8. The USS Intrepid was a Recovery Vessel for Mercury-Atlas 7 and Gemini 3

 Intrepid-Museum, NASA, space, Gemini-3, Intrepid, World-War-2, Vietnam-War, Cold-War, New-York-City, Manhattan
Recovery of Gemini 3 Crew. Photo by NASA via Wikimedia Commons.

In May 1962, the Intrepid was the “primary recovery vessel for the Mercury-Atlas 7 space mission,” according to the museum. This mission was particularly special because it was only the “second orbital flight of an American rocket with a human on board,” according to NASA. The Intrepid recovered astronaut Scott Carpenter nearly three hours after he landed.

As for Gemini 3, this was the first mission of the Gemini series that had a crew orbiting earth. The carrier would later recover astronauts John Young and Virgil Grissom in March 1965 via helicopter.

Get tickets to check out the Intrepid here.