Shepard, Alan

Date of birth: November 18, 1923.

Place of birth: East Derry, New Hampshire. Died: July 21, 1998.

Major contribution: First American in space.

Awards: Congressional Space Medal of Honor; two NASA Distinguished Service Medals; NASA Exceptional Service Medal; Navy Distinguished Service Medal; Navy Distinguished Flying Cross; several other trophies, medals, and honorary degrees.

fter Alan Shepard’s first trip in an airplane, in his early teens, he became fascinated by flying. He often visited the local airport, doing odd jobs in the hope of a plane ride. Shepard attended the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. Graduating in 1944, he served on a destroyer during the last year of World War II. After the war, Shepard became a navy pilot, and, in 1950, he became a test pilot.

In 1959, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began recruiting the first American astronauts. The agency sent invitations to the top 110 test pilots. Shepard entered the pro­gram and soon after was named as one of the seven Project Mercury astronauts. After two years of training, Shepard was chosen to be the first American in space.

Weather and technical problems delayed Shepard’s flight, but the launch finally took place on May 5, 1961. Takeoff was smooth, and the flight was brief. Shepard never reached orbit—he simply went up and, about 15 minutes later, splashed down. Splashdown and recovery were successful. The launch and the recovery were covered live by television, and Americans greeted Shepard as a hero.

After the celebrations were over, Shepard returned to NASA. In 1964, before he could make another space­flight, he developed a serious problem in his inner ear. Fluid buildup would, from time to time, cause him to lose his balance and feel nauseous. NASA ground­ed Shepard, and he took on the alternative job of chief of astronaut opera­tions. After several years, he decided to have sur­gery to try to correct his ear problem. The 1969

О Alan Shepard is seen here being recovered by a helicopter after splashdown in May 1961.

О Alan Shepard was photographed on the Moon with a transporter used for carrying equipment and samples. Shepard and fellow astronaut Edgar Mitchell spent more time on the Moon (33 hours) than any other Apollo astronauts.

operation was a success, and soon after, Shepard was cleared for spaceflight again.

Shepard was ready to achieve his dream of flying to the Moon. He was named commander of Apollo 14, teamed with Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa. On January 31, 1971, Shepard returned to space. Five days later, he and Mitchell landed on the Moon. They spent more than a day on the Moon’s surface, where they collected a large sample of moon rocks and carried out several experi­ments. Having completed their mission, the astronauts returned safely to Earth.

Shepard continued as chief of astro­naut operations until he retired from NASA three years later. He began work­ing in business, where he was successful in several ventures. In 1984, Shepard, five other Mercury astronauts, and the widow of a seventh astronaut formed a foundation that gave scholarship money to students interested in science and engineering. Shepard led the foundation until stepping down in 1997. He died the following year.

GOLF ON THE MOON

On Apollo 14, Shepard decided to indulge his passion for golf. Before the flight, he had a NASA worker cut the head off a golf club and attach a device that could be used to connect it to a Moon exploration tool. Before launch, Shepard stuffed the club head and two golf balls into a sock and hid them in his spacesuit. At the end of his Moon walk, he surprised NASA officials by attaching the club head and smacking the two balls. All this took place on live television. Although the first ball did not go far, the second-Shepard announced – traveled for "miles and miles."