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The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force fires the eighth

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Pad 17-B, NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope , or GLAST, sits poised for launch atop the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket after rollback of the mobile service tower. GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will explore the universe's ultimate frontier, where nature harnesses forces and energies far beyond anything possible on Earth; probe some of science's deepest questions, such as what our universe is made of, and search for new laws of physics; explain how black holes accelerate jets of material to nearly light speed; and help crack the mystery of stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. Launch is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. June 11. Photo credit: Carleton Bailie photograph for United Launch Alliance KSC-08pd1623

NASA Around Marshall - Public domain drawing

JCSAT-16 landing (28965674072)

The Boeing Delta II Space Launch vehicle sits on complex 17A at Cape Canaveral waiting to carry the Globalstar-2 satellite into orbit

A Trident II (D-5) missile is launced during a US Navy developmental test flight. The missile is designed for submerged firing from the ninth nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, USS TENNESSEE (SSBN 734). The first eight Ohio class ballistic missile submarines will be backfitted to carry the Trident II missile in accodance with regularly scheduled shipyard availability. Note: Second view in a series of seven

CRS-12 Mission (35762350653)

Formosat-5 Mission (36075361533)

An Atlas-F launch vehicle lifts off carrying the Navy Orbiting Survival Satellite. No. 1 of 3 views

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Mercury Project Freedom 7 Mercury

Mercury Project - Freedom 7 spacecraft

Mercury Project - original seven astronauts

Mercury Project Mercury-Redstone (MR-3), Freedom 7

Mercury "Friendship 7" Spacecraft, NASA Mercury project

Mercury Project Friendship 7, NASA Mercury project

Mercury Project Astronaut John Glenn enters the Mercury spacecraft, Friendship 7

Mercury 7, NASA Mercury project

Mercury Project - Liberty Bell 7 capsule for the MR-4 Mission

Mercury Project Freedom 7 Mercury spacecraft

description

Summary

Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr. lifts off in the Freedom 7 Mercury spacecraft on May 5, 1961. This third flight of the Mercury-Redstone (MR-3) vehicle, developed by Dr. Wernher von Braun and the rocket team in Huntsille, 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.

The Space Race began with a shock to the American public when the Soviet satellite Sputnik was launched in 1957. United states created NASA accelerate U.S. space exploration efforts and launched the Explorer 1 satellite in 1958. The Soviet Union was first again when it puts the first human, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, into a single orbit on April 12, 1961. Shortly after this, on May 5, the U.S. launched Alan Shepard, on a suborbital flight and reached its orbital goal on February 20, 1962, when John Glenn made three orbits around the Earth in the Mercury capsule. The Mercury space capsule was a pressurized cabin produced by McDonnell Aircraft and carried supplies of water, food, and oxygen for about one day. Mercury was launched on a top of modified Atlas D ballistic missiles. The capsule was fitted with a launch escape rocket to carry it safely away from the launch vehicle in case of a failure. Small retrorockets were used to bring the spacecraft out of its orbit, after which an ablative heat shield protected it from the heat of atmospheric reentry. Finally, a parachute slowed the craft for a water landing. Both astronaut and capsule were recovered by helicopters deployed from a U.S. Navy ship. The Mercury project missions were followed by millions on radio and TV around the world. Its success laid the groundwork for Project Gemini, which carried two astronauts in each capsule and perfected space docking maneuvers essential for manned lunar landings in the Apollo program announced just a few weeks after the first manned Mercury launch.

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freedom 7 mercury redstone msfc marshall space flight center mercury project mercury project early rockets high resolution mercury spacecraft mercury project freedom shepard third flight wernher von braun miles downrange freedom astronaut alan flight rocket team space mission miles rocket engines rocket technology rocket launch nasa
date_range

Date

05/05/1961
collections

in collections

Project Mercury

The first human spaceflight program of the United States.
place

Location

Marshall Spaceflight Center, Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama, United States, 35808 ,  34.63076, -86.66505
create

Source

NASA
link

Link

https://images.nasa.gov/
copyright

Copyright info

Public Domain Dedication (CC0)

label_outline Explore Rocket Team, Freedom 7, Miles Downrange

JFK Tour of KSC. NASA public domain image colelction.

Mercury Redstone II mission - Launch pad photos

Apollo 14 crewmen show off lunar rocks during meeting with newsmen

Photograph of the Mercury-Redstone 3 Launch

AS04-01-755 - Apollo 4 - Apollo 4 Mission - Atlantic Ocean,and Antarctica

Mercury 1A Mission - Earth Views

Space shuttle STS-66 Launch. NASA public domain image colelction.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A glow appears beneath the Boeing Delta II rocket as it begins liftoff with its payload, the MESSENGER spacecraft, on top. Liftoff occurred on time at 2:15:56 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) is on a seven-year, 4.9-billion-mile journey to the planet Mercury. The spacecraft will fly by Earth, Venus and Mercury several times, as well as circling the sun 15 times, to burn off energy before making its final approach to the inner planet on March 18, 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. KSC-04pd1631

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The landing lights on Runway 15 cast a glow as Space Shuttle Atlantis approaches touchdown on KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility to complete the 9-day, 20-hour, 9-minute-long STS-101 mission. At the controls are Commander James D. Halsell Jr. and Pilot Scott “Doc” Horowitz. Also onboard the orbiter are Mission Specialists Mary Ellen Weber, James S. Voss, Jeffrey N. Williams, Susan J. Helms and Yury Usachev of Russia. The crew is returning from the third flight to the International Space Station. This was the 98th flight in the Space Shuttle program and the 21st for Atlantis, also marking the 51st landing at KSC, the 22nd consecutive landing at KSC, the 14th nighttime landing in Shuttle history and the 29th in the last 30 Shuttle flights. Main gear touchdown was at 2:20:17 a.m. EDT May 29 , landing on orbit 155 of the mission. Nose gear touchdown was at 2:20:30 a.m. EDT, and wheel stop at 2:21:19 a.m. EDT KSC00pp0675

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Mobile Service Tower begins to roll back from the pad, revealing the MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft aboard a Delta II rocket, Model 7925-H with heavy lift capability. MESSENGER is ready for liftoff on Aug. 2 at 2:16 a.m. EDT and is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. KSC-04pd1601

Helfaut Interieur 28 10 2011 05

Astronaut Alan Bean drives core sample tube into lunar surface

Topics

freedom 7 mercury redstone msfc marshall space flight center mercury project mercury project early rockets high resolution mercury spacecraft mercury project freedom shepard third flight wernher von braun miles downrange freedom astronaut alan flight rocket team space mission miles rocket engines rocket technology rocket launch nasa