dscd0679.jpg

Detail of the plaque on the Project Mercury marker. It reads

IEEE Milestone in Electrical Engineering and Computing

Mercury Spacecraft MA-6, 1962

Col. John Glenn piloted the Mercury Friendship 7 spacecraft in the first United States human orbital flight on 20 February 1962. Electrical and electronic systems invented by McDonnell Aircraft engineers, including IRE members, made his and future spaceflights possible. Among the key contributions were navigation and control instruments, autopilot, rate stabilization and control, and fly-by-wire (FBW) systems.

February 2011

---