Man In Space Soonest

Man In Space Soonest (MISS ) ( German for " man in space as soon as possible " ) was an American program of the U.S. Air Force to send before the Soviet Union an astronaut into space.

On June 25, 1958 nine test pilots were selected by the U.S. Air Force for the MISS program. This selection was the first astronaut selection in history. From this group astronauts of the Apollo program and test pilot of the X -15 program were later.

The plans of the Air Force before seen, with a Thor rocket with an Atlas rocket to shoot a manned capsule into orbit or later. The program was transferred to NASA when it was founded on October 1, 1958, and their responsibility for human spaceflight has been transferred. The MISS program was canceled by NASA and culminated in the Mercury program.

MISS was not successful, since the Soviet Union the first man, that Yuri Gagarin, sent with Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961 in space.

Members of the MISS group

  • Neil Armstrong
  • William Bridgeman
  • Scott Crossfield
  • Iven Kincheloe
  • John McKay
  • Robert Rushworth
  • Joe Walker
  • Alvin White
  • Robert White
North American X-15 Thor (rocket family) Project Mercury Albert Scott Crossfield John B. McKay Alvin S. White List of astronauts by year of selection Vostok (spacecraft)
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