Mercury Seven part-time student at the University of Maryland, College Park from 1956 to 1959. Both astronauts were ultimately awarded their bachelor's degrees after their 1962 space flights. NASA introduced the astronauts in Washington on April 9, 1959. Although the agency viewed Project Mercury's purpose as an experiment to determine whether humans could survive space travel, the seven men immediately became national heroes and were compared by "Time" magazine to "Columbus, Magellan, Daniel Boone, and the Wright brothers." Two hundred reporters overflowed the room used for the announcement and alarmed the astronauts, who were unused to such a large audience. Because they
Gang of Seven Gang of Seven The Gang of Seven refers to a group of freshmen Republican U.S. Representatives, elected to serve in the 102nd Congress in 1990. The group loudly condemned the House banking scandal and the Congressional Post Office scandal, forcing the congressional leadership to address the issues by ensuring the incidents stayed in the media and public eye. The group also criticized other Congressional perks, such as congressional subsidies for the Capitol Barbershop and Senate Restaurant. Two members of this group, Jim Nussle and John Boehner, were also key drafters of the Contract with America, which along with the banking