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Alan Shepard, Jr. was the first American astronaut, recruited from the Navy as a test flight pilot. He was part of the elite group of seven, known as the Mercury Seven, who flew the historic Mercury mission series. Shepard became the first American astronaut on May 5, 1961, aboard the Freedom 7 capsule, just a few weeks after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. Shepard was hailed as a national hero and treated to parades in Washington, New York, and Los Angeles.
The first American astronaut, and second person in space overall, was Alan Shepard, Jr. Like most early astronauts, Shepard was recruited by NASA from the Navy, where he was a test flight pilot for high-altitude experimental ships . In the 1950s, he flew F3H Demon, F8U Crusader, F4D Skyray and F11F Tiger, F5D Skylancer, logging over 8,000 flight hours with 3,700 hours in jet aircraft. Before leaving to join NASA to become an astronaut, he was an instructor at the Test Pilot School.
When the Space Race was in full swing in the late 1950s, NASA selected 110 military pilots to undergo a rigorous testing regimen to select an elite group of seven for America’s first spaceflights. This was part of Project Mercury, and the elite group became known as the Mercury Seven, flying the historic Mercury mission series. Seeking to beat the Russians into space from Sputnik, the United States had planned to send pioneering astronaut Shepard into space in October 1960, but the project was delayed due to the need for unplanned preparatory work.
On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, orbiting the Earth only once before landing again in the Soviet Union, but that was enough. Not only had the Soviets bested the Americans by creating the first satellite, they had now launched the first human astronaut.
Just a few weeks later, on May 5, 1961, Shepard became the first American astronaut, launched into space aboard the Freedom 7 capsule. Launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the capsule reached an altitude of 187 km (116 mi) and it traveled in space for just 16 minutes before crashing into the Gulf of Mexico. Unlike the Soviet launch, during Freedom 7 flight, Shepard was in control of the craft at all times.
The entire flight was televised and watched by millions. After being successfully recovered, Shepard was hailed as a national hero, praised by the President and treated to parades in Washington, New York and Los Angeles.
Although Shepard is widely considered to be the first astronaut, many other people were referred to as “astronauts” in their day due to flying to extremely high altitudes. One of these was Wiley Post, who was the first man to fly solo around the world, and is sometimes considered the first American astronaut because of his record-breaking 50,000-foot (15,240 m) flight and his work in developing of pressurized flight suits.
