[Mercury Redstone 3] The first American in space: Alan Shepard inside Freedom 7 before launch; “Why don’t you fix your little problem and light this candle?” Bill Taub, May 1961. Printed 1961. Vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper [NASA image ]. 20.3×25.4 cm (8×10 in), with NASA caption on the verso (NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.). Alan Shepard lies in the tiny cabin of his Mercury spacecraft Freedom 7 preparing for the historic first American launch into space. On the morning of launch on May 5, 1961, as technicians prepared to install the craft’s side hatch, Shepard had a long wait. Technical problems delayed the launch for four hours. Shepard’s patience eventually wore out and he famously snapped, “Why don’t you fix your little problem and light this candle?” The problems were resolved and 500,000 people gathered near Cape Canaveral watched in awe the liftoff of the first manned US mission into space. This famous photograph was taken by NASA’s first senior photographer Bill Taub. Taub photographed every mission from Mercury to Apollo and was often one of the last people to see the astronauts before liftoff, earning the nickname “Two More Taub” for his insistence on snapping just a couple more shots. Though he was the first astronaut to go into space, Shepard was aided at every step by many knowing men, including his six colleagues. Astronaut John Glenn made sure the capsule was ready for him; Gordon Cooper briefed him on weather and the missile; Gus Grissom rode with him in the van and stayed with him until the hatch was closed; Scott Carpenter and Walter Schirra chased after the Redstone in F-106 jets to study its flight and Donald Slayton sat in the Mercury Control Center to communicate with Shepard over the radio so he would get instructions from a familiar voice. (LIFE magazine, May 12, 1961, p. 20).
Condition
[Mercury Redstone 3] The first American in space: Alan Shepard inside Freedom 7 before launch; “Why don’t you fix your little problem and light this candle?” Bill Taub, May 1961. Printed 1961. Vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper [NASA image ]. 20.3×25.4 cm (8×10 in), with NASA caption on the verso (NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.). Alan Shepard lies in the tiny cabin of his Mercury spacecraft Freedom 7 preparing for the historic first American launch into space. On the morning of launch on May 5, 1961, as technicians prepared to install the craft’s side hatch, Shepard had a long wait. Technical problems delayed the launch for four hours. Shepard’s patience eventually wore out and he famously snapped, “Why don’t you fix your little problem and light this candle?” The problems were resolved and 500,000 people gathered near Cape Canaveral watched in awe the liftoff of the first manned US mission into space. This famous photograph was taken by NASA’s first senior photographer Bill Taub. Taub photographed every mission from Mercury to Apollo and was often one of the last people to see the astronauts before liftoff, earning the nickname “Two More Taub” for his insistence on snapping just a couple more shots. Though he was the first astronaut to go into space, Shepard was aided at every step by many knowing men, including his six colleagues. Astronaut John Glenn made sure the capsule was ready for him; Gordon Cooper briefed him on weather and the missile; Gus Grissom rode with him in the van and stayed with him until the hatch was closed; Scott Carpenter and Walter Schirra chased after the Redstone in F-106 jets to study its flight and Donald Slayton sat in the Mercury Control Center to communicate with Shepard over the radio so he would get instructions from a familiar voice. (LIFE magazine, May 12, 1961, p. 20).
Condition
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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