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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the first stage of a Delta II rocket is being raised to a vertical position before being lifted into the mobile service tower. The rocket is the launch vehicle for the Dawn spacecraft, targeted for liftoff on June 30. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller KSC-07pd1311

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Fog engulfs Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as the Atlas V rocket scheduled to launch NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, arrives at the pad. SDO is the first space weather research network mission in NASA's Living With a Star Program. The spacecraft's long-term measurements will give solar scientists in-depth information about changes in the sun's magnetic field and insight into how they affect Earth. Liftoff on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2010. For information on SDO, visit http://www.nasa.gov/sdo. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson KSC-2009-6817

CRS-3. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Spotlights illuminate the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket that will launch NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is scheduled for 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Don Kight KSC-2011-6907

Antares Rocket Preparation. NASA public domain image colelction.

CRS-5. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - As nightfall comes to Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, xenon lights reveal the Ares I-X rocket awaiting the approaching liftoff of its flight test. This is the first time since the Apollo Program's Saturn rockets were retired that a vehicle other than the space shuttle has occupied the pad. Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I. The Ares I-X flight test is set for Oct. 27. For information on the Ares I-X vehicle and flight test, visit http://www.nasa.gov/aresIX. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2009-5853

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set to launch NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft, or DSCOVR, awaits liftoff at 6:10 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. DSCOVR is a partnership between NOAA, NASA and the U.S. Air Force. DSCOVR will maintain the nation's real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities which are critical to the accuracy and lead time of NOAA's space weather alerts and forecasts. To learn more about DSCOVR, visit http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/DSCOVR. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2015-1305

Aquarius SAC-D Launch. NASA public domain image colelction.

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The Launch of Mercury-Redstone. NASA public domain image colelction.

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(May 5, 1961) The launch of the Mercury-Redstone (MR-3), Freedom 7. MR-3 placed the first American astronaut, Alan Shepard, in suborbit on May 5, 1961...UID: SPD-MARSH-6100884

The Space Race began with a shock to the American public when the Soviet satellite Sputnik was launched in 1957. United states created NASA accelerate U.S. space exploration efforts and launched the Explorer 1 satellite in 1958. The Soviet Union was first again when it puts the first human, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, into a single orbit on April 12, 1961. Shortly after this, on May 5, the U.S. launched Alan Shepard, on a suborbital flight and reached its orbital goal on February 20, 1962, when John Glenn made three orbits around the Earth in the Mercury capsule. The Mercury space capsule was a pressurized cabin produced by McDonnell Aircraft and carried supplies of water, food, and oxygen for about one day. Mercury was launched on a top of modified Atlas D ballistic missiles. The capsule was fitted with a launch escape rocket to carry it safely away from the launch vehicle in case of a failure. Small retrorockets were used to bring the spacecraft out of its orbit, after which an ablative heat shield protected it from the heat of atmospheric reentry. Finally, a parachute slowed the craft for a water landing. Both astronaut and capsule were recovered by helicopters deployed from a U.S. Navy ship. The Mercury project missions were followed by millions on radio and TV around the world. Its success laid the groundwork for Project Gemini, which carried two astronauts in each capsule and perfected space docking maneuvers essential for manned lunar landings in the Apollo program announced just a few weeks after the first manned Mercury launch.

NASA Photo Collection

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redstone rocket mercury capsule mercury redstone 3 aviation aerospace mr alan b shepard the launch of the mercury redstone national aeronautics and space administration manned spaceflight alan shepard mr 3 project mercury mercury project freedom 7 mercury redstone mr 7 cape canaveral astronaut mercury redstone launch vehicle chrysler mcdonnell aircraft shepard mercury redstone rocket spaceflight launch complex 5 chrysler corporation mcdonnell aircraft corporation lc 5 rocket launch rocket liftoff early rockets launch first american astronaut rocket technology rocket engines space launch complex nasa
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1961
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Project Mercury

The first human spaceflight program of the United States.

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NASA Photo Collection
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label_outline Explore Freedom 7, Mcdonnell Aircraft, First American Astronaut

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redstone rocket mercury capsule mercury redstone 3 aviation aerospace mr alan b shepard the launch of the mercury redstone national aeronautics and space administration manned spaceflight alan shepard mr 3 project mercury mercury project freedom 7 mercury redstone mr 7 cape canaveral astronaut mercury redstone launch vehicle chrysler mcdonnell aircraft shepard mercury redstone rocket spaceflight launch complex 5 chrysler corporation mcdonnell aircraft corporation lc 5 rocket launch rocket liftoff early rockets launch first american astronaut rocket technology rocket engines space launch complex nasa