Mercury Monument tablet Zoom

This is the tablet on the Mercury Monument. At the top is an equation describing the velocity of an object in orbit. The text on the tablet reads as follows:

"...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 Latin inscription at the bottom roughly translates to If you seek his monument, look about you.

See the relief above the tablet
Skip ahead and enter Complex 14
Go back to the Mercury Monument
Photo courtesy of Steve Sanders
Mission Flight Control Officer, CCAFS
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