25 a
Taken by a 70mm Maurer Earth Sky automatic camera mounted on the Freedom 7 spacecraft

Earth from space seen by the first American in space

Mercury Redstone 3, May 5, 1961

Vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), numbered “3” in top right margin

25 b
Taken by a 70mm Maurer Earth Sky automatic camera mounted on the Freedom 7 spacecraft

The drogue parachute seen from the Freedom 7 spacecraft during the reentry in the Earth’s atmosphere

Mercury Redstone 3, May 5, 1961

Vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), numbered “4” in top right margin
20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in)

25 b
LITERATURE: National Geographic, September 1961, p. 433.

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Lot Essay

25 a
Alan Shepard, the first American man in space, saw this view at “about peak altitude down the Atlantic Missile Range” (original NASA caption for the photograph).

“The Mercury capsule lacked a window through which Shepard could view his surroundings, but a periscope allowed him views of the outside during the pre-launch and weightless phases of the mission” (https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=MERCR3).

The original film from the automatic Maurer 220G camera was in color.

From the mission transcript during the mission:

000:03:04 Shepard: Okay, switching to manual pitch.
000:03:21 Shepard: Pitch is okay.
000:03:24 Shepard: Switching to manual yaw
000:03:42 Shepard: Yaw is okay. Switching to manual roll.
000:03:55.5 Shepard: Roll is okay
000:03:59.5 Shepard: On the periscope. What a beautiful view
000:04:05.5 Shepard: Cloud cover over Florida. 3 to 4 tenths near the eastern coast. Obscured up to Hatteras
00004:20.5 Shepard: I can see Okeechobee. Identify Andros Island Identify the Reefs

25 b
A very rare photograph taken during reentry of the capsule.

The original film from the automatic camera was in color.

“Drogue parachute drifts free after stabilizing descent and releasing the main canopy. Porthole camera caught chute and its canister falling to water oblivion” (National Geographic, September 1961, p. 433).

“At 21,000 feet the drogue parachute came out on schedule as did the periscope. I could see the drogue and its action through the periscope. There was no abrupt motion at drogue deployment,” related Alan Shepard (Flight’s Pilot Report).

From the mission transcript after the opening of the drogue parachute:

000:09:14 Capcom (Mission control): 30,000 feet
000:09:20 Shepard: Ahh, Roger, Deke, reading you loud and clear. How me?
000:09:35 Capcom: Ahh, Roger
000:09:39 Shepard: The drogue is green at 21,000. The periscope is out. The drogue is out.
000:09:48 Shepard: Okay at drogue deploy. I’ve got 70 percent auto - 90 percent manual. Oxygen is still okay
000:10:02 Shepard: And the snorkels (out) at about 15,000 feet
000:10:06 Shepard: Emergency flow rate is on
000:10:08 Shepard: Standing by for main (parachute).