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Mercury 9 Pacific Splash
Downs supported by Navy Tankers
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Faith 7 (MA-9) The final
flight in the series, in May 1963, lasted a record 34 hours/19 minutes,
and circled the Earth 22-1/2 times. The pilot, Gordon Cooper in his
Faith 7, released the first satellite from a spacecraft-a six-inch
(152-millimeter) sphere with a beacon for testing the astronaut's
ability to track objects visually in space. His mission was so
successful that NASA decided to cancel the final scheduled flight.
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| Four miles ahead of the prime recovery ship, again the carrier Kearsarge, just south of Midway Island, the canopied capsule containing Gordon Cooper broke through a mild overcast and landed on the lazy waves of the blue Pacific. | |