He attended the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland, in 1950. Fluid in his inner ear had built up, increasing the sensitivity of the semicircular canals and causing vertigo. This was the first mission to successfully broadcast color television pictures from the surface of the Moon, using a vidicon tube camera.

This flight took place on March 24, and everything worked well, clearing the way for Shepard's manned mission. He was appointed by President Richard Nixon in July 1971 as a delegate to the 26th United Nations General Assembly, serving from September to December 1971. Thomas P. Stafford was chosen as his co-pilot.

Space calendar 2020: Rocket launches, sky events, missions & more! As a young boy, after helping to clean an aircraft hangar, he was given his first flying lesson by Arnold Sidney Butler, a local owner and operator of the Daniel Webster airport. Shepard made history on May 5, 1961, as his Freedom 7 spacecraft flew up into the sky from its Florida launch pad. Thank you for signing up to Space. Early in 1969, Shepard underwent a delicate operation to correct his inner-ear problem. Future US, Inc. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor,

Alan Shepard became the 1st American in space on May 5, 1961. But the flight of Freedom 7 had made the space race a genuine contest, and Shepard’s bravery was rewarded with ticker-tape parades in four cities and Nasa’s Distinguished Service Medal, presented to him by President Kennedy.

Ten years later, at age 47 the oldest astronaut in the program, Shepard commanded the Apollo 14 mission, piloting the lander to the most accurate landing of the Apollo missions. But the delay opened a window of opportunity for the Soviets, and they leapt through it, launching Gagarin on April 12. Following a gruelling series of physical and psychological tests, NASA selected Shepard to be one of the original group of seven Mercury astronauts. His naval career was steady rather than spectacular. He married, in 1945, Louise Brewer; they had two daughters. Astronaut, military pilot, and educator, Neil Armstrong made history on July 20, 1969, by becoming the first man to walk on the moon. Without those twin shocks, historians say, the Apollo program – an all-out rush to the moon designed to firmly establish American space supremacy – would likely never have been possible. [10] The book was also turned into a TV miniseries in 1994. Following Apollo 14, Shepard returned to his position as Chief of the Astronaut Office in June 1971. For two years these men trained to be astronauts, studying a demanding combination of subjects that included astronomy, astrophysics, aviation biology, meteorology and desert survival. [Most Extreme Human Spaceflight Records]. (The color camera on Apollo 12 provided a few brief moments of color telecasting before it was inadvertently pointed at the Sun, ending its usefulness.) [/caption] 50 years ago today, Alan Shepard blasted off on board the first flight of NASA’s Mercury program, becoming the first American in space. Nasa was quick to concede that Shepard’s trip fell short of Gagarin’s achievement – the Russian had travelled at more than 17,000 mph, reached a height of 188 miles and spent nearly an hour and a half in space. Did Shepard actually fly the Freedom 7, or was he just human cargo? Alan Rickman is best known for portraying memorable villains in films like 'Die Hard' and the 'Harry Potter' film series. [Photos: Freedom 7, America's 1st Human Spaceflight]. You will receive a verification email shortly. He was originally assigned to command Apollo 13, but as it was felt he needed more time to train, he and his crewmates (lunar module pilot Edgar Mitchell and command module pilot Stuart Roosa) swapped missions with the then crew of Apollo 14 (James Lovell, Ken Mattingly, and Fred Haise). Visit our corporate site.

Shepard's Mercury spacecraft -- which bore the name Freedom 7 -- made it to suborbital space, reaching a peak altitude of 116 miles (187 kilometers) and a top speed of 5,180 mph (8,336 km). Despite thick gloves and a stiff spacesuit which forced him to swing the club with one hand, Shepard struck two golf balls; driving the second, as he jokingly put it, "miles and miles and miles."[10]. He was promoted from Captain to Rear Admiral on August 25, 1971. He also served as an instructor at the Test Pilot School for a time. NASA selected Shepard to be part of the first crewed Gemini mission, which was called Gemini 3. In 1959, Shepard was one of 110 military test pilots invited by the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration to volunteer for the first US manned space flight program]]. They brought home 94 pounds (nearly 43 kilograms) of lunar samples, including two rocks exceeding 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) apiece. During the mission he hit two golf balls on the lunar surface. The launch was seen live on television by millions. Receive mail from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors? Future US, Inc. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, It took six attempts before the command module, Kitty Hawk, managed to dock with the lunar module, Antares. Alice was Louise's niece, but raised as their own daughter. Because of the placement of the porthole windows, the first American in space was unable to catch a glimpse of the stars, and he was strapped in too tight to experience weightlessness. [22], On May 4, 2011, the U.S. [[File:Apollo 14 Shepard.jpg|right|thumb|Shepard poses next to the American flag on the Moon during Apollo 14]]Shepard was restored to full flight status in May 1969, following corrective surgery (using a newly developed method) for Ménière's disease.

President Bill Clinton remembered Shepard as "one of the great heroes of modern America," according to a separate report in The New York Times. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. His hometown of Derry has the nickname Space Town in honor of his career as an astronaut. His family members accepted the award on his behalf during a ceremony on April 28 at the U.S. From this prestigious group of highly trained fliers, Shepard was selected to pilot the first flight into space, with Glenn acting as his backup. For example, Shepard manually positioned the capsule to fire its retrorockets, which helped the craft decelerate.