Father, we thank you, especially for letting me fly this flight - for the privilege of being able to be in this position, to be in this wondrous place, seeing all these many startling, wonderful things that you have created.

Quaid met with Cooper before the casting call and rapidly learned his mannerisms. Cooper piloted the longest and final Mercury spaceflight in 1963. NASA career


Mercury program

While at Edwards Cooper was intrigued to read an announcement saying that a contract had been awarded to McDonnell Aircraft in St.

Cooper piloted the longest and final Mercury spaceflight in 1963. In 1965 Cooper flew as command pilot of Gemini 5. (March 6 1927 – October 4 2004) also known as Gordon Cooper was an American aeronautical engineer test pilot and one of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury the first manned space program of the United States.