About Freedom 7 Capsule + Sikorsky H-34:

Delivered by the Redstone rocket, the Freedom 7 capsule was launched on May 5, 1961. The capsule was piloted by Alan B. Shepard Jr. The short, suborbital was the first successful mission by the United States to put a human being into space. The capsule was small and cramped, but it provided a wealth of data on space flight and its effects on the human body.

The mission had several objectives: to familiarize man with a complete space flight including lift-off, weightlessness, reentry, and landing phases. The mission was also designed to see if Shepard could manually pilot the spacecraft while under the physical forces of all these phases. Two further objectives included observation of Shepard’s physiological reactions during the flight, and to safely recover the spacecraft and astronaut one they returned to Earth.

The helicopter used to recover the capsule after reentry was a Sikorsky H-34, first built in 1954. This helicopter served in both military roles and during search and rescue operations. Aside from recovering the Freedom 7, the Sikorsky also played a prominent role in the Vietnam War.

Freedom 7 Specifications:

• Crew: 1
• Speed: 5,180 mph (8,340 km/h)
• Altitude: 115 mi (186 km)
• Flight duration: 15 min, 22 s
• Launch Vehicle: Mercury Redstone 3 rocket

Sikorsky H-34 Specifications:

• Crew: 2
• Engine: Wright R-1820-84
• Speed: 173 mph (278 km/h)
• Range: 182 mi (293 km)

Additional information about this Brickmania custom building kit:

The Freedom 7 Capsule + Sikorsky H-34 kit comes with the following features

• Two custom-printed minifigures
• Opening doors and sliding cockpit windows
• Folding tail section and foldable main rotors
• High-quality sticker sheet
• Freedom 7 space capsule fits astronaut minifigure (not included)
• Winding crank that spins main rotors
• String included for functional hoist and space capsule lift
• Pneumatic main landing gear and pivoting caster tail landing gear
• Designed by Yitzy Kasowitz
• Includes 677 genuine new-condition LEGO® elements
• Advanced Skill Level (6-8 years of experience with LEGO is recommended)

All Brickmania model kits are made of new-condition LEGO bricks. This model comes disassembled and includes complete printed building instructions and comes packaged in a sealed box. This is a limited-edition kit and production may be discontinued at any time.