Mercury-Redstone 3, or Freedom 7, was the first United States human spaceflight, on May 5, 1961, piloted by astronaut Alan Shepard. It was the first manned 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.
The Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, designed for NASA's Project Mercury, was the first American manned space booster. It was used for six sub-orbital Mercury flights from 1960–61; culminating with the launch of the first, and 11 weeks later, the second American (and the second and third humans) in space. The four subsequent Mercury human spaceflights used the more powerful Atlas booster to enter low Earth orbit. A member of the Redstone rocket family, it was derived from the U.S. Army's Redstone ballistic missile and the first stage of the related Jupiter-C launch vehicle; but to human-rate it, the structure and systems were modified to improve safety and reliability.
When is the Redstone MRLV | Mercury-Redstone 3 launch?
What rocket is being used for Mercury-Redstone 3?
Where is the Redstone MRLV | Mercury-Redstone 3 launching from?
What orbit is Mercury-Redstone 3 going to?
Who is launching Mercury-Redstone 3?
Can I watch the Redstone MRLV | Mercury-Redstone 3 launch live?
Mission Profile
Mercury-Redstone 3 was a Redstone MRLV mission operated by National Aeronautics and Space Administration that lifted off from Launch Complex 5, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA on May 5, 1961. The flight carried its payload on a human exploration mission to Suborbital. It was flown as part of the Mercury program. The launch was a success.