Based on the 1979 book of the same name by Tom Wolfe, miniseries "The Right Stuff" tells the story of America's first astronauts, the Mercury Seven.

At the height of the Cold War in 1959, the Soviet Union dominates the space race. To combat a national sentiment of fear and decline, the U.S. government conceives of NASA's Project Mercury, igniting a space race with the Soviets and making instant celebrities of a handful of the military's most accomplished test pilots. These individuals, who come to be known as the Mercury Seven, are forged into heroes long before they have achieved a single heroic act. The nation's best engineers estimate they need several decades to make it into outer space. They are given two years.

The rest of the Mercury Seven includes Lieutenant Gordon Cooper (Colin O'Donoghue), the youngest of the seven who was selected to everyone's surprise; Wally Schirra (Aaron Staton), a competitive pilot with a gift for pulling pranks; Scott Carpenter (James Lafferty), a soulful man who was dubbed "The Poet" by the other astronauts; Deke Slayton (Micah Stock), a taciturn but incredibly intelligent pilot and engineer; and Gus Grissom (Michael Trotter), a no-nonsense test pilot who eventually becomes the second man in space.

The astronauts' strengths are equaled only by their flaws. As the men succumb to the temptations that surround them, Project Mercury threatens to come apart. At the heart of the historic drama populated by deeply human characters are two men who become icons -- Glenn and Shepard -- as they jockey to be the first man in space. The entire program is nearly brought to its knees by their intense rivalry.

The series also follows NASA's engineers, who work against the clock as pressures mount from Washington and a transfixed public. And we witness the underbelly of a myth-making propaganda machine headed by NASA's PR department and aided by the writers and editors at LIFE Magazine.