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| Mission Insignia | |
|---|---|
| Mission Statistics | |
| Mission Name: | Mercury MR-3 |
| Call Sign: | Freedom 7 |
| Number of Crew Members: | 1 |
| Launch: | May 5, 1961 14:34:13 UTC Cape Canaveral Complex 5 |
| Landing: | May 5, 1961 14:49:41 UTC 27.23° N 75.88° W |
| Duration: | 15 min 28 s |
| Number of Orbits: | Suborbital |
| Apogee: | 116.46 mi 187.42 km |
| Distance Traveled: | 302.77 mi 487.26 km |
| Maximum velocity: | 5,143 mph 8,277 km/h |
| Peak acceleration: | 11 g (108 m/s²) |
| Mass: Launch Apogee Reentry Landing | 1832.64 kg 1295.07 kg 1169.81 kg 1050.53 kg |
| Crew Picture | |
| Alan Shepard | |
Mercury-Redstone 3 (Freedom 7) was a U.S. Mercury program manned space mission launched on May 5, 1961 using a Redstone rocket, from Launch Complex 5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Mercury capsule was named Freedom 7 and performed a suborbital flight, piloted by astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American person in space. Shepard became the first astronaut to return to Earth with his ship as the Russian cosmonauts had to parachute away from theirs during landing.
The Freedom 7 spacecraft had been delivered to Cape Canaveral on December 9, 1960. Freedom 7 was capsule # 7, and it had been given special attention at the factory since it was selected for the first manned suborbital flight in October, 1960. It had been expected to be able to launch it almost immediately. But, 21 weeks of preparation would be needed before it could be launched on its mission. Reaction control system rework was responsible for postponement of the launch until at least March 6, 1961. Damaged and corroded peroxide lines that needed replacement forced a further delay of eight days. The simulated mission test needed to be rerun and structural and equipment defects corrected. The MR-3 mission was finally ready to be launched on May 2, 1961.
Three astronauts had been chosen as finalists to fly the MR-3 mission in January, 1961, and on February 22, 1961 their names were announced to the public. The three were Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom and John Glenn. The public was not told who would actually fly the mission until after a May 2, 1961 launch attempt was cancelled due to weather. It was then revealed that Shepard had been suited up and waiting for 3 hours in Hanger "S" at Cape Canaveral for the launch. The May 2 launch was cancelled 2 hours and 20 minutes before launch, due to weather conditions.
In the early morning of May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard entered Freedom 7 at 10:21 UTC.
At 9:34 am EST (14:34 UTC), there were 45 million Americans watching and listening live to their televisions, when at about two seconds after liftoff Alan Shepard reported, "Ahh, Roger; lift-off and the clock is started . . Yes, sir, reading you loud and clear. This is Freedom 7. The fuel is go; 1.2 g [12 m/s²]; cabin at 14 psi [97 kPa]; oxygen is go . . Freedom 7 is still go!" He was riding on Redstone MRLV-7 and in Mercury spacecraft # 7. In all subsequent Mercury flights, the number 7 was appended to the astronaut-chosen spacecraft/mission name and call sign, in honor of the fact that there were 7 original Mercury astronauts.
At T+16 seconds the Pitch Program started and the Redstone began a 2 deg/s pitch over, from 90 to 45 degrees. At about T+ 40 seconds, the Pitch Program was complete. Max-Q was reached at 1 minute 24 seconds into the flight when Freedom 7 experienced a maximum dynamic pressure of 580 lb/ft² (2.8 kPa). During ascent the cabin pressure sealed off at 5.5 lb/in² (38 kPa) of pure oxygen. At 2 minutes into the flight, Shepard experienced 6 g (59 m/s²) of acceleration.
The Redstone's engine shut down on schedule at 2 minutes 21.8 seconds. Outside the spacecraft, its shingle temperature reached 220 °F (104 °C). Inside, the cabin was 91 °F (33 °C) The temperature inside Shepard's pressure suit was 75 °F (24 °C). Escape Tower separation, occurred 2 minutes and 22.2 seconds after launch. This is 1 second earlier than nominal, there was some indication from the recovered escape tower that the jettison rockets had been fired manually. Shepard said he did not remember pulling the manual JETT TOWER override ring.
Three Posigrade Rockets with 370 lbf (1.6 kN) thrust each, fired for 1 second and separated the spacecraft from the Redstone booster at a rate of 15 ft/s (4.6 m/s) at 2 minutes 32.3 seconds after launch. At 3 minutes the automatic attitude control system (AACS) rotated the spacecraft 180 degrees, to a heatshield-forward position. The spacecraft remained in this position for the remainder of the flight. The spacecraft had almost reached apogee in its ballistic flight.
Shepard took manual control of the spacecraft attitude, one axis at a time, from the automatic attitude control system. The first thing he did was position the spacecraft to its retrofire attitude of 34 degrees pitch (nose of spacecraft pitched down 34 degrees). He then tested manual control of yaw and roll. When he took control of all three axes, he found that the spacecraft response was about the same as that of the Mercury simulator.
He then made observations outside the spacecraft, using the two porthole windows and the periscope. He saw the outlines of the west coast of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. Lake Okeechobee, in central Florida, was also visible, but he could not see any city. Andros Island and the Bahamas were also observed in the periscope.
The retrorockets were fired at about T+ 5 minutes and 15 seconds into the flight, shortly after the spacecraft reached an apogee of 116.5 miles (187 km). The three 1000 lbf (4.4 kN) thrust retrograde rockets ripple-fired to provide a 510 ft/s (155 m/s) delta V in the opposite direction of travel. Each retrorocket fires for a total of 10 seconds. They are fired 5 seconds apart so they overlap in burning (Retro # 1 fired at 5:14.1; Retro # 2 fired at 5:18.8 and Retro # 3 fired at 5:23.6 MET). The retrorocket firing could be easily heard, but the noise was not as loud as the sound of the jet trainers he had flown. The periscope was retracted at T+ 5 minutes and 45 seconds and the retropack was jettisoned at about T+ 6 minutes and 13.6 seconds. After retrofire the nose of the spacecraft was pitched up to a 14 degree from Earth-vertical attitude for reentry. This happened at about T+ 6 minutes and 20 seconds.
During the descent, Shepard tried to look out the awkwardly placed porthole windows to observe the stars. He could see nothing, not even the horizon. At about T+ 7 minutes and 48.2 seconds, the 05 g (49 m/s²) light came on, an indication that the acceleration buildup was about to start. The Automatic Stabilization & Control System (ASCS) detected the beginning of reentry and initiated a 10 deg/s roll. This maneuver makes the spacecraft more stable during reentry. During reentry a peak of 11.6 g (114 m/s²) was reached.
At 21,000 ft (6.4 km) about T+ 9 minutes and 38.1 seconds after launch, the drogue parachute came out, at 15,000 ft (4.6 km) a snorkel valve opened to equalize cabin pressure with the outside air. At 10,000 ft (3 km), about T+ 10 minutes and 14.8 seconds into the flight, the antenna canister at the top of the spacecraft jettisoned as planned, pulling out the main parachute. About 5 seconds later, the beryllium heatshield dropped down four feet (1.2 m), extending the landing bag under the spacecraft. Freedom 7 was descending under the parachute at 35 ft/s (11 m/s).
Splashdown occurred at T+ 15 minutes and 22.0 seconds. Water impact was comparable to landing a jet on an aircraft carrier. Freedom 7 tilted over on the right side, about 60 degrees from an upright position. Shepard checked the spacecraft interior for leaks, but found none. Slowly, Freedom 7 came to an upright position, taking about a minute to do so.
A recovery helicopter that had been watching Freedom 7 for five minutes of its descent now came overhead and hooked a cable to the top of the spacecraft. The helicopter crew was in radio communications with Shepard. The astronaut indicated he would release the spacecraft hatch when it had cleared the water. The helicopter pulled the spacecraft a couple of feet (~1 m) higher in the water and Shepard released the hatch. A sling was lowered to the astronaut and he was lifted into the helicopter. Both Shepard and the Freedom 7 were then flown to the deck of the nearby recovery carrier, the Little Joe 5B (unmanned)
Mercury 3 was the first
U.S. manned space mission.
| width="40%" align="center"| Mercury
| width="30%" align="center"| Next Mission:
Liberty Bell 7
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