Mercury Seven Mercury Seven The Mercury Seven were the group of seven Mercury astronauts announced by NASA on April 9, 1959. They are also referred to as the Original Seven or Astronaut Group 1. They piloted the manned spaceflights of the Mercury program from May 1961 to May 1963. These seven original American astronauts were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. Members of the group flew on all classes of NASA manned orbital spacecraft of the 20th century — Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the Space Shuttle. Gus Grissom died in 1967, in the
Seven Pines Seven Pines Seven Pines and the Seven Pines National Cemetery are located in the unincorporated town of Sandston in Henrico County, Virginia. Cemetery records state the name is derived from for a group of seven pine trees planted within the national cemetery in 1869 near the intersection of the old Williamsburg-Richmond Stage Road and the Nine Mile Road, however, the name "Seven Pines" pre-dates the establishment of the cemetery. Earlier maps and records, especially those from the American Civil War, commonly refer to the location as "Seven Pines." Today, the surrounding area is still referred to as "Seven Pines" although