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America's first manned space project, Mercury flew 2 sub-orbital and 4 orbital missions to build experience in the new frontier of space. Through new digital transfers of rare film, this 6-DVD set offers you a view into Mercury as never before. From a stunning new documentary to footage of development, training of the original 7 astronauts, Little Joe, development and primate flights, plus coverage of each mission including preparation, ingress, launch, onboards and recovery, this special 6-DVD set is packed with rare material. This is, without doubt, the most remarkable set we've ever produced, making available material hidden away for over 40 years.

OVER 24 HOURS OF MATERIAL ON 6-DVDs

CONTENTS:

DISC 1 - THE NEW FRONTIER

MAIN PROGRAM

Project Mercury - An original documentary detailing the development and flight history of Project Mercury.

THE ORIGINAL SEVEN

THE ASTRONAUTS - PROJECT MERCURY - NASA film on the selection and training of the Original Seven Astonauts. Features a score by the USAF Orchestra. (27:02)

SELECTION MEDICINE - Footage from several examples of the testing done during the selection of the original seven, including Carpenter, Slayton, Grissom and Glenn during testing. Audio from an interview with Dr. William Douglas, the astronaut's physician and interview with Scott Carpenter. (14:33)

SELECTION PRESS CONFERENCE - Announcement of the selection of the original seven astronauts, April 9, 1959. First audio from an interview with Alan Shepard. After press conference begins audio is from the conference. The press conference is not complete. (31:35)

WEIGHTLESS TRAINING - Footage of astronauts flying parabolas for weightlessness. Also includes early footage of volunteers investigating weightlessness. Includes footage of Cooper, Glenn and Schirra flying parabolas in an F-106. (16:59)

CENTRIFUGE - Grissom, Cooper, Glenn, Carpenter and Schirra ride the Centrifuge at Johnsville, PA, September 1960. (7:43)

PROCEEDURES TRAINER - Footage of original seven astronauts and technicians in and around the Mercury proceedures trainer. Audio from press conference announcing that Shepard, Grissom and Glenn would undergo special training for the first flights. (15:46)

FLOATING ON AIR - Cooper, Slayton, Shepard, Carpenter, Schirra and Grissom take turns operating the air bearing simulator. Audio from continuation of press conference announcing that Shepard, Grissom and Glenn would undergo special training for the first flights. (5:40)

MAN OR MONKEY - Mercury Chimpanzee training at Holloman Air Force Base, NM, October, 1960. Audio from continuation of press conference announcing that Shepard, Grissom and Glenn would undergo special training for the first flights. (5:56)

BONUS MATERIAL

MA6 FLIGHT LOOP - Audio only from the Friendship 7 flight. This audio is from the flight director's loop and also features most of the air to ground transmissions. (Approx. 5 hours)

MA7 ONBOARD RECORDER - Audio only from the Aurora 7 flight. This audio is from the onboard recorder. (Approx. 5 hours)

FIRST INTO SPACE - Footage from the early Soviet Sputnik and Vostok program. Audio commentary by Spacecraft Films's producer Mark Gray. (16:05)

DISC 2 - DEVELOPING MERCURY

RELATED RESEARCH

PROJECT MANHIGH - Footage from the USAF Manhigh Project utilizing baloon ascents to high altitude for research. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (5:20)

PROJECT EXCELSIOR - Footage from the USAF Excelsior Project furthering high altitude research through parachute jumps from the edge of space. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (5:28)

SUIT EVALUATION - Footage from the Aeromedical Laboratory evaluation of Mercury space suit options. Audio from a speech by NASA administrator Jim Webb, at an unknown location in early 1962. (27:39)

EARLY WORK

FLIGHT WORTHY - Early wind tunnel model tests at Langley for determination of the final configuration of the Mercury spacecraft. Audio from an interview with Guy Thibodeau. (17:37)

1959 ELECTRONICS - Footage showing the state of the art in electronics, 1959. Mercury spacecraft electronics being wired at the McDonnell plant. Audio from a 1959 NASA press piece on the Aims of Project Mercury. (5:22)

COUCH MOLDING - Several variations of molding techniques for the couches individually cast for the astronauts in Mercury. (24:44)

ESCAPE TOWER - Footage surrounding the development of the escape tower, including testing the solid rockets, pouring of the solid rocket propellant and assembly of the escape tower. Audio from an interview with Maxime Faget. (6:28)

PRODUCTION

CUTTING METAL - From the earliest mockups to the production line, footage from construction of boilerplate and production spacecraft. Audio from an interview with Caldwell Johnson. (42:47)

MASTIF - Footage from operation of the MASTIF training device. Audio from an interview with Scott Carpenter. (5:32)

HAND CONTROLLER - Early testing of the three-axis hand controller in the Mercury spacecraft. Audio from an interview with Wally Schirra. (7:05)

RCS TESTING - Footage of the Mercury hydrogen peroxide thrusters being fired (in a ground test). Audio from an interview with Max Faget. (2:05)

AUSTRALIA - Footage of the tracking installation at Muchea in Australia. Audio from a NASA piece on the Central Control Facility. (11:15)

RECOVERING MERCURY

REENTRY - Simulation of reentry using scale models. Shows reentry effects when entering with the retropack both on and off. Audio from an interview with Aleck Bond. (4:55)

OUT THE TOP - Footage of testing of the egress method through the top of the spacecraft, apparently at the McDonnell plant in St. Louis. Audio from an interview with Max Faget. (13:01)

PACKING PARACHUTES - Footage of the packing of the Mercury parachutes. Silent. (7:46)

RECOVERY FLOTATION - Early work on an Apollo-style uprighting bag system originally planned for the Mercury spacecraft. Shows testing of a system that did not become a part of the production spacecraft. Audio from a variety of NASA engineers on the development of the Mercury spacecraft. (15:11)

RECOVERY TESTING - Drop testing of the Mercury spacecraft recovery system. Audio from an interview with Charles Matthews. (10:06)

DISC 3 - TEST FLIGHTS

LITTLE JOE

BUILDING LITTLE JOE - Footage of Little Joe construction and assembly. Audio from all of the Little Joe tracks commentary by Mark Gray. (16:10)

LITTLE JOE 1 - 8/21/1959 - Maximum dynamic pressure abort with boilerplate spacecraft. Objective not met; inadvertant abort initiated during countdown. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (3:58)

LITTLE JOE 6 - 1/4/1959 - Ballistic flight; qualify launch vehicle structure; evaluate command system. Boilerplate. Successful. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (22:35)

LITTLE JOE 1A - 11/4/1959 - Maximum dynamic pressure abort, same as Little Joe 1. Primary objective not met. Escape motor ignition was late during reduced pressure region. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (8:02)

LITTLE JOE 2 - 12/4/1959 - Rhesus Monkey aboard. High altitude abort. Evaluate launch, abort and reentry dynamics, recovery. Boilerplate. Successful. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (8:06)

LITTLE JOE 1B - 1/21/1960 - Rhesus Monkey aboard. Maxiumum dynamic pressure abort. Same as Little Joe 1A. Successful. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (18:01)

BEACH ABORT - Spacecraft #1. 5/9/1960 - Off the pad abort. Successful, expended rocket motor and tower not separated as quickly as expected. Also contains footage of very early abort test. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (21:30)

LITTLE JOE 5 - 11/8/1960 - Maximum dynamic pressure abort. Object not met. Spacecraft did not separate from launch vehicle. Spacecraft #3. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (2:07)

LITTLE JOE 5A - 3/18/1961 - Maximum dynamic pressure abort. Objective not met. Escape rocket ignited early. Spacecraft #14. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (2:29)

LITTLE JOE 5B - 4/28/1961 - Maximum dynamic pressure abort. Successful. Spacecraft #14A. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (5:15)

REDSTONE

MR-1- The "tower flight," including preparation and "launch." Audio from an interview with Max Faget. (8:33)

MR-1A - Including footage of preparation and launch. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (6:44)

MR-2 - Footage of preparation and launch of Ham the chimp, and recovery. Audio from post-flight press conference. (17:23)

MR-BD - Footage of the last unmanned Mercury Redstone, including preparation and launch. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (12:01)

ATLAS

ATLAS THE ICBM - Air Force documentary on the development of the Atlas ICBM, especially in the year 1957. (26:58)

BIG JOE - Test of spacecraft integrity and aerodynamics. Audio from an interview with Aleck Bond. (14:32)

MA-1 - Includes preparation of the launch vehicle, spacecraft, and launch, and footage of the pieces remaining after explosion. Audio from an interview with Aleck Bond. (14:58)

MA-2 - Includes preparation of the spacecraft, girdle band, and launch. Audio from the post flight press conference. (12:46)

MA-3 - Includes launch preparations, launch and explosion, as range safety destroyed the vehicle 40 seconds after liftoff. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (21:59)

MA-4 - Includes pad preparation, spacecraft work, launch, onboard footage, and recovery of the spacecraft. Audio from an interview with Max Faget. (16:26)

MA-5 - Includes preparation, launch, onboard footage, and recovery of the flight of Enos the chimpanzee. Audio from post flight press conference, including announcement of John Glenn as the astronaut to make the first orbital flight. (20:39)

SCOUT

MERCURY/SCOUT - Footage surrounding the unsuccessful Mercury/Scout launch test, November 1, 1961. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (9:28)

DISC 4 - SUBORBITAL

FREEDOM 7

REDSTONE BOOSTER - Work on the Redstone booster MR-7. (Note that the booster # and the mission # did not agree). Audio from a VOA program on the Mercury Redstone booster. (16:04)

MR-3 SIMULATION - Footage from a simulated flight of the MR-3 mission. Audio from the Kennedy medal presentation after the flight to Commander Shepard (from the ground up). (6:22)

LAUNCH DAY- Suitup, transfer to pad and ingress for MR-3. Audio from pre-flight interview with Alan Shepard. (30:56)

LAUNCH - Multi-Angle launch views. Audio from air to ground transmissions. (7:17)

MERCURY CONTROL - Mercury control during the flight of Freedom 7. Audio from post flight program on the MR-3 mission. (13:01)

ONBOARD FREEDOM 7 - Onboard pilot observation camera and instrument panel footage synchronized in real time to the MR-3 air to ground audio. This is a multi-angle track. Angle 1 features the pilot observation camera. Angle 2 is the instrument panel camera. Use your DVD remote control's angle button to select the view. (21:25)

RECOVERY - Aboard the U.S.S. Lake Champlain. Includes footage from the carrier and from Grand Turk, Bahama after the flight. Audio from a post-flight program on the results of the MR-3 flight. (14:37)

AFTERMATH - Footage from Alan Shepard's post-Mercury career, including his Apollo 14 flight.

LIBERTY BELL 7

PREPARATION - Pad work for MR-4, including blockhouse visit, pad preparations and simulated flight. Audio from preflight interview with Gus Grissom. (9:22)

HATCH TEST - Demonstration of the explosive Mercury hatch prior to the launch of MR-4. Audio from preflight interview with Gus Grissom. (5:59)

LAUNCH DAY- Suitup, transfer to pad and ingress. Audio from post flight program on the results of the MR-4 mission and the 1961 achievements in space, and a preflight interview with Gus Grissom. (24:57)

LAUNCH - Multi-angle views of the launch of Gus Grissom aboard Liberty Bell 7. Audio from air to ground transmissions. (9:24)

RECOVERY - Footage of the recovery and loss of Liberty Bell 7, including footage of Grissom on board the U.S.S. Randolph. Audio from air to ground transmissions. (29:34)

AFTERMATH - Footage from Gus Grissom's future career, including his Gemini 3 mission and the Apollo 1 fire.

DISC 5 - INTO ORBIT

FIRST AMERICAN INTO ORBIT

109D BOOSTER- The Atlas booster being erected at pad 14. Includes spacecraft stacking. Audio from a NASA piece on the Atlas booster, including audio from the launch preparations of the Atlas for the MA-6 flight. (29:31)

SIMULATED FLIGHT - John Glenn simulation prior to the MA-6 flight. Audio from an interview with John Glenn. (9:46)

ALTITUDE CHAMBER - The Friendship 7 spacecraft undergoing altitude chamber testing. Audio from postflight program on the MA-6 flight. (13:28)

SPACECRAFT - Preparation on the spacecraft, including work on the retropack, and the painting of the Friendship 7 insignia being painted by Cece Bibby on the side of the Spacecraft. Audio from interview with Dr. Robert Voas, a psychologist who joined the space task group in 1958, along with a post flight report on the flight. (35:33)

MA-6 SCRUB - Footage from the January scrub of the MA-6 flight. Silent. (12:57)

LAUNCH DAY - Preparations for and ingress into Friendship 7. Audio from pre-flight interview with Flight Surgeon Douglas and pre-flight flight director's loop. (33:44)

LAUNCH - Multi-angle view of the launch of Friendship 7. Audio from air to ground audio and flight director's loop. (7:57)

MERCURY CONTROL - Footage in Mercury Control during the MA-6 mission. Audio from pre-flight interveiw with Chris Kraft and flight director's loop after orbital insertion. (10:03)

ABOARD FRIENDSHIP 7- Onboard film from the flight. Audio from air to ground audio during the flight. (34:41)

RECOVERY - Pickup by the destroyer U.S.S. Noa, Glenn being airlifted off, and activities at Grand Turk after recovery. Audio from air to ground audio and flight director's loop. (17:02)

AFTERMATH - Footage from the New York ticker-tape parade after the flight of Friendship 7. (2:33)

AURORA 7 (MA-7)

PREPARATION - Including footage of the installation of retro rockets and erection of the spacecraft on the launch vehicle. Audio from interview with Scott Carpenter. (23:30)

ALTITUDE CHAMBER - With footage of original MA-7 prime crew member Deke Slayton in altitude chamber with spacecraft #18, and footage with crew member Scott Carpenter. Audio from interview with Scott Carpenter. (5:14)

LAUNCH DAY - From breakfast to suitup to transfer to the pad and ingress. Preparations for the second U.S. manned orbital mission. Audio from postflight program on MA-7 mission and onboard recorder. (16:55)

LAUNCH - Multiple views of the launch of Scott Carpenter aboard Aurora 7. Audio from onboard recorder. (8:14)

MERCURY CONTROL - Footage from Mercury Control during the MA-7 mission, including the recovery control room during the search for Carpenter. Audio from onboard recorder. (13:12)

ONBOARDS - Onboard footage from MA-7. Note that the footage was damaged by immersion in sea water, and is of poor quality. Audio from MA-7 onboard voice recorder. (11:36)

RECOVERY - Aurora 7 at sea after being found by recovery forces. Includes rare footage of Carpenter aboard the recovery helicopter, and back aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid. Also includes recovery of the spacecraft, and considerable footage of the recovery force. Audio from air to ground tranmissions. (18:17)

AFTERMATH - Footage of the Carpenter family visiting President Kennedy, as well as footage from Carpenter's future career with Sealab. (10:27)

DISC 6 - EXTENDING THE EXPERIENCE

SIGMA 7 (MA-8)

SCHIRRA SKIS - Astronaut relaxation, with Wally Schirra water skiing prior to his flight. (4:14)

PREPARATION - Activities surrounding the preparation of the Sigma 7 spacecraft. Audio from interview with Wally Schirra. (37:53)

SUIT PREPARATION - Footage of Schirra in testing of his suit prior to the mission. Audio from Mercury Control during the flight. (3:37)

TEST FIRING - Booster 113 D test firing at pad 14. Silent. (6:41)

SIMULATED FLIGHT - Footage from a simulated flight of the MA-8 mission. Audio from a postflight program summary of the MA-8 flight. (9:04)

LAUNCH DAY - Launch day activities for MA-8, including transfer to pad and ingress. Audio from Mercury Control during the countdown for the mission. Note that audio begins a short time after video. (15:31)

LAUNCH - Multiple views of the MA-8 launch. Audio from MA-8 onboard voice recorder. (8:00)

ONBOARD - Onboard film from the MA-8 mission. Audio from MA-8 onboard voice recorder. (24:15)

RECOVERY - Pickup of the spacecraft and egress of Schirra aboard ship. Audio from onboard recorder during recovery. (16:59)

AFTERMATH - Footage of Schirra's future career in space, including his Gemini VI and Apollo VII flights.

THE FLIGHT OF SIGMA 7 - Audio from the MA-8 onboard recorder (complete mission). (Approx. 9 hours)

FAITH 7 (MA-9)

TELEVISION CAMERA - Footage showing the slow-scan television camera carried aboard Faith 7. Audio commentary by Mark Gray. (4:29)

PREPARATION - Activities surrounding the preparation of the Faith 7 spacecraft. Audio from interview with Gordon Cooper. (43:04)

SUIT PREPARATION - Gordo Cooper during suit testing and preparation for MA-9. Silent. (7:05)

SCRUB - Footage from the MA-9 launch scrub. Silent. (8:44)

LAUNCH DAY - Footage of the pre-launch activities on the MA-9 mission, including suitup, transfer to pad and ingress. Audio from postflight program on the MA-9 flight. (21:54)

LAUNCH - Multiple views of the MA-9 launch. Audio from air to ground transmissions. (5:11)

ONBOARD - Onboard film from the MA-9 mission. Audio from air to ground transmissions, partial. (8:31)

RECOVERY - Footage of the recovery of the Faith 7 spacecraft and astronaut Cooper. Audio from postflight program on the flight of MA-9. (22:01)

AFTERMATH - Footage of Cooper's future career with NASA including his Gemini V flight.

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