October 1957—the Soviet Union launches Sputnik. October 1958—America forms NASA. January 1959—McDonnell Corporation wins the contract to design and build the Mercury space capsule. May 1961—Alan Shepard becomes America’s first man in space. May 1963—Gordon Cooper flies the last Mercury mission. How did we come so far so fast? To find out, view the archive of this program to learn from engineers who helped design, build and successfully launch the Mercury capsule. To find a more detailed program description, a time-coded program agenda, program objectives, related national curriculum standards, pre and post-program learning activities, a second archived program, and other additional resources, click on the Educational Material tab.