Spam in a Can
Yeager’s quip about not having a lot of control hit on a sore spot with the Mercury astronauts. Despite the competitive selection process, extensive piloting experience, and intense training, NASA had no plans to actually let them fly anything. The whole flight was supposed to be fully automated from Mission Control. According to author Thomas Wolfe in The Right Stuff, his chronicle of the Mercury program, “The commanding officer at Edwards [Air Force Base] passed the word around that he wanted his top boys, the test pilots in Fighter Ops, to avoid Project Mercury because it would be a ridiculous waste of talent.” Yeager, deploying his quick and ferocious wit, dubbed the Mercury astronauts “Spam in a can.” The Mercury pilots were simply payload, with no active role in controlling the capsule. NASA would shoot them into space, where they would hang around like tourists while NASA controlled the flight.