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After Hours

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

By Andy Smith May 4, 2011, 11:52 PM PDT

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Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntIf Alan Shepard’s space flight took place today, it might have ended up on a reality TV show like Mythbusters, Jackass, or even Dirty Jobs. They took a pilot, put him in a funny-looking metalic suit, strapped him into a heavy metal box, attached the box to the top of a guided missile, launched it, and then watched how far it would go.

n

ntOn May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard was the pilot who became the first American to escape Earth’s atmosphere. He spent 15 minutes in space, reached a peak altitude of 116 miles and traveled at a top speed of 5,180 miles per hour.

n

ntA Redstone, similar to the one above, was converted from a ballistic missile into the Mercury-Redstone rocket that propelled Shepard into space.

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ntRead Larry Dignan’s post about the IT behind Shepard’s flight.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntTo prepare for Shepard’s flight, NASA sent this chimp named Ham on a test flight in December 1960. He returned safely but chief rocket scientist Wernher von Braun was not happy with the rocket’s performance and went back to the drawing board. Another test in March 1961 cleared the way for Shepard’s launch.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntAlready reeling from being beaten by Russia to the first successful satellite launch, the United States was further shaken by Yuri Gagarin’s one-orbit flight on April 12, 1961. Little was know about the flight at the time but details emerged afterward that revealed his adventure was fraught with danger. The final stage of the rocket didn’t separate from his capsule until just before reentry so after reaching Earth’s atmosphere, Gagarin ejected from the capsule and parachuted to safety.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntAlan Shepard was selected to be the first American into space.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntFellow Mercury Astronaut Gus Grissom wishes Shepard good luck as he prepares to enter his spacecraft, Freedom 7.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntFreedom 7 was only 11.5-feet tall and 6.2-feet wide.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntShepard in Freedom 7.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntThe Redstone rocket that propelled Shepard into space rises a few feet above the launch pad. Frequent delays in getting the rocket ready that day forced a common occurance, NASA was forced to innovate. When Shepard had to urinate at one point, a completely unplanned event, he was told to just go.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntThe 83-foot  Redstone rocket was versioned from a missile that was 69-feet tall. The fuel tanks were lengthened.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntFor comparison, here’s the Saturn V rocket liftoff for Apollo 11. The Redstone rocket stood 83-feet high while the Saturn V was 363-feet tall.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntComputers and software hadn’t been built yet to control the flight of the Redstone rocket so NASA had to manually fire the second and higher stages.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntShepard on launch day. Whereas Gagarin and the chimp Ham had little control of their capsules, Shepard was able to steer somewhat by hand during reentry.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntWhat this was all about – a view of Earth from space. Shepard didn’t have a window to see through and had to rely on a periscope. But he was able to identify some features of the Florida coast.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntShepard’s flight took him 302 miles into the Atlantic where he was rescued by helicopter.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntShepard returns.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntShepard was upset with NASA, and von Braun in particular, for the delays of his launch that allowed Yuri Gagarin, instead of him, to become the first man into space. However, being second in the space race provided the incentive for President Kennedy, three weeks later,  to give the challenge for America to send a man to the moon and back by the end of the decade.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntAnd Shepard went on to become the first man to hit a golf ball on the moon. After the Mercury program he was grounded by Mu00e9niu00e8re’s disease but later surgery allowed him to become commander of Apollo 14 and the fifth man to step on the moon.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntShepard who died in 1998 is remembered by a statue in the U.S. Astronauts Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center.

Gallery: America’s first small step into space – 50 years ago

ntA native of New Hampshire, Shepard had the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, N.H. named after him. It’s even got a full size replica of his Redstone rocket out front.

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