On March 24, 1961, NASA's Mercury Redstone rocket launched on its last uncrewed flight before it started sending astronauts into space. The mission was known as the Mercury Redstone Booster ...

When Alan Shepard strode out to the Mercury-Redstone rocket in May 1961 (above ... von Braun addresses a crowd after Shepard’s 1961 launch. Engineering student Morgan Watson worked in propulsion.

At 9:34 a.m, Eastern Standard Time, the Redstone rocket ... over 10,000 pounds. The Mercury spacecraft, with the escape tower, which was fired off later in the launch sequence when it was no ...