Rear Admiral Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961 he became the first American to travel into space, and in 1971 he walked on the Moon.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Shepard saw action with the surface navy during World War II. He became a naval aviator in 1946, and a test pilot in 1950. He was selected as one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts in 1959, and in May 1961 he made the first crewed Project Mercury flight, Mercury-Redstone 3, in a spacecraft he named Freedom 7. His craft entered space, but was not capable of achieving orbit. He became the second person, and the first American, to travel into space, and the first space traveler to manually control the orientation of his craft. In the final stages of Project Mercury, Shepard was scheduled to pilot the Mercury-Atlas 10 , which was planned as a three-day mission. He named Mercury Spacecraft 15B Freedom 7 II in honor of his first spacecraft, but the mission was canceled.
Shepard was designated as the commander of the first crewed Project Gemini mission, but was grounded in 1963 due to Ménière's disease, an inner-ear ailment that caused episodes of extreme dizziness and nausea. This was surgically corrected in 1969, and in 1971, Shepard commanded the Apollo 14 mission, piloting the Apollo Lunar Module Antares to the most accurate landing of the Apollo missions. At age 47, he became the fifth, the oldest, and the earliest-born person to walk on the Moon, and the only one of the Mercury Seven astronauts to do so. During the mission, he hit two golf balls on the lunar surface.
Shepard was Chief of the Astronaut Office from November 1963 to July 1969 , and from June 1971 until his retirement from the United States Navy and NASA on August 1, 1974. He was promoted to rear admiral on August 25, 1971, the first astronaut to reach that rank.
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“I know you're all saying I can go to the moon but I can't find Pasadena.”
When Shepard arrived a half-hour late to a book signing of Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon — reported in Sun-Sentinel wire services (June 19, 1995) "Astronaut Late to Signing", Sun-Sentinel, p. 2A.
Elizabeth Kastor (February 21, 1987) "The Flight of Memory - Mercury Reunion Honors Glenn's Voyage", The Washington Post, p. G1.
Roxanne Roberts (May 4, 1991) "Blastoff to the Past - Tribute to America's First Men in Space", The Washington Post, p. D1.
Malcolm Howard (April 30, 1987) "The Day the Earth Stood Still - On Film, Anyway", The Record, p. B08.
“We need a continuing presence in space.”
Bill Kaczor, Associated Press (May 8, 1993) "Astronauts advocate return to the moon, space flights beyond", The Tampa Tribune, p. 7.
The Denver Post staff (September 29, 1992) "Shepard still shoots for moon", The Denver Post, p. 1D.
“I can hit it farther on the moon. But actually, my swing is better here on Earth.”
The Orlando Sentinel staff (August 13, 1992) "Lunar-Golfer Shepard Takes Swings In Tourney", The Orlando Sentinel, p. A2.
Marcia Dunn, Associated Press Aerospace Writer (May 1, 1991) "Ex-Astronaut Recalls Thrill of 1st U.S. Space Flight", The Deseret News, p. A1.
Discussing the 1967 Apollo 1 fire and 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster incidents — reported in The Deseret News staff (May 7, 1995) "Even Cosmos Is Aghast at Size of Earthly Egos", The Deseret News, p. A2.
Describing his golf shots made on the Moon — reported in Philip Morgan (April 4, 1993) "'Boy, what a ride!' - On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard went from being a mere Navy commander to an American icon - the country's first man in space. That 15-minute, 28-second flight on Freedom 7 catapulted him into fame, searing his name and face into the collective imagination of a generation", The Tampa Tribune, p. 1.
Beth Dickey, Reuters (May 5, 1991) "First American in Space Marks 30th Anniversary", The Commercial Appeal, p. A2.
Edgar Mitchell — reported in St. Petersburg Times staff (July 23, 1998) "Alan Shepard Jr. 1923-1998 - Space pioneer", St. Petersburg Times, p. 1A.
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John Logsdon — reported in John Noble Wilford, The New York Times (July 23, 1998) "Alan Shepard 1923-1998 One of 7 Original Astronauts, He was First American in Space", The Plain Dealer, p. 1A.
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On dedicating the Astronaut Hall of Fame — reported in Associated Press (May 12, 1990) "Five of Mercury Seven return to the Cape, Launch Hall of Fame - Astronauts hope exhibits will inspire youths to learn", The Gazette, p. A2.
NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin — reported in Mark Carreau (July 23, 1998) "Alan Shepard, first American in space, is dead at 74 - Space Age pioneer succumbs to lengthy illness in California", Houston Chronicle, p. A1.
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Louis Friedman — reported in David Montero (July 23, 1998) "Alan B. Shepard: 1923-1998 - A man of the heavens First American in space, moon golfer dies in sleep", Ventura County Star, p. A01.
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Andrew Chaikin (August 2, 1998) "Real American heroes: Shepard pushed our frontiers", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, p. 3.
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Richard Louv (August 2, 1995) "The thrill of space? Let's ask Alan Shepard", The San Diego Union-Tribune, p. A-2.
James Endrst (July 8, 1994) "It's Been 25 Years Since We Took That Giant Leap For Mankind - Moon Odyssey", The Hartford Courant, p. B1.
“The fact that every part of this ship was built by the low bidder.”
When asked by a reporter what he thought about while inside the capsule atop the Redstone rocket.
Quoted by Gene Kranz in Failure is Not an Option http://books.google.com/books?id=slQZ3JOUSKQC&q=%22The+fact+that+every+part+of+this+ship+was+built+by+the+low+bidder%22&pg=PA201#v=onepage (2000).
Josh Getlin, Los Angeles Times (July 19, 1994) "What Does Moon Flight Mean Now", The Seattle Times, p. A10.
President Bill Clinton — reported in Seth Borenstein (July 23, 1998) "Astronaut Filled America's Need for a Space Hero", Detroit Free Press, p. 1A.
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Senator John Glenn — reported in Nicole Koch (July 24, 1998) "The man who played golf on the Moon", The Daily Telegraph (Australia), p. 035.
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The Dallas Morning News staff (July 28, 1986) "People", The Dallas Morning News, p. 2A.
