Mercury-Redstone 3

Mercury-Redstone 3 was the 1961 U.S. spaceflight that carried Alan Shepard on the first American crewed journey into space. Its suborbital flight demonstrated that a person could control a spacecraft during launch, weightlessness, and reentry.

Redstone rocket: A U.S. ballistic missile adapted to launch the first American crewed suborbital spaceflights. Its modified booster launched Shepard’s capsule on the mission.
Project Mercury: NASA’s first human spaceflight program, conducted from 1958 to 1963. The mission was the first crewed flight in this program.
Alan Shepard: The U.S. naval aviator and astronaut who became the first American in space. He piloted Freedom 7 during the mission.
First American in space: The milestone achieved by Alan Shepard during his May 5, 1961 suborbital flight. Mercury-Redstone 3 made Shepard the first American to reach space.
Mercury spacecraft: The single-occupant capsule used by NASA’s Project Mercury to carry astronauts into space. This capsule carried Shepard through launch, flight, and reentry.
NASA: The United States government agency responsible for the civilian space program. NASA selected the astronaut, developed the capsule, and operated the flight.
Mercury Seven: The seven astronauts selected in 1959 for NASA’s Project Mercury. Shepard was one of this original astronaut group.
Human spaceflight: Spaceflight in which people travel aboard spacecraft beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The mission began the United States’ crewed spaceflight record.
Suborbital spaceflight: A spaceflight that reaches space but follows a trajectory that does not complete an orbit. Mercury-Redstone 3 crossed into space and returned without orbiting Earth.
Space Race: The Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union in space exploration. The mission answered mounting pressure after Soviet achievements in human spaceflight.

Linked from 6 pages