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  Project Mercury form-fitted couches in museums

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Author Topic:   Project Mercury form-fitted couches in museums
Philip
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Posts: 6356
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 11-17-2025 10:29 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Philip   Click Here to Email Philip     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Which museums currently have the 1959 custom-molded Mercury astronaut form-fitted fibreglass couches which were used in the US Naval Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory centrifuge and later in actual spaceflight?

I guess the National Air and Space Museum and some military museums might have these on display or in their behind-the-scenes collection?

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 55537
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-17-2025 01:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
John Glenn's training couch is on display in McDonnell Space Hangar at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

Then Smithsonian also has Alan Shepard's training couch from the Mercury Procedures Trainer. It previously was on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

Philip
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Posts: 6356
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 11-20-2025 10:13 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Philip   Click Here to Email Philip     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Going through lots of Mercury era photographs, I see images showing a "test subject" wearing a pressure suit (Navy wing on left shoulder) in a molded couch with the name GUTHRIE on it?

Was this a NASA Space Task Group engineer, B.F. Goodrich personnel or even US Navy test pilot... probably George C. Guthrie who was involved in designing the Link trainer for Project Mercury?

Zoo Keeper
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Registered: Feb 2021

posted 11-20-2025 05:45 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Zoo Keeper   Click Here to Email Zoo Keeper     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
A couch was previously displayed at the St. Louis Science Center and another was displayed at the Astronaut Hall of Fame.

The Space Museum and Grissom Center displays artifacts from McDonnell employee "Bud" Meyer, which includes the calipers used to measure the Mercury 7 for their couches.

I do not know who Guthrie is, but can confirm there was no Mercury-era B.F. Goodrich engineer by that name.

heng44
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Posts: 3815
From: Netherlands
Registered: Nov 2001

posted 11-21-2025 02:50 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for heng44   Click Here to Email heng44     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
A list of NASA personnel involved in Project Mercury has the names of Alfred E. Guthrie and George C. Guthrie. I don't know what their functions were.

Philip
Member

Posts: 6356
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 11-21-2025 05:44 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Philip   Click Here to Email Philip     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
STG Space Task Group member George C Guthrie was involved in astronaut training (e.g. adopting the simulators). Was FIDO on missions.

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