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May 5, 1961: Launch of Freedom 7 At 9:34 a.m., Alan Shepard became the first American in space as Mercury 3 lifted off from Cape Canaveral . Shepard's spacecraft Freedom 7, first of the Mercury program , reached an altitude of 115 miles (185 km) without achieving orbit, and was recovered 19 minutes later by the aircraft carrier USS Lake ...
1961 – Project Mercury: Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, on a sub-orbital flight. 1964 – The Council of Europe declares May 5 as Europe Day. 1972 – Alitalia Flight 112 crashes into Mount Longa near Palermo, Sicily, killing all 115 aboard, making it the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in Italy.
Pages in category "May 1961 events in the United States" The following 6 pages are in this category, out of 6 total. This list may not reflect recent changes .
May 5 – Mercury program: Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space aboard Mercury-Redstone 3. May 9 – In a speech on "Television and the Public Interest" to the National Association of Broadcasters, FCC chairman Newton N. Minow describes commercial television programming as a "vast wasteland".
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May 5 – Alan Shepard is launched on Freedom 7 on a sub-orbital spaceflight aboard a Mercury-Redstone rocket, and becomes the first American in outer space. The flight lasts 15 minutes 22 seconds, and reaches an apogee of 187.42 kilometres (116.46 mi), and a maximum speed of 8,277 kilometres per hour (5,143 mph) (Mach 6.94).
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