National Air and Space Museum Archives

Mercury MR-3 Flight Freedom 7 Recovery Photographs

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.2018.0024
Creators:
United States. Navy
Dates:
1961
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.05 Cubic feet
1 folder
Repository:
This collection consists of twenty-one U.S. Navy photographs compiled for the press kit prepared for the Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) mission as well as a teletype news article about the recovery.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of twenty-one U. S. Navy photographs compiled for the press kit prepared for the Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) mission. The photographs show the recovery mission as well as Alan B. Shepard, Jr. during debriefing. There is also a photograph showing the press corps that was selected to be aboard the USS
Lake Champlain
(CV-39), which is signed on the reverse by many of the reporters. The photographs are all black and white and measure 8 by 10 inches each. The collection also contains a teletype news story filed by the United Press International (UPI) aboard the ship, and a color post card showing the recovery of
Freedom 7
by helicopter.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection is in original order.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
On May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard, Jr. 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 Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3). Lofted by a Redstone rocket, Shepard and his capsule attained a maximum speed of 5180 mph and rose to an altitude of 116 miles. The sub-orbital flight lasted 15 minutes and 22 seconds.
Freedom 7
parachuted into the sea 302 miles from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and was retrieved by helicopter, along with Shepard, and both were taken aboard the recovery ship, the USS
Lake Champlain
(CV-39). Lieutenant (junior grade) Robert J. Jaczko, Sr. was the Public Information Officer for the ship at the time of Shepard's historic flight and was responsible for the press corps aboard for the event.

Administration

Author
Jessamyn Lloyd
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Robert J. Jaczko, Sr., Gift, 2018, NASM.2018.0024
Processing Information
Arranged and described by Jessamyn Lloyd in 2018, encoded by Jessamyn Lloyd in 2020.

Digital Content


Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access.
Preferred Citation
Mercury MR-3 Flight Freedom 7 Recovery Photographs, NASM.2018.0024, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Astronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mercury MR-3 Flight Freedom 7 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aircraft carriers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Helicopters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Shepard, Alan B. (Alan Bartlett), 1923-1998 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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