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MERCURY 3 | |
| Crew: 1 | CDR - Alan Shepard |
| Launch | 5 May 1961 @ 1434 UT |
| Orbital incl: | N/A |
| Max alt: | 187.5 km |
| Orbits: | Sub-Orbital |
| Dur: | 0:15:28 |
| Landing: | 5 May 1961 @ 1449:28 UT |
Alan Shepard to become the first man in space. However, due to problems with the Mercury-Redstone 2 capsule - namely the heat shield came loose upon landing - it was decided another flight was in order. So, the next flight went up, on 24 March 1961, without Shepard. If he had been on that flight, he would've beaten Yuri Gagarin, and became the first person in space. Perhaps, however, it fortunate that he did not. The space race may have then been viewed as "over," and that may have been it for the American Space Program. The flight itself was short and to the point. Shepard named his craft Freedom 7, the seven standing for the seven original astronauts. Originally, it was planned for all seven Mercury astronauts to be given a sub-orbital flight, however, when the Soviets made their orbital flights, that idea was dropped. |