Mercury-Redstone 3, also known as Freedom 7, was the first crewed spaceflight in the Mercury program by the United States. Launched on May 5, 1961, it carried astronaut Alan Shepard on a suborbital flight that lasted about 15 minutes. The mission reached an altitude of 116.5 miles and traveled approximately 302 miles downrange. The primary goal of Mercury-Redstone 3 was to demonstrate human spaceflight capabilities and gather data on the effects of space travel on the human body. This historic flight marked a significant milestone in the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union.