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Astronaut Alan B. Shepard is assisted by a technician in getting into his space suit at 2:45 a.m. in the morning, beginning the long countdown of the scheduled launch of the Mercury Redstone. After Astronaut Shepard was suited up, he traveled by van to the Redstone Gantry on Pad 5 and was placed into the Mercury Capsule, called Freedom 7, on top of the Redstone booster rocket. Astronaut Shepard piloted the first U.S. manned sub-orbital space flight of the Manned Mercury Program.