On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became America’s first space traveler as he made a 15-minute suborbital flight aboard Mercury capsule Freedom 7.
US Launches A Man In Space
Three weeks after the Russians put a man in orbit, the United States attempts to launch a man into space. Unlike the secrecy that surrounded the Soviet achievement, the U.S. endeavor is broadcast to the world. Hundreds of newsmen look on as the countdown begins at Cape Canaveral, and at 10.34 a huge rocket sends 37-year-old Commander Alan B. Shepard aloft in a Mercury capsule. It is a successful launch. Commander Shepard reports to ground control that everything is "A-OK". Remarkable pictures show him in the capsule as he takes over control of the Freedom 7 for a 15-minute flight, becoming the first man to pilot a space craft, and show the recovery of pilot and capsule by helicopters from the carrier Lake Champlain. Commander Shepard shows no ill-effects from the flight, arousing hopes that the U.S. may be able to orbit a man around the earth before the end of the year.
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