Echoes Among the Stars: The Original Website
Echoes Among the Stars — Chapter Two
Project Mercury: Setting the Sights
“Mercury’s success would depend on the massive deployment of technology, equipment, and industrial manufacturing capability, as well as a small group of individuals who would become America’s first astronauts — and in the process, certified American heroes.” -- page 16
• Topics Covered in This Chapter
• Topics for Discussion
• Historical Context
• Possible Writing Assignments
Topics Covered in This Chapter
• President Kennedy's Role in the U.S. Space Program
• Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin Becomes the First Human in Space
• U.S. and Soviet Approaches to Spaceflight
• U.S. Mercury Program and Mercury Seven Astronauts
• Cultural Impact of U.S. Space Program
• Mercury Technology: Rockets, Space Capsules
• Alan Shepard Becomes the First American in Space
• President Kennedy Calls for the U.S. to Land on the Moon
• Liberty Bell 7: Perilous Success
• The Berlin Wall and Soviet Nuclear Tests
• Friendship 7: John Glenn Becomes First American in Orbit
• Aurora 7: A New Way of Seeing
• Sigma 7: Superb in Every Way
• Faith 7: The Long Ride
• Women in Space: Role of Women in Early U.S. and Soviet Programs
• Similarities of Early U.S. and Soviet Space Programs
Topics for Discussion
Compare the Mercury Seven astronauts to other individuals who have been thought of as “American heroes” and discuss the impact of the celebrity culture on our perception of who merits our attention and admiration.
Historical Context
The 1960 Presidential Campaign
The Kennedy Administration
The Bay of Pigs
Construction of the Berlin Wall
The Cuban Missile Crisis
Dr. Martin Luther King “I Have A Dream” speech
Assassination of President Kennedy
The Kennedy Administration
The Bay of Pigs
Construction of the Berlin Wall
The Cuban Missile Crisis
Dr. Martin Luther King “I Have A Dream” speech
Assassination of President Kennedy
Possible Writing Assignments
College
Write an essay that compares the Mercury Seven astronauts with the astronauts who flew space shuttle missions throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Contrast the experience, characteristics, and role of each.
High School
Write a personal essay explaining how you would feel if you were one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, preparing to go into space for the first time.
K-8
Describe the kind of person who you think would make the best astronaut, and explain why.
Write an essay that compares the Mercury Seven astronauts with the astronauts who flew space shuttle missions throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Contrast the experience, characteristics, and role of each.
High School
Write a personal essay explaining how you would feel if you were one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, preparing to go into space for the first time.
K-8
Describe the kind of person who you think would make the best astronaut, and explain why.
