TWO PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE REDSTONE 3 AND ATLAS 2 SPACE SHUTTLES
The first image of Mercury-Redstone 3, or Freedom 7, the first United States human spaceflight, on May 5, 1961, piloted by astronaut Alan Shepard. It was the first crewed flight of Project Mercury (Yardley's most notable work), and had the ultimate objective of putting an astronaut into orbit around the Earth and returning him safely.

The second photograph of Mercury-Atlas 2 (MA-2), the second flight in a series of Space Shuttle-Spacelab missions, designated the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS), part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, with a focus on atmospheric and solar physics studies. Matted together behind glass, the wooden frame revealing the backsides of the photos, both dated August 24th, 1961 in ink.
Sights: 8 3/4 x 7 in. (22.2 x 17.8 cm.), frame: 15 3/4 x 23 in. (40 x 58.4 cm.)
Purchased July 26th, 2013 from the estate of John F. Yardley, a crucial figure in early space travel and St. Louis native. Yardley served as chief engineer for the Project Mercury (1958-1963) spacecraft, which carried the first Americans into space, and then as technical director for its successor, the Project Gemini (1961-1966) spacecraft, as well as serving as associate administrator for manned space flight at NASA from 1974 to 1981. Returning to St. Louis, Yardley then served as president of McDonnell Douglas Astronautics until he retired in 1989.