"FAITH 7"- ASTRONAUT COOPER, GORDON L. - RECOVERY AREA - MERCURY-ATLAS (MA)-9 - POSTFLIGHT - USS KEARSAGE

S63-07882 (16 May 1963) --- Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., pilot of the Mercury Atlas 9 (MA-9) mission, backs out of his spacecraft "Faith 7" after a 600,000-mile, 22-orbit journey around Earth. He elected to remain in the spacecraft until it was hoisted to the deck of the USS Kearsarge, as did astronaut Walter Schirra during the previous mission. Photo credit: NASA