Alan Shepherd

Alan Shepherd was the first American in space and the only one of the original Mercury astronauts to walk on the moon. Born in Derry, New Hampshire on November 18, 1923, he attended the U.S. Naval Academy after graduating from the Pinkerton Academy in 1940. After his graduation from Annapolis in 1944, he served in the Pacific Ocean during the rest of World War II. After the war, he earned his naval aviator wings in 1947 and served several tours aboard aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean. He became a test pilot in 1950 and served as an instructor in the Test Pilot School. Upon graduating from the Naval War College with an M.S. degree in military science in 1958, he was was assigned to be a staff office with the Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet, serving as an aircraft readiness officer. A year later, he became one of 11 military test pilots invited by the NASA to try out for the manned space flight program. By that time, he had logged over 8,000 hours flying time. He passed the physical and psychological tests and became one of the original group of seven Mercury astronauts. Shepherd should have been the first man in space, but NASA postponed his flight from March 6, 1961 to May 5th. This allowed the Soviet Union the opportunity to put cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into space on April 12, 1961. As well as being the first human being in space, Gagarin also became the first person to orbit the Earth; Shepherd's flight on Freedom 7 on May 5th was a sub-orbital mission. In 1963, Shepherd subsequently was chosen as the command pilot for the first manned Project Gemini mission and was designated as the chief of the Astronaut Office, overseeing all activities involving NASA astronauts, including training. In early 1964, he was grounded after he developed Ménière's disease. The disease is marked by the build-up of fluid in the inner-ear and causes disorientation and dizziness. His spot in Project Gemini was given to Gus Grissom. After undergoing an innovative surgery to treat his Ménière's disease, he was put back on flight status in Mary 1969. Originally assigned to command the ill-fated Apollo 13 (1995), he swapped missions with the Apollo 14 crew as as it was felt he and his crew needed more time to train. When he made the Apollo 14 flight to the moon between January 31 and February 9, 1971, the 47-year-old Shepard was the oldest astronaut in the NASA space program. The Apollo 14 mission was the first moon mission broadcast entirely in color, and part of the broadcast was Shepherd golfing on the moon, using a Wilson six-iron head attached to a lunar sample scoop handle. He managed to drive two golf balls with a one-handed swing. He was criticized by some for his playful action, including on an episode of All in the Family (1971). Shepard was reinstated as Chief of the Astronaut Office in June 1971 but the following month, President Richard Nixon appointed him as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly, where he served from September to December. Nixon also promoted him to the rank of rear admiral that year. He retired from the Navy and NASA on August 1, 1974 and went on to a successful business career, allegedly becoming the first astronaut to become a millionaire. Alan Shepherd lived out the end of his life in Pebble Beach, California. He died of leukemia in a Monterey hospital on July 21, 1998. He was 74 years old.