Vintage 11 x 14 poster of a Blue Scout rocket launch, as conducted by the U.S. Air Force and its 609A Blue Scout launch vehicle family, signed and inscribed in the borders in black ballpoint, “Best regards to Joe, from the Mercury Astronauts — John H. Glenn, Jr.,” “Virgil I. Grissom,” “Walter M. Schirra, Jr.,” “M. Scott Carpenter,” “Alan B. Shepard, Jr.,” and “Donald K. Slayton,” and at a later date in black ink, “Gordon Cooper.” In fine condition, with light creasing. An appreciably rare, highly displayable format to be signed by all seven Mercury astronauts.
Accompanied by a printed 2002 e-mail chain between Cooper and the recipient, which explains how the latter was able to obtain the other six Mercury signatures, while the astronauts and their families relaxed by the Holiday Inn Pool in Cocoa Beach in the Summer of 1961. They were all gathered there for Gus Grissom’s piloting of the Second Mercury Flight on July 21, 1961. The e-mail also confirms Cooper’s willingness to add his signature to the poster and complete the set. Cooper writes: “Lee, I would be glad to sign your pictures…but be aware that you are responsible for their safety…they are worth a lot!…good luck…you can send them to me at [Gordon Cooper’s Address].”
The missile featured, accompanying the Mercury Astronaut signatures, is a USAF Blue-Scout II that NASA had decided to modify for the first Mercury-Scout mission. The MS-1 grew out of a May 5, 1961, NASA proposal to use Scout rockets to launch small satellites to evaluate the worldwide Mercury Tracking Network in preparation for crewed orbital missions.
The extreme rarity of finding all seven autographs on the same picture or document is due to the untimely death of astronaut Gus Grissom on January 27, 1967, while perched atop a missile at Cape Kennedy. He was preparing for a pre-flight test on Apollo 1 (Spacecraft 012) when disaster struck. The Command Module caught fire and astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, who were working inside the closed capsule were asphyxiated. Grissom’s
funeral was held at Arlington National Cemetery. Dignitaries in attendance included President Lyndon B. Johnson, members of the U.S. Congress, and fellow NASA astronauts, among Others. America lost three heroes on January 27, 1967.
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