The first one to reach outer space in the Man In Space Soonest program was which Captain in the United States Air Force, an American World War II pilot, an experimental physicist, and NASA test pilot?
Man in Space Soonest Man In Space Soonest (MISS) was a United States Air Force (USAF) program to put a man into outer space before the Soviet Union. The program was cancelled on August 1, 1958, and was replaced by NASA's Project Mercury. Only two men from the program would actually reach outer space. The first, Joseph A. Walker, did so twice in two X-15 rocket plane tests in 1963. Another, Neil Armstrong, became a NASA astronaut in 1962 and became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969.
William Pershing Benedict Lt. Colonel William Pershing Benedict (July 20, 1918 – Aug 31, 1974) was an American pilot who was born in Ruth, Nevada and raised in California. He was a highly decorated World War II fighter pilot who served in both the RCAF and the U.S. Army Air Corps. 18 months after joining the U.S. Army Air Corps, at 26 years of age, Benedict achieved the rank of Major and was made Squadron Commander. He is best known for being the first man to land an aircraft on the North Pole.