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    Take A Look Inside NASA In The '50s

    Here's what the beginning of the Space Age looked like.

    In 1958, a scientist works on preparing a rocket for launch.

    Welcome to Hotel NASA. Here's a bedroom at NASA in 1950.

    Cape Canaveral in 1958.

    1959: Astronauts on the Project Mercury mission — the first human spaceflight mission ever. We were working on beating the Russians then.

    A Project Mercury astronaut trains in a water tank, practicing escape after landing.

    A NASA dining room and lounge in 1950.

    In 1959, astronaut John Glenn trains in a model spaceship.

    Here in 1950, engineers test out a NASA vehicle for lunar missions.

    At Langley in 1959, an astronaut trains on a hydraulic orbital altitude simulator.

    A Project Mercury astronaut looks over his spacesuit.

    Chairs are molded to each astronaut.

    Studying alpha rays at NASA in 1957 when there was still interest in developing nuclear-powered aircraft.

    In the '40s and '50s NASA actively recruited women for computing work. Here, in 1952, a female employee is at work at Langley Research Center.

    In 1959, the wives of the Project Mercury astronauts pose for a photo.