Freedom 7 was the first American manned spacecraft, launched on May 5, 1961. It was part of the Mercury program, which aimed to explore human spaceflight. The spacecraft was piloted by astronaut Alan Shepard, who became the first American in space during this historic flight. The mission lasted about 15 minutes, reaching an altitude of 116.5 miles before safely returning to Earth. Freedom 7 completed a suborbital flight, demonstrating the capabilities of human space travel and paving the way for future missions in the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union.