Mercury 3 - Alan Shepard

[ekoplaneta]

Wczoraj minęła 55 rocznica suborbitalnego lotu Alana Sheparda, w kapsule Mercury

http://lk.astronautilus.pl/loty/m3.htm

http://www.space.com/9887-freedom-7-alan-shepard-mercury-flight.html

[Orionid]

A za nami już 58. rocznica lotu.

“What a Beautiful View”: Remembering America’s First Man in Space, OTD in 1961
By Ben Evans, on May 5th, 2019


The excited crew of the U.S.S. Lake Champlain watch Shepard’s final seconds of descent. Twelve hundred would crowd the deck to welcome America’s newest hero home. Photo Credit: NASA

Less than 24 hours after Prather’s demise, it was, for Shepard and for America, “a beautiful day”. Twelve hundred sailors crowded the deck of the Lake Champlain, cheering the nation’s newest hero. Freedom 7 would be exhibited at 1961’s Paris Air Show, and the astronaut himself set foot on the deck of the recovery ship as the clock struck 10. Across the nation, the euphoria was electrifying. Floridians cheered, John Glenn jokingly asked for another Redstone to be set up for him, New Hampshire’s governor visited Shepard’s hometown, schools were closed and military aircraft dropped confetti. The astronaut’s proud parents and sister rode in an open-topped convertible, his wife, Louise, chatted to journalists outside her Virginia Beach home and Navy jets spelled the letter “S” in the sky.

For the hero, the first hour back on Earth was spent reliving the 15 minutes in mind-numbing detail for the physicians, the psychologists, the engineers, and the scientists. No, he did not sleep. No, he did not defecate. Yes, there was a noticeable odor in the cabin (urine). The questions seemed unending. He was then flown to Grand Bahama Island for several days of tests. (...)

https://www.americaspace.com/2019/05/05/what-a-beautiful-view-remembering-americas-first-man-in-space-otd-in-1961/
http://www.forum.kosmonauta.net/index.php?topic=800.msg92529#msg92529

[Orionid]

O trudnej drodze powrotu astronauty w kosmos

'It's Been A Long Way': Remembering the Return of the Rookie, 50 Years On
By Ben Evans, on May 13th, 2019

(...) Several astronauts, Cooper included, were vocal in their discomfort at having Shepard train for a lunar landing mission with only a few months’ notice. As a result, on 6 August 1969, NASA announced the crews for Apollo 13 and Apollo 14, scheduled to occur in April and October of the following year; Lovell would command 13 and Shepard would lead 14, affording America’s first man in space additional time to prepare. Joining Shepard would be Stu Roosa as Command Module Pilot (CMP) and Ed Mitchell as Lunar Module Pilot (LMP). Mitchell had previously served with Cooper on the Apollo 10 backup team, whilst Roosa—having turned in a sterling performance in Mission Control during Apollo 9—had seized managers’ attention and admiration. (...)

https://www.americaspace.com/2019/05/13/its-been-a-long-way-remembering-the-return-of-the-rookie-50-years-on/#more-107950
http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum38/HTML/002237.html