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This commemorative patch marks the Mercury Redstone 3 mission of May 5, 1961, the first human spaceflight by an American. In this mission, a Mercury-Redstone rocket boosted Alan B. Shepard, Jr. in his Freedom 7 capsule to an altitude of almost 188 kilometers and a distance of almost 500 kilometers down range from Cape Canaveral. The mission proved to the world that the United States could safely perform human spaceflight, just a little less than four weeks after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.

Although the first NASA mission patch was created for Gemini V in 1965, designs for earlier missions were created retroactively to allow collectors and the public to commemorate all of NASA's human spaceflights. This patch was made by an unknown manufacturer for commercial sale.

It was donated to the National Collection by Mance Clayton in 1982.

Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.

Object Details

Country of Origin

United States of America

Type

MEMORABILIA-Events

Dimensions

3-D: 7.6 × 7.6 × 0.2cm (3 in. × 3 in. × 1/16 in.)

Materials

Fabric
Thread
Adhesive

Inventory Number

A19820381000

Credit Line

Gift of Mance Clayton

Data Source

National Air and Space Museum

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply
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