Feb 15
A U.S. Marine H-34D lifting Astronaut Alan Shepard from Freedom 7 in the Atlantic Ocean - May 5 1961
(Photo by National Geographic Society photographer Dean Conger)
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A U.S. Marine H-34D lifting Astronaut Alan Shepard from Freedom 7 in the Atlantic Ocean - May 5 1961
(Photo by National Geographic Society photographer Dean Conger)
"You know, being a test pilot isn't always the healthiest business in the world." –Alan Shepherd, first American in space
Launch of Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3)
"This is the launch of the Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) spacecraft from Cape Canaveral on a suborbital mission -- the first U.S. manned spaceflight. The spacecraft is already headed towards its suborbital mission." "The spacecraft attained a maximum speed of 5,180 miles per hour (mph), reached an altitude of 116 1/2 statute miles, and landed 302 statute miles downrange from Cape Canaveral, Florida."
Date: May 5, 1961
NASA ID: S61-01927, LOC-61C-883, JSC2007-E-046477, S61-01908
ksp screenshot dump (modded)
May 7, 1961 post-flight MR-3 "Freedom 7" 63 years ago, Mercury 7 astronauts US Navy Lt Scott Carpenter, US Marine Corps LtCol John Glenn and US Navy LtCmdr Alan Shepard still discussed the suborbital Mercury-Redstone 3 flight "Freedom 7" which made Shepard the first NASA astronaut in space. Two days earliern after 15 minutes 22 seconds, Alan Shepard splashed down 110 kilometers northeast of the Abaco islands in the Bahamas - Atlantic Ocean. Recovery was performed by US Navy aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain after which Shepard and a few Mercury 7 colleagues spent two days of debriefings at Grand Bahama island. Since the summer of 1959, the Mercury 7 astronauts were wearing a bespoke LeCoultre "astronaut" watch with black 24 hours dial as NASA STG decided a military-inspired 24 hours time awareness was optimal for manned spacecraft. A 33.5 mm stainless steel wrist watch on lightweight Jacoby Bender bracelet, they wore during training & special events between September 1959 and October 1963. (Photo: NASA)
"Why don't you fix your little problem and light this candle?"
LC-5, Cape Canaveral
Mercury Freedom 7
This is it! Alan Shepard's capsule from Project Mercury. NASA's history of manned spaceflight begins with this beautiful aluminum cone, launched atop Mercury-Redstone 3 on May 15, 1961 in a short, 15 minute ballistic flight to an altitude of 187.5 km.
Udvar-Hazy Center - Chantilly, VA