Mercury Space CapsuleMercury Space Capsule desk model. On the heels of the launch of the Russian spacecraft Vostok 1, the United States was ready to send of its own first man into space aboard the Mercury Space Capsule. Although the Russians had managed to beat them so far at every turn of the Space Race, the Americans were undaunted. The Mercury Program resulted in six succesful spaceflights, allowing the United States to gain a foothold in space that it would hold onto