dsc06144.jpg

The sign accompanying the spacecraft. It reads

MR-1 Jet Vane

Recovered from Alan B. Shepard's historic flight on Mercury-Redstone No. 3 "Freedom 7" May 5, 1961. The jet vane served as the rocket's steering rudder and was mounted to the lower portion of the rocket in the exhaust plume. It was controlled by radio signals sent from guiding instruments within the Mission Control Room. This light fixture is from the gantry that serviced the Mercury-Redstone rocket.

I'm not certain why the sign calls this the "MR-1 jet vane;" the mission was called "MR-3" (i.e., the third Mercury-Redstone mission), launched on the "MR-7" booster (the rockets had serial numbers which were confusingly of the same format as the mission numbers).