Mercury
Mission
Mercury
Series
NASA
Venue
Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA
Date
May 5, 1961
Agency
NASA
Nickname
Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space
Crew
Alan Shepard
Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space
Alan Shepard flew a 15-minute suborbital mission aboard the Freedom 7 capsule, becoming the first American to reach space. The flight of Mercury-Redstone 3 restored confidence in the U.S. program weeks after Gagarin's orbit and set the stage for President Kennedy's Moon-landing challenge.
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