15. [Project Mercury] THE "RIGHT STUFF": NASA's first three astronauts poised for launch before the Redstone rocket Ralph Morse, February 1961 Printed 1961. Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image S-61-239 or 61-MR3-52]. With NASA caption numbered "61-MR3-52" on the reverse (issued by NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.). 20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.) Historical context The first three Americans to fly in space—John Glenn, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, and Alan Shepard (left to right)—stand proudly in their Mercury pressure suits in front of a Redstone rocket at Cape Canaveral, anticipating their historic missions. These astronauts embodied the "Right Stuff," a term coined by Thomas Wolfe, symbolizing the bravery and skill of the Mercury Seven. This iconic photograph, taken by long-time LIFE photographer Ralph Morse, captures the spirit of America's early space program. On February 22, 1961, NASA announced that Shepard, Glenn, and Grissom had been selected for special training for Mercury Redstone 3, the program's first manned flight. However, NASA's Robert Gilruth had privately finalized the flight order a month earlier. Shepard became the first American in space (Mercury Redstone 3, May 5, 1961), Glenn the first to orbit Earth (Mercury Atlas 6, February 20, 1962), and Grissom (Mercury Redstone 4, July 21, 1961)—who tragically lost his life in the Apollo 1 fire six years later—flew a suborbital mission between their flights.