![]() ![]() As stated in his autobiography, Schirra decided to name the spacecraft he flew Sigma 7, which he said symbolized engineering excellence. However, Schirra was assigned the next flight, the fifth Mercury mission, called Mercury-Atlas 8. ![]() "I don't think anyone knew how angry I was," Schirra wrote in his autobiography, " Schirra's Space (opens in new tab)" (Naval Institute Press, 2000). The agency's choice upset Schirra, especially because he remained in the backup position for Carpenter. But NASA selected Scott Carpenter, a fellow member of the Mercury Seven. ![]() When Deke Slayton, a World War II veteran pilot and member of the Mercury Seven, was pulled from the Mercury-Atlas 7 flight due to a heart condition, Schirra thought he would be assigned instead, since he was Slayton's backup. Schirra's assignment was to examine the life-support systems of the spacecraft and test out the spacesuits, according to NASA. Each astronaut in the Mercury program was assigned a specific responsibility to help develop the system that would be used in space. ![]()
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