Editing Man in Space Soonest

{{Short description|United States space program}}
{{Redirect|MISS}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Citations|date=May 2011}}

'''Man In Space Soonest''' ('''MISS''') was a [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) program to put a [[astronaut|man]] into [[outer space]] before the [[Soviet Union]]. The program was cancelled on August 1, 1958, and was replaced by [[NASA]]'s [[Project Mercury]]. Only two men from the program would actually reach outer space. The first, [[Joseph A. Walker]], did so two or three times (depending on the definition of the [[space border]]) in [[X-15]] rocket plane tests in 1963. The other, [[Neil Armstrong]], became a [[NASA Astronaut Corps|NASA astronaut]] in 1962, flew on [[Gemini 8]] in 1966, and in 1969 on [[Apollo 11]] becoming the first person to walk on the [[Moon]].

== Astronaut candidates ==
[[File:Man in space soonest proposals.gif|thumb|upright=1.5|Spacecraft proposals from different companies.]]
MISS would have used a [[Thor (rocket)|Thor]] booster, then later an [[Atlas rocket|Atlas]], to launch a single-man spacecraft into orbit. On June 25, 1958, the Air Force announced the following nine men selected to be astronauts for the program:<ref>[http://www.astronautix.com/flights/manonest.htm MISS' selection date] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060211165617/http://astronautix.com/flights/manonest.htm |date=2006-02-11 }}</ref>

* [[Neil A. Armstrong]] (1930–2012), 27, [[NACA]]. The only member of the group to join the [[NASA Astronaut Corps]]. Flew on [[Gemini 8]] and [[Apollo 11]] missions; performed the first docking of two spacecraft, was the first—along with [[Buzz Aldrin]]—to land on the [[Moon]], and was the first person to set foot on the Moon.
* [[Bill Bridgeman|William B. Bridgeman]] (1916–1968), 42, [[Douglas Aircraft Company]]
* [[Albert Scott Crossfield|A. Scott Crossfield]] (1921–2006), 36, [[North American Aviation]] (NAA)
* [[Iven C. Kincheloe]] (1928–1958), 29, USAF
* [[John B. McKay]] (1922–1975), 35, NACA
* [[Robert A. Rushworth]] (1924–1993), 33, USAF
* [[Joseph A. Walker]] (1921–1966), 37, NACA. The first member of the group to achieve outer space according to the [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale|FAI]], and to enter space twice, on two [[X-15]] test flights.
* [[Alvin S. White]] (1918–2006), 39, NAA 
* [[Robert Michael White|Robert M. White]] (1924–2010), 33, USAF. The first member of the group to achieve outer space according to the [[United States Air Force|USAF]].

==See also==
* [[List of astronauts by selection]]
* [[Project Mercury]]
* [[Vostok_programme|Vostok Program]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060211165617/http://astronautix.com/flights/manonest.htm Encyclopedia Astronautica entry].
* {{cite journal |url=http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/first_up.html |title=First Up? |first=Tony |last=Reichhardt |journal=[[Air & Space/Smithsonian]] |date=September 2000 |access-date=May 23, 2021}}
* [https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4201/ch4-4.htm Man In Space Soonest?] (NASA History)

{{US human spaceflight programs | before=''none'' | after=[[Project Mercury|Mercury]]}}

[[Category:Abandoned military projects of the United States]]
[[Category:Human spaceflight]]
[[Category:Neil Armstrong]]
[[Category:Proposed spacecraft]]
[[Category:1958 in spaceflight]]
[[Category:1958 in the United States]]