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Credit & Copyright: Project Mercury,
NASA
Explanation:
Forty years ago today
(May 5, 1961), at the
dawn of the space age,
NASA controllers "lit the candle" and sent
Alan Shepard arcing into space atop
a Redstone rocket.
The picture shows the pressure-suited Shepard before launch in his
cramped space capsule dubbed
"Freedom 7".
Broadcast live to a global television audience,
the
flight of Freedom 7 - the first space flight by an American - followed
less than a month after the first human venture into space
by Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagrin.
Freedom 7's
historic flight was suborbital,
lasting only about 15 minutes, but
during it Shepard demonstrated manual control of his capsule.
A Naval aviator,
Shepard was chosen as one of the original seven
Mercury Program astronauts.
He considered
this first flight the greatest
challenge and actively sought the assignment.
Shepard's career as an astronaut spanned a remarkable
period in human achievement and in 1972
he walked on the moon as commander of the
Apollo 14 mission.
A true pioneer and intrepid explorer,
Alan Shepard died in 1998
at age 74.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: spaceflight - Mercury program - Alan B. Shepard
Publications with words: spaceflight - Mercury program - Alan B. Shepard
See also: