Defiance 7 | ||
Defiance 7 was the space capsule in which Captain Carl Bell of the United States Space Administration (USSA) made his historic flight, becoming the first human in space, on May 5, 1961, although this claim was disputed by both the Soviet Union and China. Captain Bell's flight lasted twelve minutes and seven seconds, and made a full revolution around the Earth. Bell died when the capsule crashed on its return to Earth.[1]
Defiance 7 flight was a major victory for the United States in the space race, which it won a decade later, when Virgo II placed the first man on Earth's moon.
Notes[]
- This is the Fallout universe's version of the suborbital flight of Alan Shepard, first American in space, on the same date. (Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space, on April 12.) His Mercury space capsule was named Freedom 7. (The number 7 is a reference to the number of astronauts chosen for Project Mercury.)
- Note that it is not possible to complete an orbit of the Earth in a "coasting" spacecraft in less than 89 minutes. Most likely this is a minor writing error referring to the time it took Freedom 7 to reaching a peak altitude; otherwise, an implausibly complex explanation would be required.
References
- ↑ Museum of Technology placard: "This is the actual USSA Deep Space Suit worn by Captain Carl Bell on May 5, 1961. Captain Bell is credited as being the first human in space on board the Space Capsule Defiance 7, but this has been constantly refuted by both the Soviet Union and China. Defiance 7's flight lasted for a total of 12 minutes and 7 seconds as it achieved one full revolution around the Earth."
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