Bracelet, Charm, Project Mercury

This bracelet has four charms commemorating Project Mercury, America's first human spaceflight program. The charms are the Project Mercury symbol, the Friendship 7 insignia (designed for John Glenn's orbital flight in February 1962), the Aurora 7 insignia (for Scott Carpenter's orbital flight in May 1962), and the Sigma 7 insignia (for Walter Schirra's orbital flight in October 1962). These were the third, fourth, and fifth of six total flights in the program.

The bracelet's designer and owner, Cece Bibby, worked with the original NASA Mercury astronauts to design the insignia for each of their flights. She also painted the symbols on the Mercury spacecraft before their missions. Bibby designed this bracelet as a memento of that work. She donated the bracelet to the Museum in 2002.