Mercury-Atlas 9, final NASA solo mission, launched 1963

Mercury-Atlas 9 launched on May 15, 1963 from Cape Canaveral with astronaut Gordon Cooper in the Faith 7 spacecraft.  It was the final crewed mission of the Mercury program and the last time an American was launched alone on a solo mission. 

Gordon passed Wally Schirra's original record of seven orbits, completing twenty-two during the 34-hour mission. Gordon conducted radiation experiments, recorded status reports, took pictures, and dined on powdered roast beef mush and water.

On May 16, Faith 7 splashed down four miles from the recovery ship, USS Kearsarge, the most accurate landing to date.  The Mercury program had fulfilled all its mission objectives.

Gordon Cooper, Mercury/Gemini astronaut born 1927

Gordon Cooper, born March 6, 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, was one of the first original astronauts chosen for Project Mercury, the first manned space program for the U.S.  He flew on the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 (Faith 7) in May 1963.  It was also the longest Mercury flight, and he was the first American to get to sleep during a mission, which lasted 34 hours.  This flight marked the last time an American was to be launched on a solo orbital mission.

In August 1965, Cooper flew as Command Pilot of Gemini V with Pete Conrad.  The mission lasted eight days, setting a new record, demonstrating that astronauts could survive in space for the time necessary to fly to the moon and back.

Cooper retired from NASA in 1970.  He passed away in October 2004 from heart failure at age 77.  He had contracted Parkinson's disease prior to his death.