Faith 7

The words

1. Carbon Dioxide

   Faith 7’s environmental system removed carbon dioxide from recirculating breathing gas. Postflight analysis found that uneven flow through the absorbent canister helped explain why the gas level rose late in the mission.

   pp. 2, 48 · NASA: the breathing-gas absorber (opens a new tab)

2. Coastal Sentry

   John Glenn communicated with Cooper from the tracking ship Coastal Sentry Quebec near Japan. Late in the mission, he helped prepare a revised checklist for the return from orbit.

   pp. 497, 500 · NASA history: Faith 7’s flight and return (opens a new tab)

3. Faith

   Cooper chose Faith 7 to express his confidence in the spacecraft’s technology and the people preparing his flight. The number represented the seven Mercury astronauts.

   Did you know?

   Before launch, Cooper called the mission “practically a flying camera.” The longer flight gave him opportunities for photography and a television test.

   NASA: Cooper’s final Mercury mission (opens a new tab)

4. Flashing Light

   Cooper released a small sphere carrying strobe lights to test how well an astronaut could spot and follow a separate object in space.

   Did you know?

   The experiment anticipated visual sighting during Gemini and Apollo rendezvous missions, when astronauts would need to find another spacecraft.

   NASA: Cooper’s final Mercury mission (opens a new tab) · NASA press kit: beacon and television (opens a new tab)

5. Gordon Cooper

   Gordon Cooper piloted Faith 7, the final crewed mission of Project Mercury. He later served as command pilot of Gemini 5 before retiring from NASA in 1970.

   NASA: Faith 7 mission record (opens a new tab)

6. Inverter

   Faith 7’s main inverter was a power converter for its automatic control system. A late electrical short interrupted that supply, making automatic stabilization unavailable.

   p. 500 · NASA history: Faith 7’s flight and return (opens a new tab)

7. Manual Reentry

   After electrical failures, Cooper controlled Faith 7’s orientation and return from orbit manually. John Glenn supported him by radio from the Coastal Sentry tracking ship.

   pp. 500–501 · NASA history: Faith 7’s flight and return (opens a new tab)

8. Midway Island

   Faith 7 splashed down southeast of Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean. The aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge recovered the capsule with Cooper still inside.

   Space Center Houston: Faith 7’s experiments (opens a new tab) · NASA history: Faith 7’s flight and return (opens a new tab)

9. One-Day Mission

   Faith 7 lasted about 34 hours, beginning on May 15, 1963, and ending the next day. It tested Mercury’s ability to support a day-long mission.

   NASA: Faith 7 mission record (opens a new tab)

10. Prayer

    Cooper spoke a prayer into his onboard tape recorder during Faith 7. NASA’s history places it over the South Pacific after his scheduled rest period.

    p. 499 · NASA history: Faith 7’s flight and return (opens a new tab)

11. Shawnee

    Shawnee, Oklahoma, was Cooper’s hometown. On June 28, 1963, he and his wife Trudy flew there for the community’s welcome-home celebration after Faith 7.

    NASA: Cooper’s final Mercury mission (opens a new tab)

12. Short Circuit

    A short circuit disabled Faith 7’s automatic stabilization and control system late in the mission. It followed an earlier false signal that the spacecraft had begun reentry.

    NASA: Cooper’s final Mercury mission (opens a new tab)

13. Slow Scan

    Television transmitted at a much lower frame rate than ordinary broadcasts.

    Faith 7 sent black-and-white television images back to Mercury Control Center. It was the first television transmission from an American crewed spacecraft.

    Space Center Houston: Faith 7’s experiments (opens a new tab) · NASA press kit: beacon and television (opens a new tab)

14. Xenon

    Xenon lamps provided flashes on the small beacon Cooper released into orbit. He sighted it on later passes after failing to see it immediately.

    pp. 495–496 · NASA history: Faith 7’s flight and return (opens a new tab)

15. Zodiacal Light

    Sunlight reflected by dust particles orbiting the Sun.

    Cooper’s scientific work aboard Faith 7 included observing zodiacal light, alongside experiments in radiation monitoring and photography of Earth.

    Space Center Houston: Faith 7’s experiments (opens a new tab) · NASA: sunlight reflected by orbiting dust (opens a new tab)