Early U.S. Human Space Flights

  • 1. Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) May 5, 1961 1 Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Fist U.S. flight; suborbital
  • 2. Mercury-Redstone 4 (MR-4) Jul 21, 1961 1 Virgil I. Grissom Suborbital; capsule sank after landing; astronaut safe.
  • 3. Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) Feb 20, 1962 1 John H. Glenn, Jr. First American to orbit.
  • 4. Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) May 24, 1962 1 M. Scott Carpenter Landed 400 km beyond target.
  • 5. Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) Oct 3, 1962 1 Walter M. Schirra, Jr. Landed 8 km from target.
  • 6. Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) May 15, 1963 1 L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. First U.S. flight exceeding 24 hours.
  • 7. Gemini 3 (GT-3) Mar 23, 1965 2 Virgil I. Grissom First U.S. 2-person flight; first manual maneuvers John W. Young in orbit.
  • 8. Gemini 4 (GT-4) Jun 3, 1965 2 James A. McDivitt 21-min extravehicular activity (White). Edward H. White, II
  • 9. Gemini 5 (GT-5) Aug 21, 1965 2 L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. Longest-duration human flight to date (7:22:55) Charles Conrad,
  • 10. Gemini 7 (GT-7) Dec 4, 1965 2 Frank Borman Longest human flight to date (13:18:35) James A. Lovell, Jr. Rendezvous with Gemini 6-A
  • 11. Gemini 6-A (GT-6A) Dec 15, 1965 2 Walter M. Schirra, Jr. Rendezvous within 30 cm of Gemini 7 Thomas P. Stafford
  • 12. Gemini 8 (GT-8) Mar 16, 1966 2 Neil A. Armstrong First docking of 2 orbiting spacecraft David R. Scott (Gemini 8 with Agena target rocket)
  • 13. Gemini 9-A (GT-9A) Jun 3, 1966 2 Thomas P. Stafford Extravehicular activity; rendezvous Eugene A. Cernan
  • 14. Gemini 10 (GT-10) Jul 18, 1966 2 John W. Young First dual rendezvous (Gemini 10 with Agena 10, Michael Collins then Agena 8)
  • 15. Gemini 11 (GT-11) Sep 12, 1966 2 Charles Conrad, Jr. First initial-orbit docking; first tethered flight; Richard F. Gordon, Jr. highest Earth-orbit altitude (1,372 km)
  • 16. Gemini 12 (GT-12) Nov 11, 1966 2 James A. Lovell, Jr. 3:22:35 Longest extravehicular activity to date Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. (Aldrin, 5 hrs 37 min)
  • 17. Apollo 7 Oct 11, 1968 3 Walter M. Schirra, Jr. First U.S. 3-person mission. Donn F. Eisele R. Walter Cunningham
  • 18. Apollo 8 Dec 21, 1968 3 Frank Borman First human orbit(s) of Moon; first human James A. Lovell, Jr. departure of Earth's sphere of influence; highest William A. Anders speed attained in human flight to date
  • 19. Apollo 9 Mar 3, 1969 3 James A. McDivitt Successfully simulated in Earth orbit operation of David R. Scott lunar module to landing and takeoff from lunar surface Russell L. Schweickart and rejoining with command module.
  • 20. Apollo 10 May 18, 1969 3 Thomas P. Stafford Successfully demonstrated complete system including John W. Young lunar module to 14,300 m from the lunar surface Eugene A. Cernan
  • 21. Apollo 11 Jul 16, 1969 3 Neil A. Armstrong First human landing on lunar surface and safe return Michael Collins to Earth. First return of rock and soil samples to Earth, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. and human deployment of experiments on lunar surface.
  • 22. Apollo 12 Nov 14, 1969 3 Charles Conrad, Jr. Second human lunar landing. Explored surface of Moon Richard F. Gordon, Jr. retrieved parts of Surveyor 3 spacecraft, which landed Alan L. Bean in Ocean of Storms on Apr. 19, 1967.
  • 23. Apollo 13 Apr 11, 1970 3 James A. Lovell, Jr. Mission aborted; explosion in service module. Ship Fred W. Haise, Jr. circled Moon, with crew using LM as "lifeboat" until John L. Swigert, Jr. just before reentry.
  • 24. Apollo 14 Jan 31, 1971 3 Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Third human lunar landing. Mission demonstrated Stuart A. Roosa pinpoint landing capability and continued human exploration. Edgar D. Mitchell
  • 25. Apollo 15 Jul 26, 1971 3 David R. Scott Fourth human lunar landing and first Apollo "J" series Alfred M. Worden mission, which carried Lunar Roving Vehicle. Worden's James B. Irwin inflight EVA of 38 min 12 sec was performed during return trip.
  • 26. Apollo 16 Apr 16, 1972 3 John W. Young Fifth human lunar landing, and second with Lunar Charles M. Duke, Jr. Roving Vehicle. Thomas K. Mattingly II
  • 27. Apollo 17 Dec 7, 1972 3 Eugene A. Cernan Sixth and final Apollo human lunar landing, again with Harrison H. Schmitt roving vehicle. Ronald E. Evans
  • - Skylab May 14, 1973 - Space Station launched uncrewed. Damaged during launch.
  • 28. Skylab 2 May 25, 1973 3 Charles Conrad, Jr. Docked with Skylab 1 for 28 days (28:0:50). First manned mission Joseph P. Kerwin Repaired damaged station. Paul J. Weitz
  • 29. Skylab 3 Jul 28, 1973 3 Alan L. Bean Docked with Skylab 1 for more than 59 days (59:11:9). Second manned mission Jack R. Lousma Owen K. Garriott
  • 30. Skylab 4 Nov 16, 1973 3 Gerald P. Carr Docked with Skylab 1 in long-duration mission Third manned mission Edward G. Gibson (84:1:16); last of the Skylab program. William R. Pogue
  • 31. Apollo (ASTP) Jul 15, 1975 3 Thomas P. Stafford Docked with Soyuz 19 in joint experiments of Donald K. Slayton ASTP mission. Vance D. Brand

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