THIS DAY IN HISTORY: Mercury Program’s Final Mission Launched From Cape Canaveral 62 Years Ago
By Space Coast Daily // May 15, 2025
May 15, 1963
ABOVE VIDEO: Mercury-Atlas 9 was the final manned space mission of the U.S. Mercury program, launched on May 15, 1963. The spacecraft, named Faith 7, completed 22 Earth orbits before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, piloted by astronaut Gordon Cooper.
BREVARD COUNTY • CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA – A milestone in space exploration for NASA is its 62nd anniversary of the final manned space mission of the Mercury program.
Astronaut Gordon Cooper piloted Faith 7, which launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on May 15, 1963.
Cooper’s orbit around the earth on the Faith 7 capsule surpassed multiple benchmarks of previous missions.
Cooper orbited the earth 22 times and logged more time in space than the five previous Mercury missions, combined.
NASA’s mission objectives were to evaluate the effects of a lengthier stay in space during a day and a half of weightlessness.
Cooper was the first man to sleep in space. Faith 7’s 22 orbits spanned 600,000 miles and laid the framework for the ambitious Gemini program, and ultimately, the Apollo program.
For more information on NASA’s historic missions, visit our Space Coast History page.
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