It would have been a privilege to meet “Smiling” Al Shepard a true space pioneer and American hero
We visited the launch site of his Mercury redstone MA5 mission last year at the KSC, the gantry obviously has been removed but the pad , flame guards, block house and firing room are still there including a replica Mercury redstone Rocket .The site looks more like a 50s / 60s missile launch facility rather than a space launch complex , very primitive to say the least which made his Mercury flight even more incredible when it came to technology , human safety and risk etc...
Here’s a couple of pics
Cheers
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