Faith 7

United States space capsule

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June 26, 2026

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The Faith 7 was a United States space capsule used in the Mercury program, which conducted the first crewed spaceflights for the U.S.. Astronaut Gordon Cooper piloted the Faith 7 on May 15-16, 1963, completing 22 orbits around Earth. This mission was the longest of the Mercury flights, lasting 34 hours and 20 minutes, and was the final crewed mission of the program. During the flight, the automatic control system failed, and Cooper successfully piloted the capsule back to Earth manually, landing only 4 miles from the recovery ship. Each Mercury capsule weighed approximately 1,400 kg (3,000 pounds).12

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Gordon Cooper
…times in the space capsule Faith 7, completing the sixth and last of the Mercury crewed spaceflights. At the end of his 34-hour 20-minute flight, when the automatic control system had broken down, he piloted his craft back to Earth manually and landed just 4 miles (6 km) from the…
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…times in the space capsule Faith 7, completing the sixth and last of the Mercury crewed spaceflights. At the end of his 34-hour 20-minute flight, when the automatic control system had broken down, he piloted his craft back to Earth manually and landed just 4 miles (6 km) from the…
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Mercury
…last Mercury flight, that of Faith 7, was also the longest. Launched on May 15, 1963, it carried L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., on 22 orbits before its landing and successful recovery 34 hours and 20 minutes later.
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…last Mercury flight, that of Faith 7, was also the longest. Launched on May 15, 1963, it carried L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., on 22 orbits before its landing and successful recovery 34 hours and 20 minutes later.
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