On May 5 , 1961 which astronaut became the first American in space aboard " Freedom 7 " , launched by a Redstone booster on a 15 - minute ballistic ( suborbital ) flight ?
The mission was a technical success , though American pride in the accomplishment was dampened by the fact that just 3 weeks before , the Soviet Union had launched the first man in space , Yuri Gagarin , who completed one orbit on Vostok 1.