The emergence of the USSR and the USA as post-war superpowers drove the rapid development of ballistic missile technology. The Soviet Union's early successes in space, including launching the first satellite and sending the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into orbit, caused alarm in the USA and prompted the establishment of NASA. Project Mercury aimed to put an American into space, with the selection process for astronauts being extremely rigorous, with prerequisites including being a qualified jet pilot, having an engineering background, and being younger than 40.

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