechanical levers. The spacecraft was designed by Max Faget and NASA's Space Task Group. During the launch phase of the mission, the Mercury spacecraft and astronaut were protected from launch vehicle failures by the Launch Escape System. The LES consisted of a solid fuel, 52,000 lbf (231 kN) thrust rocket mounted on a tower above the spacecraft. In the event of a launch abort, the LES fired for 1 second, pulling the Mercury spacecraft away from a defective launch vehicle. The spacecraft would then descend on its parachute recovery system. After booster engine cutoff (BECO), the LES was no longer needed and was separated from the spacecraft by a solid fuel, 800 lbf (3.6 kN) thrust jettison rocket, that fired for 1.5 seconds. To separate the Mercury spacecraft from the launch vehicle, the spacecraft fired three small solid fuel, 400 lbf (1.8 kN) thrust rockets for 1 second. These rockets are called the Posigrade rockets. The spacecraft had only attitude control thrusters. After orbit insertion and before retrofire they could not change their orbit. The spacecraft had three sets of control jets for each axis (yaw, pitch and roll), supplied from two separate fuel tanks. An automatic set of high and low powered jets and a set of manual jets, fueled from either the automatic tank or the manual tank. The pilot could use any one of the three thruster systems and fuel them from either of the two fuel tanks to provide spacecraft attitude control. The Mercury spacecraft were designed to be totally controllable from the ground in the event that the space environment impaired the pilot's ability to function. The spacecraft had three solid fuel, 1000 lbf (4.5 kN) thrust retrorockets that fired for 10 seconds each. One was sufficient to return the spacecraft to earth if the other two failed. The first retro was fired, five seconds later the second was fired (while the first was still firing). Five seconds after that, the third retro fires (while the second retro is still firing). This is called ripple firing. There was a small metal flap at the nose of the spacecraft called the "spoiler". If the spacecraft started to reenter nose first (another stable reentry attitude for the capsule), airflow over the "spoiler" would flip the spacecraft around to the proper, heatshield first reentry attitude. Suborbital Mercury capsules encountered lower reentry temperatures and used beryllium heat-sink heat shields. Orbital missions encountered much higher atmospheric friction and temperatures during reentry and used ablative shields. NASA ordered 20 production spacecraft, numbered 1 through 20, from McDonnell Aircraft Company, St. Louis, Missouri. Five of the twenty spacecraft were not flown. They were, Spacecraft #10, 12, 15, 17, and 19. Two unmanned spacecraft were destroyed during flights. They were Spacecraft #3 and #4. Spacecraft #11 sank and was recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean after 38 years. Some spacecraft were modified after initial production (refurbished after launch abort, modified for longer missions, etc) and received a letter designation after their number, examples 2B, 15B. Some spacecraft were modified twice, example, spacecraft 15 became 15A and then 15B. A number of boilerplate spacecraft (mockup/prototype/replica spacecraft, made from non-flight materials or lacking production spacecraft systems and/or hardware) were also made by NASA and McDonnell Aircraft and used in numerous tests, including launches.

Boosters

ablative The Mercury program used three boosters: Little Joe, Redstone, and Atlas. Little Joe was used to test the escape tower and abort procedures. Redstone was used for suborbital flights, and Atlas for orbital ones. Starting in October, 1958, Jupiter missiles were also considered as suborbital launch vehicles for the Mercury program, but were cut from the program in July, 1959 due to budget constraints. The Atlas boosters required extra strengthening in order to handle the increased weight of the Mercury capsules beyond that of the nuclear warheads they were designed to carry. Little Joe was a solid-propellant booster designed specially for the Mercury program. The Titan missile was also considered for use for later Mercury missions, however the Mercury program was terminated before these missions were flown. The Titan was used for the Gemini program which followed Mercury

Astronauts

Gemini program The first Americans to venture into space were drawn from a group of 110 military pilots chosen for their flight test experience and because they met certain physical requirements. Seven of those 110 became astronauts in April 1959. Six of the seven flew Mercury missions (Deke Slayton was removed from flight status due to a heart condition). Beginning with Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 flight, the astronauts named their own spacecraft, and all added 7 to the name to acknowledge the teamwork of their fellow astronauts Mercury had seven prime astronauts, all former military test pilots, known as the Mercury 7. NASA announced the selection of these astronauts on April 9, 1959.
- M. Scott Carpenter (1925-)
- L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. (1927-2004)
- John H. Glenn. Jr. (1921-)
(first American to orbit the earth)
- Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom (1926-1967)
- Walter M. Schirra, Jr. (1923-)
- Alan B. Shepard, Jr. (1923-1998)
(first American in space)
- Donald K. "Deke" Slayton (1924-1993)
(grounded in 1962 due to irregular heartbeat, reinstated in 1972 and later flew on Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975)

Flights

The program included 20 robotic launches. Not all of these were intended to reach space and not all were successful in completing their objectives. The fifth flight in 1959 launched a monkey named Sam (a rhesus monkey named after the Air Force School of Aviation Medicine) into space. Other non-human space-farers were Miss Sam (a rhesus monkey), Ham and Enos, both chimpanzees. The Mercury program used the following launch vehicles:
- Little Joe - Suborbital, robotic, and primate flights. Launch escape system tests
- Redstone - Suborbital robotic, primate and piloted orbital flights.
- Atlas - Suborbital robotic, robotic, primate, and piloted orbital flights.

Robotic


- Mercury-Jupiter - Cancelled in July, 1959 - Proposed suborbital launch vehicle for Mercury. Not flown.
- Little Joe 1 - August 21, 1959 - test of launch escape system during flight
- Big Joe 1 - September 9, 1959 - test of heat shield and Atlas / spacecraft interface
- Little Joe 6 - October 4, 1959 - Test of capsule aerodynamics and integrity
- Little Joe 1A - November 4, 1959 - test of launch escape system during flight
- Little Joe 2 - December 4, 1959 - carried Sam the monkey to 85 kilometres in altitude
- Little Joe 1B - January 21, 1960 - carried Miss Sam the monkey to 9.3 statute miles (15 kilometres) in altitude
- Beach Abort - May 9, 1960 - test of the Off-The-Pad abort system
- Mercury-Atlas 1 - July 29, 1960 - first flight of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas Booster
- Little Joe 5 - November 8, 1960 - first flight of a production Mercury spacecraft
- Mercury-Redstone 1 - November 21, 1960 - Launched 4 inches (100 mm). Settled back on pad due to electrical malfunction
- Mercury-Redstone 1A - December 19, 1960 - first flight of Mercury spacecraft and Redstone booster
- Mercury-Redstone 2 - January 31, 1961 - carried Ham the Chimpanzee on suborbital flight
- Mercury-Atlas 2 - February 21, 1961 - test of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas Booster
- Little Joe 5A - March 18, 1961 - test of the launch escape system during the most severe conditions of a launch
- Mercury-Redstone BD - March 24, 1961 - Redstone Booster Development - test flight
- Mercury-Atlas 3 - April 25, 1961 - test of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas Booster
- Little Joe 5B - April 28, 1961 - test of the launch escape system during the most severe conditions of a launch
- Mercury-Atlas 4 - September 13, 1961 - test of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas Booster
- Mercury-Scout 1 - November 1, 1961 - test of Mercury tracking network
- Mercury-Atlas 5 - November 29, 1961 - carried Enos the Chimpanzee on a two orbit flight

Primate flights


- Little Joe 2 - December 4, 1959 - carried Sam the monkey to 85 kilometres in altitude
- Little Joe 1B - January 21, 1960 - carried Miss Sam the monkey to 9.3 statute miles (15 kilometres) in altitude
- Mercury-Redstone 2 - January 31, 1961 - carried Ham the Chimpanzee on suborbital flight
- Mercury-Atlas 5 - November 29, 1961 - carried Enos the Chimpanzee on a two orbit flight

Piloted

Suborbital


- Mercury-Redstone 3 (Freedom 7) - 5 May 1961 - Alan Shepard
- Mercury-Redstone 4 (Liberty Bell 7) - 21 July 1961 - Gus Grissom

Orbital


- Mercury Atlas 6 (Friendship 7) - 20 February 1962 - John Glenn
- Mercury-Atlas 7 (Aurora 7) - 24 May 1962 - Scott Carpenter (replaced Deke Slayton)
- Mercury-Atlas 8 (Sigma 7) - 3 October 1962 - Wally Schirra
- Mercury-Atlas 9 (Faith 7) - 15 May 1963 - Gordon Cooper
- Mercury-Atlas 10 (Freedom 7-II) - October 1963 - Cancelled June 13, 1963 1963 1963

Piloted Mercury launches

1963

Mercury Flight insignias

Flight patches are available to the public that purport to be patches from various Mercury missions. In reality, these patches were designed long after the Mercury program ended by private entrepreneurs. When genuine flight patches were created by crews in the Gemini program, this caused a public demand for Mercury flight patches, which was filled by these private entrepreneurs. The only patches the Mercury astronauts wore were the NASA logo and a name tag. Each manned Mercury spacecraft, however, was decorated with a flight insignia. These are the genuine Mercury flight insignias. They were approved by the Mercury astronauts and painted on their spacecraft. Each flight insignia is illustrated in the photo above.

Follow-on programs

Miscellaneous

The Mercury astronauts trained, in part, at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia, under Flight Surgeon William K. Douglas and Keith G. Lindell (COL, USAF). Several bridges throughout the city bear the name of the Mercury astronauts, and the main route in the city is named Mercury Boulevard, honoring the Mercury program. The names of five of the Mercury astronauts are also commemorated in the popular 1960s TV show Thunderbirds. In the series, Jeff Tracy, the founder of the fictional International Rescue organisation, is a millionaire ex-astronaut who has named his five sons -- Scott, Virgil, Alan, John and Gordon -- after the real-life Mercury astronauts.

Further reading


- Gene Kranz, Failure is Not an Option. Factual, from the standpoint of a chief flight controller during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programs. ISBN 0743200799
- Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff. Sentimental, from the astronaut viewpoint, not meant to be taken as a strict history, but fascinating anyway.
- Schirra, Grissom, Glenn, Slayton, Shepherd, Carpenter, Cooper, We Seven. (ISBN B00005X54G); Simon & Schuster - 1962. Factual; a collection of articles written by the seven Mercury astronauts describing events from their points of view.
- James M. Grimwood, [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4201/cover.htm This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury]
- James M. Grimwood, [http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4001/cover.htm Project Mercury - A Chronology]
- Mae Mills Link, [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4003/cover.htm Space Medicine In Project Mercury]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930074071_1993074071.pdf Results of the first US manned orbital space flight - Feb 20, 1962 (Friendship 7) NASA report - (PDF format)]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19620004691_1962004691.pdf Results of the second u.s. manned orbital space flight, May 24, 1962 (Aurora 7) NASA report - (PDF format)]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19990026158_1999028570.pdf This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury - NASA report (PDF format)]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19630011968_1963011968.pdf Chronology of Project Mercury - NASA report (PDF format)]

See also


- Vostok programme
- Splashdown

External links


- [http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/history/mercury/mercury.htm The Mercury Project (Kennedy Space Center)]
- [http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4001/contents.htm Project Mercury A Chronology (Prepared by James M. Grimwood)]
- [http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4003/cover.htm Space Medicine In Project Mercury By Mae Mills Link]
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/diagrams/mercury.html Project Mercury Drawings and Technical Diagrams]
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/diagrams/diagrams.htm Technical Diagrams and Drawings]
- [http://www.geocities.com/atlas_missile/mercury.htm Mercury-Atlas Diagrams]
- [http://projectmercury5.moonport.org Project Mercury Simulator for the PC (Orbiter)]
- [http://youarego.com Project Mercury Simulator for the Mac]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670028606_1967028606.pdf The Mercury Redstone Project (PDF) December 1964]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19740076527_1974076527.pdf Project Mercury familiarization manual (PDF) November 1961]
- [http://www.ibiblio.org/mscorbit/document.html Various PDFs of historical Mercury documents including familiarization manuals.] Category:Manned spacecraft Category:Human spaceflight programmes
- ja:マーキュリー計画

July 21

July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining.

Events


- 1298 - Battle of Falkirk (1298): King Edward I of England defeats Scottish rebels led by William Wallace.
- 1403 - Battle of Shrewsbury: King Henry IV of England defeats rebels to the north of the county town of Shropshire, England
- 1568 - Battle of Jemmingen: Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva defeats Louis of Nassau
- 1579 - Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, was discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan.
- 1718 - Treaty of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire, Austria and the Republic of Venice is signed.
- 1774 - Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji ending the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774.
- 1831 - Inauguration of Léopold I of Belgium, first king of the Belgians.
- 1861 - American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run - At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war begins (Confederate victory).
- 1865 - In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots Dave Tutt dead in what is regarded as the first true western showdown.
- 1873 - At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James-Younger gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American West.
- 1877 - After rioting by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers and the deaths of 9 rail workers at the hands of the Maryland militia, workers in Pittsburgh stage a sympathy strike that is met with an assault by the state militia.
- 1925 - Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100.
- 1931 - CBS's New York City station begins broadcasting the first regular seven days a week television schedule in the U. S.
- 1944 - World War II: Battle of Guam - American troops land on Guam starting the battle (ends on August 10).
- 1954 - First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
- 1961 - Mercury program: Gus Grissom piloting the Mercury 4 capsule "Liberty Bell 7" becomes the second American to go into space (in a suborbital mission).
- 1963 - Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini is elected Pope Paul VI by the College of Cardinals.
- 1970 - After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.
- 1972 - Bloody Friday bombing by the Provisional Irish Republican Army, (PIRA) around Belfast, Northern Ireland, 22 bomb explosions, 9 people were killed,130 seriously injured.
- 1973 - In the Lillehammer affair in Norway, Israeli Mossad agents kill a waiter whom they mistakenly thought was involved in 1972's Munich Olympics Massacre.
- 1976 - Christopher Ewart-Biggs British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland is assassinated by the Provisional IRA
- 1978 - Big-bust model Francine Dee is born.
- 1984 - In Jackson, Michigan, a factory robot crushes a worker against a safety bar in apparently the first robot-related death in the United States.
- 1994 - Tony Blair is declared the winner of the leadership election of the British Labour Party, paving the way to him becoming Prime Minister in 1997.
- 1995 - Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People's Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan.
- 1997 - The fully restored USS Constitution (aka "Old Ironsides") celebrates her 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years.
- 2002 - Telecom giant WorldCom files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the largest such filing in United States history.
- 2003 - The last Volkswagen old-style Beetle rolls off the assembly line at Puebla, Mexico.
- 2004 - The United Kingdom government publishes Delivering Security in a Changing World, a paper detailing wide-ranging reform of the country's armed forces.
- 2005 - Clarence Richard Silva ordained to the episcopate as bishop of Honolulu.
- 2005 - Four terrorist bombings, occurring exactly two weeks after the similar July 7 bombings, target London's public transportation system. All four bombs fail to detonate and all four suspected suicide bombers escape.

Births


- 1414 - Pope Sixtus IV (d. 1484)
- 1515 - Philip Neri, Italian churchman (d. 1595)
- 1620 - Jean Picard, French astronomer (d. 1682)
- 1664 - Matthew Prior, English poet and diplomat (d. 1721)
- 1693 - Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, English statesman (d. 1768)
- 1710 - Paul Möhring, German physician and scientist (d. 1792)
- 1810 - Henri Victor Regnault, French chemist and physicist (d. 1878)
- 1858 - Lovis Corinth, German painter and graphic artist (d. 1925)
- 1870 - Emil Orlik, Czech painter and graphic artist (d. 1932)
- 1893 - Hans Fallada, German writer (d. 1947)
- 1899 - Hart Crane, American poet (d. 1932)
- 1899 - Ernest Hemingway, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
- 1903 - Roy Neuberger, American financier and art collector
- 1911 - Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author (d. 1980)
- 1920 - Isaac Stern, Ukrainian-born violinist (d. 2001)
- 1923 - Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1922 - Kay Starr, American singer
- 1924 - Don Knotts, American actor
- 1925 - Anne Meacham, American actress
- 1926 - Norman Jewison, Canadian film director
- 1932 - Ernie Warlick, American football player
- 1933 - John Gardner, American author (d. 1982)
- 1935 - Norbert Blüm, German politician
- 1938 - Janet Reno, United States Attorney General
- 1939 - John Negroponte, U.S. Director of National Intelligence
- 1943 - Edward Herrmann, American actor
- 1944 - Tony Scott, British film director
- 1944 - Paul Wellstone, U.S. Senator from Minnesota (d. 2002)
- 1946 - Kenneth Starr, American lawyer and judge
- 1948 - Ed Hinton, American sportswriter
- 1948 - Cat Stevens, English singer
- 1948 - Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
- 1950 - Ubaldo Fillol, Argentinian footballer
- 1951 - Robin Williams, American comedian
- 1953 - Brian Talbot, English football player and manager
- 1957 - Jon Lovitz, American comedian
- 1960 - Lance Guest, American actor
- 1964 - Jens Weißflog, German ski jumper
- 1968 - Brandi Chastain, American soccer player
- 1968 - Lyle Odelein, Canadian hockey player
- 1978 - Josh Hartnett, American actor
- 1979 - David Carr, American football player
- 1983 - Eivør Pálsdóttir, Faroese singer and composer
- 1983 - Kellen Winslow Jr., American football player
- 1984 - Liam Ridgewell, English footbller

Deaths


- 1403 - Henry Percy, English soldier (killed in battle)
- 1425 - Manuel II Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1350)
- 1688 - James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, English statesman and soldier (b. 1610)
- 1796 - Robert Burns, Scottish poet (b. 1759)
- 1798 - François Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt, Austrian field marshal (b. 1733)
- 1870 - Josef Strauss, Austrian composer (b. 1827)
- 1899 - Robert G. Ingersoll, American politician and military officer (b. 1833)
- 1937 - Louis Vierne, French composer (b. 1870)
- 1938 - Owen Wister, American author (b. 1860)
- 1943 - Charlie Paddock, American athlete (b. 1900)
- 1944 - Claus von Stauffenberg, German army colonel who tried to assassinate Hitler (b. 1907)
- 1948 - David Wark Griffith, American film director (b. 1875)
- 1967 - Jimmie Foxx, baseball player (b. 1907)
- 1967 - Albert Lutuli, South African politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1967 - Basil Rathbone, English actor (b. 1892)
- 1968 - Ruth St. Denis, dancer and choreographer (b. 1878)
- 1970 - Bob Kalsu, American football player (b. 1945)
- 1972 - Ralph Craig, American athlete (b. 1889)
- 1982 - Dave Garroway, American television host (b. 1913)
- 1998 - Alan Shepard, astronaut (b. 1923)
- 1998 - Robert Young, American actor (b. 1907)
- 2001 - Steve Barton, American actor (b. 1954)
- 2003 - John Davies, New Zealand Olympic Committee president (b. 1938)
- 2003 - Walter M. "Matt" Jefferies, American film art director (b. 1921)
- 2004 - Jerry Goldsmith, American composer (b. 1929)
- 2004 - Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1918)
- 2005 - Andrzej Grubba, Polish table tennis player (b. 1958)
- 2005 - Long John Baldry, British blues musician (b. 1941)

Holidays and observances


- Belgium: National holiday (1831 - inauguration of Léopold I, first king of the Belgians)
- Bolivia: Martyrs' Day
- Guam: Liberation Day (1944)
- Singapore: Racial Harmony Day

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/21 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050721.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- July 20 - July 22 - June 21 - August 21 -- listing of all days ko:7월 21일 ms:21 Julai ja:7月21日 simple:July 21 th:21 กรกฎาคม

1961

1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). As MAD Magazine pointed out on its cover for the March issue, this was the first "upside-up" year—i.e., one that looked the same upside down—since 1881, and the last until 6009.

Events

January

1881 in January 1961]]
- January 1 - The farthing coin, used since the 13th century, ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.
- January 3 - President Dwight Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba.
- January 3 - SL-1, an atomic reactor, exploded at National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho Falls, Idaho, killing 3 military technicians.
- January 5 - Italian sculptor Alfredo Fioravanti marches into US consulate in Rome and confesses that he was part of the team that forged the Etruscan terracotta warriors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
- January 7 - Following a four-day conference in Casablanca, five African chiefs of state announced plans for a NATO-type African organization to ensure common defense. The Charter of Casablanca involved were Morocco, the United Arab Republic, Ghana, Guinea, and Mali.
- January 8 - In France, referendum supports Charles de Gaulle's policies in Algeria
- January 9 - British authorities announce that they have discovered a large Soviet spy ring in London
- January 12 - President Dwight Eisenhower gave his final State of the Union Address to Congress.
- January 17 - Assassination of Patrice Lumumba
- January 20 - John F. Kennedy becomes President of the United States
- January 24 - US B-52 bomber with two 24-megaton nuclear bombs crashes near Goldsboro, North Carolina
- January 24 - Musician Bob Dylan said to have made his way to New York City after bumming a ride in Madison, Wisconsin. Dylan was likely on his way to visit his idol Woody Guthrie. He later found fame in the Greenwich Village protest folk music scene.
- January 25 - In Washington, DC John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential news conference. In it, he announces that the Soviet Union had freed the two surviving crewmen of a USAF RB-47 reconnaissance plane shot down by Soviet flyers over the Barents Sea July 1, 1960. (see RB-47H shot down)
- January 25 - Acting to halt 'leftist excesses,' a junta comprised of two army officers and 4 civilians takes over the rule of El Salvador, ousting another junta that had ruled for three months.
- January 26 - John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be his physician. This is the first time a woman held this appointment.
- January 30 - President John F. Kennedy delivered his first State of the Union Address.
- January 30 - Martin Luther King Jr. has a son - Dexter Scott King.
- January 31 - Ham, a 37 pound male chimpanzee, was rocketed into space in a test of the Project Mercury capsule designed to carry U.S. astronauts into space.

February-March

astronaut, Israel.]]
- February 3 - China buys grain from Canada with $60 million
- February 4 - The Portuguese Colonial War begins in Angola.
- February 5 - The Sunday Telegraph publishes its first issue.
- February 9 - In Congo, president Joseph Kasavubu names Joseph Ileo as a new prime minister
- February 11 - Trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.
- February 13 - Congo government announces that villagers have killed Patrice Lumumba
- February 14 - Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized (Berkeley, California).
- February 15 - A Sabena Boeing 707 crashes near Brussels, Belgium killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team and several coaches.
- February 26 - Hassan II is pronounced King of Morocco.
- March 1 - President of the United States John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.
- March 1 - First elections held in Uganda and it becomes self-governing.
- March 2 - US president John F Kennedy creates Peace Corps
- March 3 - Hassan II is crowned King of Morocco.
- March 8 - Max Conrad circumnavigates the earth in eight days, 18 hours and 49 minutes setting a new world record.
- March 8 - First US Polaris submarines arrive at Holy Loch.
- March 13 - Black and white £5 notes cease to be a legal tender in the UK
- March 13 - A dam bursts on the Dnieper river in the USSR - 145 dead.
- March 15 - South Africa withdraws from the British Commonwealth.
- March 18 - Ceasefire in the Algerian War of Independence
- March 29 - The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, DC to vote in presidential elections.
- March 30 - Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs signed at New York.

April


- April 5 - New Guinea Council of western Papua installed
- April 11 - Trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem
- April 12 - Albert Kalonji takes a title of Emperor Albert I Kalonji of South Kasai
- April 12 - Yuri Gagarin is the first human in space.
- April 17 - Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba begins, ending in failure April 19.
- April 20 - Fidel Castro announces that all invaders of the Bay of Pigs invasion have been defeated
- April 22 - Three French generals who oppose De Gaulle's policies in Algeria fail in a coup attempt.
- April 23-24 - Vasa raised in the Stockholm harbor.
- April 25 - Robert Noyce is granted the first patent for an integrated circuit.
- April 25 - General Maurice Challe, who lead the Algerian army rebels, surrenders
- April 26 - In Congo, soldiers arrest Moise Tsombe in a political conference
- April 27 - Sierra Leone is granted its independence from the United Kingdom.
- April 29 - NSW votes at referendum to retain Legislative Council

May


- May 5 - Alan B. Shepard becomes the first American in space.
- May 8 - British George Blake is sentenced to 42 years imprisonment for spying.
- May 14 - American civil rights movement: A Freedom Riders bus is fire-bombed near Anniston, Alabama and the civil rights protestors are beaten by an angry mob.
- May 16 - A military coup in South Korea - Do Young Tsang takes over.
- May 19 - Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly-by another planet by passing Venus (however the probe had lost contact with earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).
- May 21 - American civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Patterson declares martial law in an attempt to restore order after race riots break out.
- May 24 - American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.
- May 25 - Apollo program: President Kennedy announces before a special joint session of Congress his goal to initiate a project to put a "man on the moon" before the end of the decade.
- May 27 - Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister of Malaya holds a press conference in Singapore announcing his idea of formation of the Federation of Malaysia comprising Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo(Sabah).
- May 28 - Peter Benenson's article "The Forgotten Prisoners" is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International.
- May 30 - Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, totalitarian despot of the Dominican Republic since 1930, is killed in an ambush, putting an end to the second longest-running dictatorship in Latin American history.
- May 31 - In France, rebel generals Maurice Challe ja Andre Zelelr are sentenced to 15 years in prison
- May 31 - South Africa officially leaves the British Commonwealth

June-September


- June 4 - John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev meet during two days in Vienna. They talk about nuclear tests, disarmament and Germany.
- June 17 - Paris-Strassbourg train derails near Ventyr-le-Francois – 24 dead, 109 dead
- June 17 - The New Democratic Party of Canada is founded with the merger of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Canadian Labour Congress.
- June 19 - British protectorate ends in Kuwait and it becames an emirate
- June 21 - Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev requests asylum in France while in Paris with the Kirov Ballet
- June 22 - Moise Tshombe released for lack of evidence to connection to murder of Patrice Lumumba
- June 25 - US philanthropist George Vanderbilt is found dead at the base of a San Francisco skyscraper
- June 25 - Iraqi president Abdul Karim Kassem announces he is going to annex Kuwait - Kuwaiti government ask British help in June 27. British army begin to send in troops.
- July 4 - Soviet submarine K-19 explodes in the North Atlantic - 22 dead
- July 5 - The first Israeli rocket, Shavit 2 was launched.
- July 8 - Mine explosion in Czechoslovakia - 108 dead
- July 21 - Mercury program: Gus Grissom piloting the Mercury 4 capsule "Liberty Bell 7" becomes the second American to go into space (sub-orbital).
- July 31 - At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the first All-Star Game tie in major league baseball history occurs when the game is stopped in the 9th inning due to rain.
- August 10 - Britain applies for membership of the EEC.
- August 21 - Jomo Kenyatta released from prison in Kenya
- August 13 - Construction of the Berlin Wall begins. Movement between East Berlin and West Berlin remains restricted for the next 28 years, until November 9, 1989.
- August 21 – Jomo Kenyatta is fully released in Kenya.
- September 14 - New military government of Turkey sentences 15 members of the previous government to death
- September 17 - Military rulers in Turkey hang publicly former president Adnan Menderes
- September 17-18 - Dag Hammarskjöld dies in an air crash en route to Katanga, Congo.
- September 21 - In France, OAS slips an anti-de Gaulle message to TV programming
- September 24 - The old Deutsche Opernhaus in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg returned to its newly rebuilt house as the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
- September 28 - A military coup in Damascus, Syria effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria

October-November


- October 10 - Volcanic eruption on Tristan da Cunha - whole population evacuated.
- October 12 - The death penalty abolished in New Zealand.
- October 17 - "Battle of Paris": French police attack in Paris about 30,000 protesting a curfew applied solely to Algerians. Official death toll is 3, but human rights groups claim 240 dead.
- October 19 - Arab League takes over protection of Kuwait - last British troops leave.
- October 25 - The first edition of Private Eye, the British satirical magazine.
- October 27 - Armistice begins in Katanga, Congo
- October 27 - Mongolia and Mauretania join the United Nations
- October 30 - Nuclear testing: The Soviet Union detonates a 58 megaton yield hydrogen bomb over Novaya Zemlya (this is still the largest nuclear device to ever be detonated). Nikita Kruschev announces that the scientists had planned to make it 100 megatons, but had reduced the yield so as to avoid breaking all the windows in Moscow.
- October 31 - In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin's body is removed from Lenin's Tomb.
- October 31 - Hurricane Hattie hits Belize City. 400 dead, 65.000 made homeless.
- November - Despite public protest, the demolition of Euston Arch in London starts.
- November 2 - Congo government troops march into Katanga
- November 3 - U Thant of Burma elected United Nations Secretary General
- November 12 - Stalingrad's name changed to Volgograd.
- November 13 - Vladimir Yefimovich Semichastny succeeds Aleksandr Nikolayevich Shelepin as head of the KGB.
- November 16 - British Conservative government introduces the Commonwealth Immigration Bill, limiting immigration from British Commonwealth countries to Britain.
- November 29 - Mercury program: Mercury-Atlas 5 is launched with Enos the chimp aboard (the spacecraft orbited the Earth twice and splashed-down off the coast of Puerto Rico).

December


- December 1 - Netherlands New Guinea raises new Morning Star flag and changes name to West Papua
- December 2 - Cold War: In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist-Leninist and that Cuba was going to adopt Communism.
- December 5 – US president John F. Kennedy gives support to Volta Dam project in Ghana.
- December 9 - Tanganyika gains independence and declares itself a republic with Julius Nyerere as its first President.
- December 9 - The Australian government of Robert Menzies is re-elected for a sixth term.
- December 10 - Soviet Union severs diplomatic relations with Albania.
- December 11 - Vietnam War officially begins as the first American helicopters arrive in Saigon along with 400 U.S. personnel.
- December 11 - Adolf Eichmann is pronounced guilty
- December 15 - An Israeli war crimes tribunal sentences Adolf Eichmann to die for his part in the Jewish holocaust.
- December 17 - India occupies Goa
- December 19 - Goa officially ceded to India after 400 years of Portuguese rule.
- December 19 - Sukarno announces that he will take West Irian by force if necessary
- December 21 - In Congo, Katangan primne minister Moise Tshombe recognizes Congolese constitution
- December 30 - Congolese troops capture Albert Kalonji of South Kasai (who soon escapes)
- December 31 - The Marshall Plan expires after having distributed more than $12 billion in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.
- December 31 - Ireland's first national television station, Teilifís Éireann, (later RTÉ) begins broadcasting.

Unknown dates


- John F. Kennedy begins the Apollo program of U.S. manned spaceflight
- The first quasar is discovered by Allan Sandage at Mt Palomar, California

Births

January-March


- January 2 - Gabrielle Carteris, American actress
- January 2 - Todd Haynes, American film director
- January 8 - Calvin Smith, American athlete
- January 13 - Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress
- January 17 - Maia Chiburdanidze, Georgian chess player
- January 18 - Mark Messier, Canadian hockey player
- January 26 - Wayne Gretzky, Canadian hockey player
- January 31 - Lloyd Cole, British singer and songwriter
- February 1 - Volker Fried, German field hockey player
- February 9 - John Kruk, baseball player and commentator
- February 10 - George Stephanopoulos, American political consultant and commentator
- February 11 - Mary Docter, American speed skater
- February 11- Carey Lowell, American actress
- February 13 - Henry Rollins, American musician
- February 16 - Andy Taylor, British musician (Duran Duran)
- February 25 - Davey Allison, American race car driver (d. 1993)
- March 4 - Ray Mancini, American boxer
- March 8 - Camryn Manheim, American actress
- March 10 - Laurel Clark, NASA astronaut (d.2003)
- March 14 - Kirby Puckett, baseball player
- March 15 - Fabio, Italian model
- March 21 - Lothar Matthäus, German footballer
- March 23 - Helmi Johannes, Indonesian television newscaster
- March 27 - Tak Matsumoto, Japanese guitarist (B'z)
- March 29 - Gerardo Teissonniere, Puerto Rican pianist

April-August


- April 2 - Christopher Meloni, American actor
- April 3 - Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian
- April 5 - Lisa Zane, American actress
- April 6 - Gene Eugene, Canadian actor and singer (Adam Again)
- April 18 - Jane Leeves, English actress
- April 20 - Don Mattingly, baseball player
- April 23 - George Lopez, American actor and comedian
- April 26 - Joan Chen, Chinese actress
- April 30 - Isiah Thomas, American basketball player, coach, and team owner
- May 6 - George Clooney, American actor
- May 12 - Billy (William H) Duffy, English guitarist (The Cult)
- May 13 - Dennis Rodman, American basketball player and actor
- May 14 - Tim Roth, English actor
- May 17 - Enya, Irish singer and songwriter
- May 27 - Peri Gilpin, American actress
- May 29 - Melissa Etheridge, American musician
- May 31 - Justin Madden, Australian footballer and politician
- June 1 - Paul Coffey, Canadian hockey player
- June 6 - Tom Araya, rock musician (Slayer)
- June 7 - Peter Sterling, Australian rugby league player
- June 14 - Boy George, British musician and producer
- June 18 - Andrés Galarraga, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- June 22 - Stephen Batchelor, British field hockey player
- June 251 - Don Grindle Jr., Runner, Raquetball player, father, husband
- June 26 - Greg LeMond, American cyclist
- July 1 - Kalpana Chawla, NASA astronaut (d. 2003)
- July 1 - Diana, Princess of Wales (d. 1997)
- July 1 - Carl Lewis, American athlete
- July 12 - Ray Gillen, American singer (d. 1993)
- July 14 - Jackie Earle Haley, American actor
- July 30 - Laurence Fishburne, American actor
- August 1 - Steven F. Zambo, film producer, director, and screenwriter
- August 3 - Nicholas Harvey, English politician
- August 5 - Clayton Rohner, American actor
- August 8 - The Edge, Irish guitarist (U2)
- August 14 - Susan Olsen, American actress
- August 29 - Carsten Fischer, German field hockey player

September-November


- September 2 - Eric Dickerson, American football player
- September 2 - Carlos Valderrama, Colombian footballer
- September 6 - Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Norwegian guitarist (a-ha)
- September 12 - Mylene Farmer, Canadian singer and songwriter
- September 13 - Dave Mustaine, American musician (