Alan Shepard
American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923–1998) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alan Shepard (November 18, 1923 - July 21, 1998)[2] was an American astronaut. He was the first American to travel into space. He was born in East Derry, New Hampshire.[2] He received a Bachelor of Science at Naval Academy in 1944, graduated at Naval Testpilot School in 1951 and he earned a Master of Arts at the Naval War College in 1957.
Quick Facts Born, Died ...
Alan Shepard | |
---|---|
Born | Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (1923-11-18)November 18, 1923 Derry, New Hampshire, U.S. |
Died | July 21, 1998(1998-07-21) (aged 74) Pebble Beach, California, U.S. |
Cause of death | Leukemia |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater |
|
Occupations |
|
Spouse(s) | Louise (m. 1945; died 1998) |
Children |
|
Parents |
|
Awards |
|
Space career | |
NASA astronaut | |
Rank | Rear Admiral, USN |
Time in space | 9 days 57 minutes |
Total EVAs | 2 |
Total EVA time | 9 hours 23 minutes |
Missions | MR-3, Apollo 14 |
Mission insignia | |
Retirement | August 1, 1974 |
Close
On May 5, 1961, Shepard flew into space in the Mercury spacecraft. This was powered by a Redstone rocket.[2]
He made another space flight as spacecraft commander (person in charge) of Apollo 14. This was the third trip to land astronauts on the moon. The trip lasted from January 31 - February 9, 1971.[2] At the age of 47, he was the oldest person to ever walk on the Moon.