The Right Stuff

Wally Schirra, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts (and later a Gemini and Apollo astronaut as well) died today. Samurai Frog has a nice appreciation:

There were seven brave men who first stood in line to lead this country into outer space. We call them the Mercury Seven. And they are among this country's greatest heroes. Captain Schirra follows Gus Grissom, Deke Slayton, Alan Shepard, and Gordon Cooper to the undiscovered country. Scott Carpenter and John Glenn continue to remind us of what we can accomplish. And what, one day, we may accomplish again.

Indeed.