A television series was developed by Warner Bros. for National Geographic, and upon being acquired by The Walt Disney Company, the studio also green-lit a documentary feature film; both were released as streaming exclusives available on Disney+.

[4][5][6] The accompanying documentary movie was met with a mixed response with praise given to its director for the use of archival recordings and lack of modern-day narration,[7][8] but complaints calling it "boring".

[11] The non-fiction account of the first fifteen years of America's space program are explored, detailing the experiences of the lives of test pilots who became known as the Mercury Seven, including: Chuck Yeager, Virgil Grissom, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Alan Shepard, Walter Schirra, and Donald Slayton.

During a time of national political turmoil and a race to become the dominant power in space travel, each of their familial trials are depicted with personal crises they endured resulting in great technological innovation and advancements as well.

The events detailed include America's technological advancements in space exploration, and the original Mercury Seven astronauts who played a role in completing these missions.