The text of the marker reads:
"...ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX TASKS EVER PRESENTED
TO MAN IN THIS COUNTRY ··· THE ACHIEVEMENT OF
MANNED FLIGHT IN ORBIT AROUND THE EARTH."
- JOHN F. KENNEDY
THIRTY-FIFTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
THIS MARKER COMMEMORATES THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS
AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION'S PROJECT MERCURY, WHICH
FIRST PUT FREE MEN INTO SPACE. THE FOUR MANNED
ORBITAL CAPSULES WERE BOOSTED INTO SPACE BY ATLAS
ROCKETS, WHICH WERE LAUNCHED BY THE UNITED STATES
AIR FORCE FROM COMPLEX 14, LOCATED 2200 FEET EAST
OF HERE AT 28° 29' 27.1428" NORTH LATITUDE AND
80° 32' 49.6107 WEST LONGITUDE. CONTAINED IN A CAPSULE
HEREIN TO BE OPENED IN THE YEAR 2464 A.D. ARE
TECHNICAL REPORTS OF THESE FLIGHTS.
DEDICATED 1964 A.D., TO THE THOUSANDS OF MEN AND
WOMEN OF THE FREE WORLD WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE
SUCCESS OF PROJECT MERCURY.
"SI MONUMENTUM REQUIRIS CIRCUMSPICE" ANON."
The Mercury Monument stands outside of Launch Complex 14. Admission is restricted and can only be accessed by taking an escorted tour sponsored by either the Johnson Space Center or the 45th Space Wing at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The monument shows the number 7 (in honor of the "Original Seven" astronauts) inside of the astronomical symbol for the planet Mercury. Underneath the slab is the time capsule that contains artifacts related to Project Mercury, including photos, film footage, capsule blueprints, and even John Glenn's Marine Corps pilot's wings. It is scheduled to be opened in the year 2464.
Complex 14 was built in the late 1950's to support Atlas launches. Up until its deactivation in February of 1967, it supported a total of 32 Atlas and Atlas-Agena launches. These included four manned launches for the Mercury program, and seven unmanned launches for the Gemini program. After years of exposure to the weather and salt air, the service structure and launch stand were razed in December of 1976.
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