Alan Shepard: First American Man in Space

Shepard in the Freedom 7 capsule before launch. Image credit: NASA

In 1961, the United States was embroiled in a race against the Soviet Union to put the first human being into space.  The US launched Project Mercury with the intention of getting people into space.  The Soviet Union won the race in April of 1961 when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin completed an orbit of the Earth.  Less than a month later, on May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space during a suborbital flight aboard his Mercury Capsule, Freedom 7.

Shepard and the other Mercury astronauts trained for hundreds of hours to prepare for space flight.  The first attempted launch, scheduled for May 2, 1961, was scrubbed due to inclement weather.  On May 5, the weather was better, and 45 million Americans tuned in to watch Shepard's launch.  After more than two hours of delays due to technical issues, liftoff was achieved at 9:34 AM ET.

After a 15 minute and 22 second flight, Freedom 7 splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean.  Recovery forces retrieved Shepard from the capsule within 20 minutes of splashdown.  Onboard the recovery ship, the U.S.S. Champlain, Shepard received a medical examination and a congratulatory phone call from President John F. Kennedy.

Alan Shepard's successful spaceflight inspired the White House to offer more funding to NASA, as well as to set a new goal of reaching the Moon before the end of the decade. 

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