On this day, May 5, 1961, "Freedom 7" launched from Cape Canaveral, carrying Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Sun May 5, 2024, 12:20 PM - Edit history (1)

In White House Rose Garden, three days after Alan Shepard’s flight of today 1961 as first American in space, JFK accidentally drops Shepard's medal, picks it up and then quips that the medal “has gone from the ground up—here”:

Launch from Cape Canaveral of Freedom 7, with Alan Shepard, first American in space, today 1961. Compared to rocket that took Apollo astronauts into space to land on moon, Shepard’s looks almost like a toy.

Link to tweet

Sat May 6, 2023: Launch from Cape Canaveral of Freedom 7, with Alan Shepard, first American in space, May 5, 1961

Fri May 6, 2022: Launch from Cape Canaveral of Freedom 7, with Alan Shepard, first American in space, May 5, 1961

[JohnnyRingo]

1. I was at that age (8) when he launched and I was spellbound

It filled me with a sense of wonder and resulted in many trips to the library and Bookmobile.
I never lost that inquisitiveness for all things flight and space. I started ordering Estes rocket kits around that time and building my own.

That Redstone rocket doesn't look very confidence building. I wouldn't put myself in that capsule now, but dreamed of it then. It seemed bigger then.


Thanx for posting!

[OldBaldy1701E]

2. I was not born just yet, but I wish I could have seen it happen.

My favorite Sheppard quote.

A reporter once asked him, "While you were sitting there, in those last few seconds before the launch... what was going through your mind at that historic moment?"

Sheppard leaned Into the microphone and replied, "That every single piece of this spacecraft was built by the lowest bidder."