Min Bid: $300 (0 bids)
The 30 Minute Rule begins April 17 at 7:00 PM EDT. An Initial Bid Must Be Placed By April 17 at 6:00 PM EDT To Participate After 6:00 PM EDT
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) document translated into Russian, reporting on the success of Alan Shepard's MR-3 'Freedom 7' flight, totaling 24 pages plus seven silver gelatin photographs, 8.25 x 11.75, July 8, 1961. The first page is a Russian translation of a letter from the director of the FAI in Paris to the head of the Russian FAI, with a handwritten note in red pencil by Sergei Korolev, the 'Father of the Soviet Space Program,' signed with his codename, "Sergeev," with instructions to Nikolai Kamanin, the cosmonaut program manager (translated): "Very important to get this to the people who need to see it…before you go on your trip," [with Gagarin to Cuba]. The report begins with a summary of the submission to the FAI for record-keeping purposes (translated): "On May 5, 1961, the Redstone rocket and Mercury cabin with a man on board were successfully launched into outer space in the USA, to an altitude of over 100 km. The pilot in the cabin, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., returned safely to Earth on the same day. Two world records were registered in section 2A: altitude and lifting the largest mass without entering Earth orbit." The report contains details on the mission, its results, and the specifications of the Mercury spacecraft.
The seven silver gelatin photos, captioned in English and Russian, show a radar flight path chart, Mercury test flight chart, portrait of Alan Shepard, the erection of the Mercury spacecraft, the Mercury-Redstone rocket on the launch pad, liftoff, and recovery. In overall fine condition.
The 'Space Race' between the United States and the Soviet Union escalated in 1961 with two historic manned spaceflights. On April 12, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space aboard Vostok 1, completing a single orbit around Earth and marking a major Soviet victory. Less than a month later, on May 5, American astronaut Alan Shepard piloted Freedom 7 in a suborbital flight, becoming the first American in space. Though shorter in duration, Shepard’s flight demonstrated the U.S. commitment to catching up in the race for space dominance. A remarkable, early piece representing the global competition to put men in space.
