An early American spacecraft that survived two launches has touched down at a museum in Long Island, New York. Mercury-Redstone 1A (MR-1A) is now on display at the Cradle of Aviation.

The Mercury capsule acted as its nosecone, and the astronaut — or astrochimp — held on for the ride. The first Mercury-Redstone launch attempt, MR-1, took place on Nov. 21, 1960 — just over ...

Before any human dared orbit the stars, a young chimpanzee named Ham took the leap. His journey from the jungles of Cameroon ...

From a Cape Canaveral blockhouse the seven Mercury astronauts watched tensely last week as the countdown neared zero. Atop a towering Redstone rocket rested the one-ton Mercury space capsule of the ...

On May 5, 1961, NASA astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American to go to space. He launched from Cape Canaveral on a Mercury-Redstone rocket in a space capsule named Freedom 7. This was the ...

The flight was part of the U.S.’s man-in-space program, Project Mercury. ... When the Redstone burned out, the capsule was supposed to separate, coast to an altitude of 115 miles, ...

NASA modified the Army's Redstone medium-range ballistic missile to develop the Mercury-Redstone. It launched America's first astronaut in space on May 5, 1961. Alan Shepard, Jr., and the Freedom 7 ...

On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space in the Mercury MR-3 capsule. He named it Freedom 7, the number signifying the seven Mercury astronauts; NASA called the mission ...

View Mercury Redstone 1 The first human-rated spacecraft to achieve a successful spaceflight Mercury Redstone 1 on pad with capsule 2 mated for launch by NASA on artnet. Browse upcoming and past ...

View The perfect launch but dramatic loss of the Liberty 7 capsule carrying the second American in space Gus Grissom two photos, NASA Mercury Redstone 4, 21 July 1961 by NASA on artnet. Browse ...