Alan Shepard

American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

Alan Shepard was an American astronaut who became the second person and first American to travel into space in 1961. In 1971, he became the fifth and oldest person to walk on the Moon at the age of 47, and he even hit two golf balls on the lunar surface during the Apollo 14 mission.

Table of Contents

About the Alan Shepard

Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr.was an American astronaut. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he became the fifth and oldest person to walk on the Moon, at age 47.

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 1947, 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. In the final stages of Project Mercury, Shepard was scheduled to pilot the Mercury-Atlas 10 (MA-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 October 1963 due to Meniere’s disease, an inner-ear ailment that caused episodes of extreme dizziness and nausea. This was surgically corrected in 1968, and in 1971, Shepard commanded the Apollo 14 mission, piloting the Apollo Lunar Module Antares. He was the only one of the Mercury Seven astronauts to walk on the Moon. During the mission, he hit two golf balls on the lunar surface.

Shepard was Chief of the Astronaut Office from November 1963 to August 1969 (the approximate period of his grounding), and from June 1971 until April 30, 1974. On August 25, 1971, he was promoted to rear admiral, the first astronaut to reach that rank. He retired from the United States Navy and NASA on July 31, 1974.

Frequently Asked Questions

Alan Shepard was born on November 18, 1923.

Alan Shepard was one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts, and in 1961 he became the first American to travel into space.

In 1971, Alan Shepard became the fifth and oldest person to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 14 mission, and he famously hit two golf balls on the lunar surface.

After his initial spaceflight, Alan Shepard went on to become the commander of the first crewed Project Gemini mission, and he was also chief of the Astronaut Office for several years.

Alan Shepard was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and saw action with the surface navy during World War II, before becoming a naval aviator and test pilot.

In 1963, Alan Shepard was grounded due to Ménière’s disease, an inner-ear ailment that caused episodes of extreme dizziness and nausea, but this was surgically corrected in 1968, allowing him to return to spaceflight.

Alan Shepard retired from the United States Navy and NASA on July 31, 1974, after reaching the rank of rear admiral, the first astronaut to do so.

29 Quotes by Alan Shepard

  1. 1.

    We wanted to be in great shape, we wanted to be able to cope with zero gravity, we wanted to be able to cope with accelerations and decelerations and so on. So all of us trained so that we were probably in the best physical condition we had ever been in up until that point.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  2. 2.

    But when I was selected, after my very first tour of squadron duty, to become one of the youngest candidates for the test pilot school, I began to realize, maybe you are a little bit better.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  3. 3.

    We also knew it would be difficult, because of the financial condition of the family, for me to go to college.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  4. 4.

    Whether you are an astronomer or a life scientist, geophysicist, or a pilot, you’ve got to be there because you believe you are good in your field, and you can contribute, not because you are going to get a lot of fame or whatever when you get back.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  5. 5.

    The rocket had worked perfectly, and all I had to do was survive the reentry forces. You do it all, in a flight like that, in a rather short period of time, just 16 minutes as a matter of fact.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  6. 6.

    Later, in the early teens, I used to ride my bike every Saturday morning to the nearest airport, ten miles away, push airplanes in and out of the hangars, and clean up the hangars.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  7. 7.

    I woke up an hour before I was supposed to, and started going over the mental checklist: where do I go from here, what do I do? I don’t remember eating anything at all, just going through the physical, getting into the suit. We practiced that so much, it was all rote.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  8. 8.

    The pilot looked at his cues of attitude and speed and orientation and so on and responded as he would from the same cues in an airplane, but there was no way it flew the same. The simulators had showed us that.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  9. 9.

    I didn’t mind studying. Obviously math and the physical science subjects interested me more than some of the more artistic subjects, but I think I was a pretty good student.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  10. 10.

    So everything turned out fine, and we were given the opportunity to go to Washington and be briefed on the project of man in space, and given the opportunity to choose whether we wanted to get involved or not.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  11. 11.

    They say any landing you can walk away from is a good one.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  12. 12.

    We worked with the engineers in the design and construction and testing phases in those various areas, then we would get back together at the end of the week and brief each other as to what had gone on.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  13. 13.

    I think the sense of family and family achievement, plus the discipline which I received there from that one-room school were really very helpful in what I did later on.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  14. 14.

    Then there was the challenge to keep doing better and better, to fly the best test flight that anybody had ever flown. That led to my being recognized as one of the more experienced test pilots, and that led to the astronaut business.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  15. 15.

    I think all of us certainly believed the statistics which said that probably 88% chance of mission success and maybe 96% chance of survival. And we were willing to take those odds.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  16. 16.

    You’ve done it in the simulator so many times, you don’t have a real sense of being excited when the flight is going on. You’re excited before, but as soon as the liftoff occurs, you are busy doing what you have to do.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  17. 17.

    You have to be there not for the fame and glory and recognition and being a page in a history book, but you have to be there because you believe your talent and ability can be applied effectively to operation of the spacecraft.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  18. 18.

    The excitement really didn’t start to build until the trailer – which was carrying me, with a space suit with ventilation and all that sort of stuff – pulled up to the launch pad.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  19. 19.

    I must admit, maybe I am a piece of history after all.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  20. 20.

    I’d like to say I was smart enough to finish six grades in five years, but I think perhaps the teacher was just glad to get rid of me.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  21. 21.

    Obviously I was challenged by becoming a Naval aviator, by landing aboard aircraft carriers and so on.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  22. 22.

    Of course, in our grade school, in those days, there were no organized sports at all. We just went out and ran around the school yard for recess.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  23. 23.

    You know, being a test pilot isn’t always the healthiest business in the world.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  24. 24.

    The first plane ride was in a homemade glider my buddy and I built. Unfortunately we didn’t get more than four feet off the ground, because it crashed.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  25. 25.

    You may not have any extra talent, but maybe you are just paying more attention to what you are doing.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  26. 26.

    It’s a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one’s safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  27. 27.

    Of course I was delighted the flight was over, but I still had to worry about cleaning up inside the cabin, I had to worry about the hatch, how to get in the sling, and so on.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  28. 28.

    And I think that still is true of this business – which is basically research and development – that you probably spend more time in planning and training and designing for things to go wrong, and how you cope with them, than you do for things to go right.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)

  29. 29.

    It’s been a long way, but we’re here.

    Alan Shepard

    American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923-1998)