NASA astronaut Gordon Cooper launched on the sixth and final crewed flight of the Mercury Program. This was also the last ...

On the morning of May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard crawled into the cramped Mercury capsule, "Freedom 7," at Launch ...

Mercury-Atlas 9 was the final manned space mission of the U.S. Mercury program, launched on .The spacecraft, named Faith 7, completed 22 Earth orbits before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, ...

"Check and see if I can get out quickly and relieve myself." Exiting his Mercury capsule was a time-consuming activity, so it ...

Shortly after 9 AM on May 5, 1961, Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. became the second person—and the first American—in space, rocketing to a height of 116.5 miles inside his Mercury capsule.

President Donald Trump on Monday celebrated National Astronaut Day on the 64th anniversary of Alan Shepard becoming the first ...

"Check and see if I can get out quickly and relieve myself." Exiting his Mercury capsule was a time-consuming activity, so it was not an option. At first, Shepard was told just to hold it — when ...