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The launch of the Mercury-Redstone (MR-3), Freedom 7. MR-3 placed the first American astronaut, Alan Shepard, in suborbit on May 5, 1961.
Credit: NASA
Astronomy News
R2 in Space
RACHEL CHRISTIE
Editor-in-Chief
Stardate 21105.01
When it comes to spacewalks, R2 could be next in line. Robonaut 2 (R2 for short), the most advanced humanoid robot to date, is already aboard the International Space Station.
Designed by General Motors, R2 is in training to become another pair of hands aboard the space station. Controlled like an RC toy, R2 replicates movements made by it's human controller. R2 can move his hands in 12 directions, and can sense weight and resistance with touch sensitive cells embedded in each finger.
Though only his torso up there now, a future mission will bring the rest of R2's limbs up to space. GM is training R2 for his future job – which will be made up of simply mundane tasks like sterilizing hand rails.
Having R2 on the space station may be the next step for robots in space, but they're still a long way off from getting him outside the station. Robotic humanoids don't yet have the delicacy of touch that humans do to important tasks like flicking a switch or using a hand tool.
Sorry R2, your space walk will have to wait.
This Month in Astronomy History
Mercury-Redstone 3
RACHEL CHRISTIE
Editor-in-Chief
Stardate 21105.01
This Month in Astronomy History celebrates the 50th anniversary of an American in Space. On May 5th, 1961, Alan Shepard piloted the Freedom 7 in mission Mercury-Redstone 3 – part of the Mercury Program – in a sub-orbital flight. This was only three weeks after Yuri Gagarin performed the first human spaceflight.
Lifting off at 9:34 am from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Shepard's flight ascended to 187.5 kilometers and lasted just over 15 minutes. During the mission Shepard tested the reaction control systems of the Freedom 7 and took observations of the Earth.
Shepard splashdowned safely in off the coast of the Bahamas. Freedom 7 is now on display in the lobby of the Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.
