Q: Are the “Original Seven” astronauts all dead?
– Jean Higgins, Atlanta
A: NASA’s “Original Seven” Mercury astronauts were first announced on April 9, 1959, and included U.S. Navy aviators M. Scott Carpenter, Walter M. Schirra Jr. and Alan B. Shepard Jr., along with Air Force pilots L. Gordon Cooper Jr., Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom, Donald K. (Deke) Slayton and Marine Corps aviator John H. Glenn Jr.
The flights undertaken by these trailblazing astronauts “proved that humans could live and work in space, and paved the way for the Gemini and Apollo programs, as well as for all further human spaceflight,” according to NASA’s website.
None of the Original Seven members are living today.
Tragically, Grissom, who had been selected to command the first manned mission of what would be known as NASA’s Apollo 1, died at 40 years old with the rest of his crew in a fire during a pre-flight test in January 1967.
Slayton was 69 when he died in June 1993. Shepard died in July 1998 at 74 years old after battling leukemia. Cooper was 77 when died in October 2004. Schirra was 84 when he died in May 2007. Carpenter died in October 2013 at 88 years old.
Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth and later the oldest man in space (at 77 years old in 1998), was also the last of the “Original Seven” to pass away. He died in December 2016 at the age of 95.
Fast Copy News Service wrote this column; Keith Still contributed. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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