Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper tells: "When we were selected as astronauts in 1959, little effort was made to create a standard flying suit for us. Our classic photo in front of the F-106 jet shows how we had scrounged around to get flight equipment from the various armed services. The dark blue NASA flight suit was mainly a result of the publication of that one photograph."

A size 40R flight suit with United States flag patch on right shoulder. The name tag and NASA insignia have been removed. Purchased as surplus from NASA, "Halsell" is hand written on the label on the inside back of the neck of this deep blue suit.

Selected by NASA in January 1990, Colonel James D. Halsell, Jr. became an astronaut in July 1991. A five flight veteran, Halsell has logged over 1,250 hours in space. He was the pilot on STS-65 and STS-74, and was mission commander on STS-83, STS-94 and STS-101. Halsell's current assignment is Manager, Shuttle Launch Integration, Kennedy Space Center, Florida.