The Space Above Us

A brief look at the buildup to crewed flights in Project Mercury.

Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space as he pilots Freedom 7.

The complete air to ground transmissions, plus PAO commentary, for the Freedom 7 mission. Thanks to YouTube user lunarmodule5 for the audio. You can find his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/lunarmodule5

Gus Grissom flies the second and final suborbital flight of Project Mercury.

The complete air to ground transmissions of Mercury-Redstone 4: the flight of Liberty Bell 7.

John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth and has a close call with a potential heat shield problem.

Science moves to the forefront and Scott Carpenter moves several hundred miles past the landing zone on Aurora 7.

Wally Schirra and Sigma 7 show us how it's done and pave the way for the one day mission.

Gordon Cooper becomes the first astronaut to spend a full day in space and brings a successful conclusion to Project Mercury.

We revisit Project Mercury while trying to put it into a larger context and examine President Kennedy's decision to send us to the Moon.

High above the United States desert, the X-15 becomes America's second manned spacecraft and Joe Walker becomes the 7th American to fly in space.

We follow the X-15 on one more parabolic arc through space and learn more about the pilots who flew it and some of the amazing results of the program.

Project Gemini was America's second major manned spaceflight program and will take this podcast clear into 2017. Come learn the basics about Project Gemini before we launch into detailed looks at each mission.

Gus Grissom and John Young kick off Project Gemini and catch a bite to eat along the way.

Project Gemini continues with the flight of Jim McDivitt and Ed White aboard Gemini IV. Learn about spacewalks, orbital rendezvous, and how to open a stuck door in space!

Gordon Cooper and Pete Conrad may come to regret their slogan of "8 Days or Bust" for the groundbreaking flight of Gemini V.

Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford have to try a few times to get off the ground while the crew of Gemini VII is already waiting for them in orbit. Find out why VI-A comes after VII!

Frank Borman and Jim Lovell are in space. They've been there for a while and they've got a ways to go. Let's follow them on their incredible 14 day journey into unexplored territory of human spaceflight endurance.

Neil Armstrong and David Scott perform the first ever docking in space and then take the Gemini capsule for a spin.