ɪt wʌz ɪnˈɪʃəli sˈɛt tə pɹəvˈaɪd səpˈoːɹt fɔːɹ nˈæsɐ fˈɜːst hjˈuːmən spˈeɪsflaɪt mˈɪʃən, ðə mˈɜːkjʊɹi pɹˈoʊɡɹæm, wˈʌn ʌv fˈoːɹtiːn sˈʌtʃ stˈeɪʃənz ɪnðə mˈænd spˈeɪs flˈaɪt nˈɛtwɜːk ˌɛmˌɛsˌɛfˈɛn dˈɪstɹɪbjˌuːɾᵻd ɚɹˈaʊnd ðə ɡlˈoʊb.
It was initially set to provide support for NASA's first human spaceflight mission, the Mercury Program, one of 14 such stations in the Manned Space Flight Network (MSFN) distributed around the globe.