Fellow Mercury astronaut Gus Grissom (in suit) wishes Shepard good luck as he gets set to climb into his Mercury capsule, dubbed Freedom 7, on the morning of May 5, 1961. Glenn looks on in the background. On the way to the launch pad, Shepard had done what he could to ''kick the tires'' on the Redstone.
Fellow Mercury astronaut Gus Grissom (in suit) wishes Shepard good luck as he gets set to climb into his Mercury capsule, dubbed Freedom 7, on the morning of May 5, 1961. Glenn looks on in the background. On the way to the launch pad, Shepard had done what he could to ”kick the tires” on the Redstone. ”I stopped and … looked back and up at the beautiful rocket, and thought ‘Well, OK buster, let’s go and get the job done.”’Image Credit: NASA