Navigational aids

Here's a schematic of the navigational controls in the Mercury capsule. Much of Shepard's flight was automated, but one of his tasks was to determine whether the spacecraft would respond to manual control of its flight attitude--the pitch, roll, and yaw--beginning with pitch. "When Shepard assumed control of all three axes, he was pleased to find that the feel was about the same as in the procedures trainer, the Mercury simulator. Although he could control his ship well, he was unable to hear the spurting control jets above the noise of his radio," NASA says. (Click here for a larger view of the Navigational Aids image.)