Faith 7: Gordon Cooper's 1963 Mercury-Atlas 9 Launch in Pictures

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Recovery Operations

NASA

During the May 16, 1963 recovery of the Mercury Atlas 9 "Faith 7" capsule in the central Pacific Ocean, a U.S. Navy frogman team attaches a flotation collar to the spacecraft. Shortly after, the capsule with astronaut and pilot L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. still inside, was raised to the deck of the USS Kearnage.

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NASA

Aboard the USS Kearnage, the prime recovery vessel for the Mercury Atlas 9 spacecraft, the Faith 7 capsule is secured after its successful 22 orbits of Earth. Astronaut and pilot for the mission L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. is still inside.

All Smiles

NASA

After the successful splashdown and recovery of the Mercury Atlas 9 capsule by the USS Kearnage recovery crew, astronaut and pilot of the Faith 7, L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. smiles from his seat inside the capsule.

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Christine Lunsford
Christine Lunsford
Producer and Contributing Writer

Christine Lunsford joined the Space.com team in 2010 as a freelance producer and later became a contributing writer, covering astrophotography images, astronomy photos and amazing space galleries and more. During her more than 10 years with Space.com, oversaw the site's monthly skywatching updates and produced overnight features and stories on the latest space discoveries. She enjoys learning about subjects of all kinds.