{"id":5285,"date":"2021-05-05T22:11:37","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T03:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/?p=5285"},"modified":"2021-05-05T22:11:42","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T03:11:42","slug":"alan-shepard-first-american-in-space-60-years-ago-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/alan-shepard-first-american-in-space-60-years-ago-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Alan Shepard: First American in Space, 60 Years Ago Today"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Alan Shepard became the first American in space sixty years ago today.&nbsp; This is his story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Freedom 7<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Freedom-7-e1620269502165.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Freedom-7-655x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5278\" width=\"182\" height=\"284\"\/><\/a><figcaption>Liftoff<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Alan Shepard was launched from Pad LC-5 in a Mercury Redstone-3 Rocket at 9:34am EST, May 5, 1961.&nbsp; It was one month after the Soviets, with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, accomplished the feat first.&nbsp; The Americans were trying desperately to catch up in the Space Race and they were \u201cway behind\u201d in the early stages of the contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Shepard-from-capsule-e1620269554806.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Shepard-from-capsule-650x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5282\" width=\"208\" height=\"327\"\/><\/a><figcaption>Shepard on the USS Champlain<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Shepard\u2019s rocket went up and headed east over the Atlantic Ocean.&nbsp; Reaching a maximum altitude of 101.2 nautical miles.&nbsp; Fifteen minutes and twenty eight seconds later it landed in the Atlantic and Shepard was plucked from his floating capsule by a helicopter and brought to the <em>USS Lake Champlain<\/em>.&nbsp; He became a national celebrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prior to Freedom 7<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Alan Shepard was born in Derry, New Hampshire in 1923.&nbsp; He attended the US Naval Academy and graduated with the Class of 1945.&nbsp; The Class graduated a year early (standard procedure during World War II) and Shepard went to sea on a Destroyer, the <em>USS Cogswell<\/em>.&nbsp; While on board the ship was both torpedoed and attached by kamikazes.&nbsp; The <em>Cogswell<\/em>, and Shepard, were present at the surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Helicopter-e1620269517803.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Helicopter-1024x774.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5279\" width=\"257\" height=\"194\"\/><\/a><figcaption>Recovery in the Atlantic<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>After the war, Alan Shepard attended flight training at Corpus Christi in Texas.&nbsp; After initial struggles, Shepard graduated in 1947.&nbsp; He flew the F4U. Eventually he was tapped to become a Naval test pilot at Patuxent River (Pax River) where he flew the F2H Banshee, among a number of other aircraft.&nbsp; He was selected to the astronaut corps as part of the Mercury Seven in 1959.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">After <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/mercury\/missions\/freedom7.html\">Freedom 7<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Shortly before the Gemini program began, Shepard was grounded due to Meniere\u2019s Disease (an inner ear malfunction that causes dizziness).&nbsp; He sat out for the entire Gemini Program.&nbsp; Finally, he regained flight status after surgery repaired the inner ear aliment in 1969.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Shepard-on-Moon-e1620269583867.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Shepard-on-Moon-1024x939.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5284\" width=\"226\" height=\"207\"\/><\/a><figcaption>Apollo XIV<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>He was selected to command the Apollo XIV Mission (on the heels of the Apollo XIII explosion).&nbsp; &nbsp;Into space again at age 47, he had longer hair and sideburns.&nbsp; He also hit a two golf ball on the moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">His Hallmarks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Shepard was known for a number of things away from NASA.&nbsp; He disliked the attention garnered on him and his family (with their loss of privacy) with their exclusive <em>Life<\/em> Magazine contract.&nbsp; He reportedly, however, didn\u2019t mind cashing the checks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/boarding-rockert-e1620269486366.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/boarding-rockert-1024x810.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5277\" width=\"236\" height=\"187\"\/><\/a><figcaption>Boarding Freedom 7<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>He went on to real estate development and banking.&nbsp; His wise cracking was well known, and he loved to laugh.&nbsp; In the movie <em>The Right Stuff<\/em> Shepard\u2019s love for the fictitious comedic character of the late 1950s, Jose Jimenez, and his imitation of the same was legendary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, my favorite memory is a line from the same movie.\u00a0 When Shepard is asked if he would like to try out for the <a href=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/seven-number-completion\/\">Mercury Seven<\/a>, he says, \u201cSounds dangerous\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt is, yes, very, very dangerous\u201d is the reply of the government men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c<strong>Count me in<\/strong>\u201d he replies with a wiry smile.\u00a0 They did, and now we do, these sixty years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Patch.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Patch.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5281\" width=\"335\" height=\"329\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alan Shepard became the first American in space sixty years ago today.&nbsp; This is his story. Freedom 7 Alan Shepard was launched from Pad LC-5 in a Mercury Redstone-3 Rocket at 9:34am EST, May 5, 1961.&nbsp; It was one month after the Soviets, with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, accomplished the feat first.&nbsp; The Americans were trying [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":338,"featured_media":5283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[39],"tags":[1260,1261,201,200,1262],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Alan Shepard: First American in Space, 60 Years Ago Today - Doctor Aviation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alan Shepard became the first American in space sixty years ago today. 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