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Ham in Spacesuit
| Name of Image |
Ham in Spacesuit |
| Date of Image |
1961-01-01 |
| Full Description |
Ham, a three-year-old chimpanzee, in the spacesuit he would wear for the second Mercury- Redstone (MR-2) suborbital test flight in January, 1961. NASA used chimpanzees and other primates to test the Mercury capsule before launching the fisrt American astronaut, Alan Shepard, in May 1961. The Mercury capsule rode atop a modified Redstone rocket, developed by Dr. Wernher von Braun and the German Rocket Team in Huntsville, Alabama. |
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Shepard With Freedom 7 Capsu
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| Name of Image |
Shepard With Freedom 7 Capsule |
| Date of Image |
1961-05-05 |
| Full Description |
Alan B. Shepard, Jr., America's first astronaut, stands in front of the Freedom 7 spacecraft shortly after completion of the third flight of the Mercury-Redstone (MR-3) vehicle, May 5, 1961. During the 15-minute suborbital flight, the Freedom 7 Mercury spacecraft, launched atop a modified Redstone rocket developed by Dr. Wernher von Braun and the rocket team in Huntsville, Alabama, reached an altitude of 115 miles and traveled 302 miles downrange. |
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Shepard Awaits Liftoff
| Name of Image |
Shepard Awaits Liftoff |
| Date of Image |
1961-05-05 |
| Full Description |
Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr. awaits liftoff in the Freedom 7 Mercury spacecraft on May 5, 1961. This third flight of the Mercury-Redstone (MR-3) vehicle, developed by D. Wernher von Braun and the rocket team in Huntsville, Alabama, was the first marned space mission for the United States. During the 15-minute suborbital flight, Shepard reached an altitude of 115 miles and traveled 302 miles downrange. |
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The Celebration for Freedom
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| Name of Image |
The Celebration for Freedom 7 at Huntsville, Alabama |
| Date of Image |
1961-05-05 |
| Full Description |
Dr. von Braun addresses a crowd celebrating in front of the Madison County Alabama Courthouse following the successful launch of Astronaut Alan Shepard (America's first astronaut in space) into space on a Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, Freedom 7. Shepard's Mercury Spacecraft, was launched from Cape Canaveral. He reached a speed of 5200 mph. His flight lasted 15-1/2 minutes. May 5, 1961 (Photo: Courtesy of Huntsville/Madison County Public Library) |
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