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On this day, May 5, 1961, "Freedom 7" launched from Cape Canaveral, carrying Alan Shepard, the first American in space.
In White House Rose Garden, three days after Alan Shepard’s flight of today 1961 as first American in space, JFK accidentally drops Shepard's medal, picks it up and then quips that the medal “has gone from the ground up—here”:
Launch from Cape Canaveral of Freedom 7, with Alan Shepard, first American in space, today 1961. Compared to rocket that took Apollo astronauts into space to land on moon, Shepard’s looks almost like a toy.
Link to tweet
Sun May 5, 2024: On this day, May 5, 1961, "Freedom 7" launched from Cape Canaveral, carrying Alan Shepard, the first American in space.
Sat May 6, 2023: Launch from Cape Canaveral of Freedom 7, with Alan Shepard, first American in space, May 5, 1961
Fri May 6, 2022: Launch from Cape Canaveral of Freedom 7, with Alan Shepard, first American in space, May 5, 1961