Phase 1: Launch

Shorty Powers

Liftoff. Liftoff at 34 minutes after the hour.

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Pilot reports fuel system go, at .2 g, cabin 14 pounds per square inch, oxygen system go, all A-OK.

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Freedom 7 is still go, the trajectory is A-OK.

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Freedom 7 reports the mission is A-OK, full go.

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Freedom 7 in voice communication with the Mercury Control Center…reports 3.5 g, cabin pressure holding fine.

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Cabin pressure holding 5.5 pounds per square inch.

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The flight trajectory is still A-OK, the pilot is in good voice communication with Mercury Control.

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Freedom 7 with astronaut Alan B. Shepard reports the fuel system is go, 4 g, cabin 5.5 pounds per square inch oxygen go, all systems go.

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Pilot reports tower jettison.

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Periscope coming out.

Expand selection down Contract selection up

Spoken on May 5, 1961, 2:36 p.m. UTC (63 years ago). Link to this transcript range is: Tweet

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Turnaround started. Assuming orbital attitude.

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He's going to hand-controlled movements now.

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Switching to manual control of the pitch attitude.

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Trajectory looks A-OK.

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Pitch control A-OK.

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Switching to manual yaw.

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Medical monitor in Mercury Control reports pilot's condition appears to be excellent.

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Taking over manual control of the roll attitude.

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Working now—“What a beautiful view!” is a quote.

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Pilot reports three- to four-tenths cloud cover along the eastern coast of the United States, obscuring the eastern coast up through Cape Hatteras.

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Pilot reports assuming retro attitude, initiating retrofire sequence.

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Pilot reports mission “very smooth.”

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Retro rocket number one has fired.

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Retro number two has fired.

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Retro number three has fired.

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Preparing to jettison the retro rocket pod.

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We are still receiving excellent voice communication from the pilot.

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Medical monitor reports everything A-OK in the cockpit.

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The retro rocket packet has jettisoned. The retro rocket packet has been jettisoned.

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The mission is now six minutes and forty seconds old. Astronaut Alan B. Shepard is still talking to us, working like a test pilot, reporting facts and figures, reporting procedures in the precise engineering manner of a test pilot.