Florida Gallery

First US manned space flight, 1961

First US manned space flight, 1961. Redstone rocket launching the Freedom 7 capsule into space on 5th May 1961. This mission (Mercury-Redstone 3) launched Alan Shepherd into space as part of the Mercury program, making him the first US astronaut to travel into space, and the second person worldwide after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin - who had made his flight in April of that year. Shepherd's flight lasted less than 16 minutes, reaching a height of 187 kilometres. Unlike Gagarin, Shepherd did not orbit the Earth. Photographed on 5th May 1961, at Launch Complex 5 (LC-5), Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA

© NASA/VRS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

The Ghost Orchid, Dendrophylax lindenii, was made famous by Susan Orleans in her

The Ghost Orchid, Dendrophylax lindenii, was made famous by Susan Orleans in her book The Orchid Thief. Rare and endangered, the ghost orchid is one of three leafless orchids in the U. S

© Larry W. Richardson / DanitaDelimont.com

Bloom, Danita Delimont, Dendrophylax, Endangered Specie, Epiphytic, Florida, Flower, Fungus, Ghost, Larry Richardson, Leafless, Mystery, Orchid, Poaching, Polyradicion, Pond, Rare, Root, Species, Swamp, Tree

Space shuttle Discovery lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida

Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 5, 2010 - Space shuttle Discovery lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on the STS-131 mission. The crew will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that will be transferred to the International Space Station's laboratories. The crew also will switch out a gyroscope on the stationa€™s truss, install a spare ammonia storage tank and retrieve a Japanese experiment from the stationa€™s exterior

© Stocktrek Images