Freedom 7 (MR-3)

Launch Success

Liftoff Time (GMT)

14:34:00

Friday May 5, 1961

Watch Replay

Official Livestream

Mission Details

Launch Notes

First crewed launch into space by the United States.

Freedom 7

Wiki

Mercury-Redstone 3, or Freedom 7, was the first United States human spaceflight and was piloted by astronaut Alan Shepard. It was the first crewed flight of Project Mercury, the objective of which was to put an astronaut into orbit around the Earth and return him safely. Shepard's mission was a 15-minute suborbital flight with the primary objective of demonstrating his ability to withstand the high g-forces of launch and atmospheric re-entry.

Suborbital

1 Payload

1,830 kilograms

Rocket

Retired
Mercury-Redstone

Active 1960 to 1961

National Aeronautics and Space Administration logo

Agency

NASA

Rocket

Height: 25.4m

Liftoff Thrust

350 Kilonewtons

Stages

1

Launch Site

LC-5

Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA

Fastest Turnaround

28 days 2 hours

Stats

Mercury-Redstone


5th

Mission

3rd

Mission of 1961