The Explorers' Club, № DCCCLXIII

The Space Race—Astronaut Group 1 (the "Mercury Seven"), Part VIII
Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton (1 March 1924-13 June 1993), Major, U.S. Air Force—He was assigned to fly Mercury-Atlas 7 (would have been Delta 7, 1962), the second orbital flight, but was grounded with atrial fibrillation; he was the informal first "Chief Astronaut" (1962-1963) & director of Flight Crew Operations (1966-1974); he flew as Docking Module Pilot of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (1975).

Commentary: By the liftoff of the Saturn IB rocket for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975, Slayton was fifty-one years-old, making him at that time the oldest man to fly in space.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Mercury Seven
№ DCCCIX: Part I—Astronaut Group 1
№ DCCCXXIV: Part II—Al Shepard
№ DCCCXXV: Part III—Gus Grissom
№ DCCCXXXVII: Part IV—John Glenn
№ DCCCXLV: Part V—Scott Carpenter
№ DCCCLXI: Part VI—Wally Schirra
№ DCCCLXII: Part VII—Gordon Cooper

Bonus! Song o' the Day: The Mercury Seven—Deke Slayton
Melbourne Ska Orchestra, "While You Wait" from Melbourne Ska Orchestra (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Requiescat in pace.