Project Mercury Astronauts Could Have Been Circus People
It wasn’t always a given that astronauts would come from the ranks of military pilots. NASA couldn’t decide who would be the best type of person to strap to a rocket and shoot into space. They had to be risk-takers, they had to be able to make snap decisions and quickly react to emergencies. Astronaut Michael Collins (Apollo 11) described the discussion of what type of person would be the first astronaut, “Wait. It’s dangerous…We ought to get someone who’s accustomed to perils. We’ll get a bullfighter.”
NASA debated sending circus people or stunt performers, or athletes in high-speed and endurance sports like swimming or auto racing. But President Eisenhower felt military pilots would have the stamina and skills to perform under extreme and unknown circumstances of space flight. They had to be college educated, and graduates of an accredited test pilot school.
