August 24, 2022
On this date in 1960, McDonnell Aircraft proposed a One-Man Space Station to the Space Task Group at NASA facilities. The idea behind this station was to build a 10-ft long, 6-ft wide cylinder that could attach to the Mercury spacecraft. The station was only intended to be inhabited for 14 days by the single Mercury astronaut, and then permanently abandoned after he returned to Earth. The One-Man Space Station was never approved, and the idea was discarded.
To read more about the proposed space station, visit: https://www.wired.com/2014/09/one-man-space-station-1960/
This schema shows suggested ways of connecting the Mercury capsule to the space station including a hinge linking the two (A), the aft adapter (B), and an extendable docking tunnel (C). Image credit: McDonnell Aircraft/David S. F. Portree