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Science May 5, 1961: Shepard is first U.S. astronaut in space
Science May 5, 1961: Shepard is first U.S. astronaut in space | May 5, 1961: Shepard is first U.S. astronaut in space |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Wednesday, 30 April 2008 | |
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Science DiscussionsFrom launch complex 5 ( LC-5) at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Shepard sat inside his Freedom 7 capsule on top of a MR-7 (Mercury-Redstone 7) launch vehicle. NASA called the space mission Mercury-Redstone 3 because it involved the NASA Mercury program and a Redstone rocket as the Freedom 7’s launch vehicle. According to the public affairs office at the NASA Kennedy Space Center, the purpose of the first manned Mercury mission was: “… to determine man's capabilities in a space environment and in those environments to which he will be subject upon going into and returning from space. A few of the basic flight problems included: The development of an automatic escape system, vehicle control during insertion, behavior of space systems, evaluation of pilots capabilities in space, in flight monitoring, retrofire and reentry maneuvers and landing and recovery." [NASA: “Freedom 7 MR-3 (18)”] The formal countdown began at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on May 4, 1961. A built-in hold occurred when the countdown clock reached “T minus 6 hours 30 minutes” so that pyrotechnics could be installed and the hydrogen peroxide system could be serviced. The countdown resumed at 11:30 p.m. EST, on May 4, 1961. At “T minus 2 hours 20 minutes” a one-hour hold was begun to check final preparations before Shepard would be inserted into his space capsule. At “T minus 15 minutes” weather caused a delay in the launch and a power device showed a fault. The countdown was reset to “T minus 35 minutes” and was held there for 86 minutes. During this time the power device was replaced and weather conditions improved. Alan Shepard lifted off the ground at 9:34:13 a.m. EST (14:34:13 UTC) on May 5, 1961, for American’s first manned flight into space. Shepard’s first words a few seconds after liftoff were: "Ahh, Roger; lift-off and the clock is started.... Yes, sir, reading you loud and clear. This is Freedom 7. The fuel is go; 1.2 g [12 m/s²]; cabin at 14 psi [97 kPa]; oxygen is go.... Freedom 7 is still go!" [NASA: "Suborbital Flights in Space"] It was a suborbital flight—he didn’t even go one orbit around the Earth—but on that day astronaut Shepard flew 15 minutes, 28 seconds, went 302.77 miles (487.26 kilometers) down range and sped along at a top speed of 5,134 miles (8,262 kilometers) per hour. Shepard became the first United States astronaut in space. Shepard landed back on Earth, inside his Freedom 7 space capsule, at 9:49:35 a.m. EST (14:49:35 UTC). Soviets sent the first human into space, but .... Please read the next page for the difference in landing techniques for the U.S. Freedom 7 and the Soviet Vostok 1. |
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