"Why would they be willing to sit on that 'big candle' and wait for someone else to light the 'lead'?"
To answer this question, "pioneer of nonfiction writing, Tom Wolfe," wrote a documentary novel about astronauts, The Right Stuff.
△ Tom Wolfe
The National Geographic Channel adapted the novel into a space-themed drama "Space Pioneer", and last month the new drama was launched on the streaming platform Disney+, which attracted the attention of many people.
The series is produced by the production company of "Little Plum" Leonardo DiCaprio, who is himself the chief producer of the work.
Space Pioneer focuses on The Mercury Program, the first U.S. manned spaceflight program from 1959 to 1963, and shows us the challenges of training, selecting, and performing missions for the first astronauts in U.S. space history.
△ "Mercury Project" astronaut seven-person group
The show found seven big handsome guys to play the seven original American astronauts of the year.
△ Stills from "Space Pioneer"
After examining the real lives of these astronauts, we found that the story of each of them is much better than what is told in "Space Pioneer"!
Most of these people have lived a long life, and basically participated in and witnessed the process of THE establishment and development of NASA.
From Earth to space, each of them has left a unique mark, some hilarious, some regrettable.
Below, in the order of the first flight into space, I will introduce some of the "strange things" that have happened in the seven daring lives;
These short stories can not only give you a glimpse of the different personalities of the original "Thorn Head" astronauts, but also let you feel the history of NASA when it was founded.
01
Alan Shepard
Alan Bartett Shepard Jr.
In 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to go into space — because of the former "first man in space" Soviet astronaut Alexei Leonov, Shepard could only rank second in the world;
And he was in suborbital Earth for less than 16 minutes.
△ Alan Shepard in the Mercury Program Liberty 7 spacecraft on May 5, 1961
Recalling that mission, Shepard once said: "I didn't really feel successful until the recovery was completed; the landing was not painful, the pain was the moment of sudden stop." ”
△ In May 1961, Mercury-Redstone 3, the first U.S. manned space mission, sent helicopters to recover the mission module
△ Alan Shepard returning victoriously
Two years later, in 1963, he was diagnosed with Meniere's syndrome (symptoms such as dizziness, poor sense of direction, and nausea caused by high pressure in the inner ear).
Shepard tried to conceal it, but suddenly became dizzy during a lecture, had to confess his condition to NASA's mission director, and was disbarred.
Shepard then had to focus on civilian work. He was appointed Chief of NASA Astronaut Office (Chief Astronaut) to arrange training, dispatch personnel, and evaluate space equipment.
In the summer of 1968, Shepard heard that someone had developed a treatment for Meniere's disease, and he felt that this was his last chance.
He quietly flew to Los Angeles and undertook the operation without authorization at great risk, which turned out to be particularly successful.
In 1969, Shepard reinstated his flight permits. He used his administrative position in NASA to mediate several times to arrange for his participation in the Apollo program.
Eventually, at the age of 48, he entered the three-person squad of Apollo 14.
△ The "old" Shepard in the Apollo 14 lunar landing team (middle)
As it turns out, ginger is still old spicy:
During the landing on the moon, the Apollo 14 lunar module radar failed briefly, and Shepard successfully landed with the lunar module, no more than 49 meters from the scheduled landing site, becoming the most accurate landing in the entire Apollo program.
△ Shepard posing next to the national flag after the successful moon landing
Before the launch, he thought "the whole job": he hid 6 golf club heads in socks and smuggled them into the spacecraft.
After the second exit, Shepard connected the club head and the digging tool handle together and hit two balls on the surface of the moon, completing the only lunar golf in human history.
△ Shepard plays "Moon Golf"
The bulky spacesuit allowed him to only hit the ball with one hand, and the first ball he failed to swing twice, flying only a few meters.
The second one flew about 180 meters. He jokingly called the ground control center "miles and miles and miles."
02
Virgil Gleason
Virgil Iran “Gus” Grissom
Virgil Gleason was the second American astronaut to land in space, but he is remembered for a major accident.
On January 27, 1967, the Apollo 1 command module on top of the Saturn 1B carrier rocket at Launch Pad 34 cape Canaveral in Florida, United States, suddenly caught fire.
Three astronauts—Commander Virgil Gleason, senior pilot Edward White, and pilot Roger Chaffee—were killed in 17 seconds.
△ Classic photo before the accident: Three people praying to Apollo 1, with Virgil Gleason in the middle
At the time of the accident, surveillance personnel could see the astronauts inside the spacecraft instantly engulfed in flames and smoke from the CCTV.
It took nearly 5 minutes for rescuers to open the hatch, but it was too late.
△ Command module wreckage
NASA later organized an independent investigation committee to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident, and it was concluded that the cause of the accident may be a short circuit in a line or an electric spark caused by an overloaded current.
In the pure oxygen pressurized environment in the cabin, coupled with the use of combustible materials in the interior decoration of the spacecraft, the fire broke out instantly, taking the lives of three astronauts in just a few seconds.
After the investigation report came out, NASA made major changes and improvements to the spacecraft's design, including the pure oxygen environment and hatch, to ensure that similar errors would not occur in the future.
Before the accident, Virgil Gleason had said:
"If we die, hopefully people will be able to accept that; if anything unexpected happens to us, hopefully the execution of the project will not be delayed." Conquering space is worth risking your life. ”
△ Apollo 1 commemorative coin inscribed with Gleason's phrase "Conquering space is worth risking your life"
03
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn Jr.
John Glenn was the first American astronaut of the Seven to land in Earth orbit, earning him many accolades.
△ After completing the "Earth Orbit" mission, John Green traveled with Kennedy Jr
And what's remarkable is that Glenn is very eloquent, which is shown in "Space Pioneer".
△ In "Space Pioneer", John Green is played by American drama star Patrick Adams
After retiring in 1964, he entered politics as a senator. During his time in Congress, he was a staunch supporter of the U.S. aerospace program.
△ Senate Glenn
In 1998, on the eve of his retirement from the Senate, 77-year-old John Glenn flew the STS-95 mission with the Space Shuttle Discovery, making him the oldest man in the history of spaceflight.
During the 9-day space flight, he participated in several scientific experiments to allow scientists to assess the effects of space flight on older adults.
After Glenn's death in 2016, "Godspeed" became a buzzword, a famous blessing he received when he flew around the earth in 1962.
04
Scott Carpenter
Malcolm Scott Carpenter
After executing the Mercury program, Scott Carpenter went in the exact opposite direction to space.
In the summer of 1965, he participated in the SEALAB II (Submarine Laboratory) program as a "deep-sea astronaut" and became a deep diver, achieving the achievement of "heaven into the sea".
During the 45-day trial, he lived and worked on the seabed for 30 days, and then returned to the Deep Diving Systems program during the SEALAB III program.
△ Carpenter's underwater life
In 1997, the submarine experimental station named after him became one of the only four submarine research sites in the world at that time.
Scott Carpenter Submarine Experiment Station
During the stS-95 mission mentioned above, the Scott Carpenter Experimental Station carried out 11 days of uninterrupted submarine stay operations during the same period, realizing an alternative "sky-sea linkage".
Among the participants in the undersea base at that time was a famous deep-sea fan, director James Cameron.
Director Cameron is an active participant in the undersea mission
05
Walter Schella
Walter “Wally” Marty Schirra, Jr.
Walter Schella's space career was relatively smooth, and he was the only astronaut who flew missions in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, witnessing every stage of NASA's early development.
During the Apollo 7 mission, Schyela had a "famous" cold in space, and at the direction of a flight surgeon, he took Actifed cold medicine and cured it.
A few years later, he became a spokesperson for Actifed, appearing in television commercials to advertise products.
06
Golden Cooper
Leroy Gordon “Gordo” Cooper, Jr.
Golden Cooper's earliest fame came from the time he spent in space: from May 15 to 16, 1963, he spent 34 hours and 20 minutes in the universe, ending Project Mercury early.
But throughout NASA, the most famous is probably his temper tantrums.
A biography published in 2004 details a "very low-altitude flight" by Golden Cooper:
The Mercury-Cosmos 9 mission in 1963 was selected to be carried out by Golden Cooper, two days before launch, when Cooper learned that his spacesuit had been adjusted, but no one had asked for his opinion.
He argued that the move violated the unwritten rule that "spacesuits tailored to each person may not be modified without the consent of astronauts."
To show his attitude, he jumped into an F-106 fighter jet and flew at a very low altitude over the NASA building at Cape Canaveral, scaring the NASA executives who were in the building at the time to the point of almost having a heart attack.
△ The F-106 fighter jet was used to accumulate astronauts' flight hours
Subsequently, NASA management held an emergency meeting to discuss whether to disqualify Cooper from his mission.
However, a number of astronauts in the astronaut's office stepped forward to support Golden Cooper, so that the "low flight" incident was not resolved, and Cooper carried out the Mercury-Cosmos 9 mission as originally planned.
07
Dick Slayton
Donald Kent 'Deke' Slayton
Dick Slayton, the only astronaut of the seven who had not been on a mission to Project Mercury, was banned from flying after being diagnosed with heart problems (congenital atrial fibrillation).
Slayton retired from the Air Force in 1963 and continued to work for NASA as a civilian, responsible for astronaut selection.
He played a decisive role in the selection of astronauts for the Gemini and Apollo programs, even including deciding who would be the first to land on the moon.
Slayton has always been concerned about the other Mercury Program Six who continue to serve as astronauts, always ensuring that they will be able to get the mission, including the "low fly" incident mentioned above, and Slayton has also sided with Golden Cooper.
With advances in medical technology, Slayton's space career took a turn for the better.
In 1973, after a long period of medical treatment, Slayton was finally cured and granted a flight permit.
At the age of 49, he chose himself as the docking module pilot of the Apollo-Soyuz, responsible for testing the orbital docking of the American Apollo spacecraft with the Soviet Union's Soyuz spacecraft.
△ Ready to go Slayton
On July 17, 1975, the spacecraft of the two countries successfully docked in earth orbit, the United States and Soviet astronauts shook hands in space, and space exploration entered the stage of national cooperation.
Slayton and Soviet cosmonaut Aleksey A. Leonov
△ From "competition" to cooperation
Today, the generational changes in space exploration have changed rapidly, and it may be difficult for us to see such self-made astronauts as these old seven.
If you want to learn more about the stories of several astronauts in Space Pioneer, Disney+ will also launch a documentary "Real Space Pioneer" on November 20th, which is worth paying attention to for space fans!