John Glenn’s passing on Thursday means that the first seven American astronauts chosen to lead the fledging US space program in 1959 are now dead, ending a groundbreaking chapter in American history.This crew of military aviators, known as the Original Seven, or “Mercury 7,” proved that spaceflight was possible, and paved the way for the pioneering US trips to the moon. Their saga inspired the 1979 Tom Wolfe book “The Right Stuff,” and the 1983 movie classic of the same name. Here are the feats the seven are best known for, and how they died.
http://phys.org/news/2016-12-american-astronauts-dead.html#jCp
