Question: Who was the first man sent to space?
About the article "NASA", section "Project Mercury (1959–63)".

Candidate passages:
The script was an original story called "Satellite of Blood" by Wyott Ordung.
He showed the script to AIP who did not want to make it; however Alex Gordon of AIP sent it over to his brother Richard who decided to produce it himself. 
As of June, 2013, 57 women have flown in space, out of 534 total space travelers.
By country of origin: one each from India, UK, France, South Korea; two each from Canada, China and Japan, three from Soviet Union/Russia, and 44 from the United States.
The length of time between the first-ever man in space and first woman in space was just over two years between Vostok1 and Vostok6, whereas the length of time between the first American man and first American woman in space was 22 years between Freedom 7 and Space Shuttle Challenger STS-7.
For China, this interval was almost eight and a half years between the Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 9 space missions.
The first Briton, the first South Korean, and the first Iranian in space were all women.
While the Soviet Union sent the first two women into space, only three of all the women in space have been Russian or Soviet.
However, the British, French, South Korean and Iranian women all flew as part of the Soviet or Russian space program.
The Canadian, Indian, Japanese and most of the American female astronauts flew as part of the US space program.
A span of 19 years separated the first and second Soviet women in space, which is also the same span for the first and second women in space, they being the same cosmonauts on the same missions, Vostok 6 and Soyuz T-7.
A span of 1 year separated the first and second American women in space.
While the first American woman in space was separated from the first woman in space by 20 years.
A span of one year separated the first and second Chinese women in space, taking place on consecutive missions, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10.
The first Chinese woman was launched 49 years to the day after the first woman in space. 
Franz Radzik, a scientist who created an electro-magnetic ray machine to transfer his mind into a gorilla’s body was known as Gorilla-Man.
He was sent into deep space on an experimental rocket ship and first appeared in "Tales to Astonish" vol.
1 #28 and 30.
The former story was reprinted in "Adventure into Fear" #5.
The latter in "Gorilla Man #3".
This is not to be confused with a story from "Strange Tales" #1.
In it, a man who admires evil things is injected with a formula by an evil scientist which turns him into an ape, as he hopes to become a creature of evil.
A student is knocked out by the evil man.
He is tied to a chair and gagged at the home of the scientist.
The mind of the man is sent back through the ages as he becomes an ape.
However, the other man is able to free himself.
He breaks the scientist's neck, but is captured and caged. 
 The world's first reusable spacecraft, the space shuttle "Columbia" was launched from Cape Canaveral at 7:00 a.m. EST.
As one historian noted later, "Never before in the history of the space program had NASA asked its astronauts to pilot a rocket or a spacecraft into space on its maiden voyage... NASA engineers counted 748 different ways in which the two astronauts on the maiden voyage of the space shuttle "Columbia" could die.".
John Young, who had gone into space four times before, and Robert Crippen, who would fly three more shuttle missions, reached orbit and returned two days later.
Delayed several times, the liftoff came 20 years to the day after Yuri Gagarin had become the first man to be sent into outer space, on the April 12, 1961 liftoff of Vostok 1.
Died: Joe Louis, 66, American heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949; the night before, he had watched Larry Holmes defeat challenger Trevor Berbick in Lasa Vegas  
The Space Phantoms are the servants of Immortus, the Master of Time.
For many years it was assumed that there was only one Space Phantom, but in the course of the Destiny War the Avengers discovered that there was more than one.
During a journey back in time to 1873, a trio of Space Phantoms was caught impersonating the Gunhawks and the Black Rider.
The Space Phantoms were previously said to have originated on the planet Phantus, in the Phalbo system in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Immortus traps individuals who become lost in Limbo, and due to the nature of that plane, they begin to forget their former lives and change into misshapen beings.
Immortus conditions these into servants who can perpetuate his schemes and manipulations of historical events.
The Phantoms can assimilate anyone, even to the point of torture and escaping notice of even mind-readers.
The first Space Phantom first appeared in "Avengers" vol.
1, #2, copying Giant-Man, Iron Man, and Hulk.
During his battle with the Avengers, he first copied the Hulk, and battled Iron Man.
He took the shape of a flying insect to escape, but Iron Man continued to battle the Hulk.
The Space Phantom attacked the Wasp in his insect form, and then became Giant-Man.
After fighting Iron Man he took Iron Man's form.
He finally attempted to copy Thor and was banished back to Limbo because his powers couldn't affect Asgardians.
The Space Phantom was the cause of misunderstandings between the other Avengers and Hulk which led Hulk to quit the team (over comments and actions taken against him by the others).
Since all Space Phantoms appear identical and can appear as any other creature, it can be difficult to determine which Space Phantom did what; the following activities have previously been attributed to the Space Phantom who first encountered the Avengers, but these may not have been the same Space Phantom.
A Space Phantom allied with the Grim Reaper and impersonated Madame Hydra, and commanded a division of HYDRA in that identity.
The Space Phantom battled the Avengers, but was shunted back into Limbo when he attempted to mimic Rick Jones who was then linked to Captain Mar-Vell.
A Space Phantom was compelled by Immortus to impersonate Mantis to deceive Kang.
A Space Phantom attempted to trick Thor into freeing the planet Phantus from Limbo, and allied with Thor to save Phantus, which led to Thor losing much of Mjolnir's power over time.
A Space Phantom once encountered Rom in Limbo.
A Space Phantom later encountered the Avengers in Limbo.
A Space Phantom was used as a pawn by the Young God Calculus in a scheme pitting Spider-Man against the Avengers.
The original Space Phantom is revealed to be disguised as Spider-Man in the "Beyond!"
Kurt Busiek used Space Phantoms and Immortus in "Avengers Forever" to explain a number of inconsistencies, such as the Avengers crossover titled "The Crossing".