This Day in History: Astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space – WESH 2 Orlando

Alan Shepard Jr., a Navy Commander and one of NASA's first seven astronauts, became the first American to travel into space on May 5, 1961.Watch the video above to learn more.Shepard was launched into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard the Freedom 7 space capsule, which only had enough room for one person.The flight, which did not orbit Earth, lasted about 15 minutes and reached a height of 116 miles into the atmosphere before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. The mission was a success.Shortly after NASA was established in 1958, the United States and the Soviet Union were in a race to become the first country to put a person in space and return them to Earth. On April 12, 1961, the Soviet space program won the race when Yuri Gagarin was launched into space, put in orbit around the planet and safely returned to Earth.One month later, Shepard's successful suborbital flight helped to restore faith in the U.S. space program.Shepard went on to take part in several other NASA missions, including Apollo 14, which landed on the moon in 1971. He became the fifth astronaut to walk on the moon and the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon.Shepard left NASA in 1974. He died in 1998 at the age of 74.

Alan Shepard Jr., a Navy Commander and one of NASA's first seven astronauts, became the first American to travel into space on May 5, 1961.

Watch the video above to learn more.

Shepard was launched into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard the Freedom 7 space capsule, which only had enough room for one person.

The flight, which did not orbit Earth, lasted about 15 minutes and reached a height of 116 miles into the atmosphere before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. The mission was a success.

Shortly after NASA was established in 1958, the United States and the Soviet Union were in a race to become the first country to put a person in space and return them to Earth. On April 12, 1961, the Soviet space program won the race when Yuri Gagarin was launched into space, put in orbit around the planet and safely returned to Earth.

One month later, Shepard's successful suborbital flight helped to restore faith in the U.S. space program.

Shepard went on to take part in several other NASA missions, including Apollo 14, which landed on the moon in 1971. He became the fifth astronaut to walk on the moon and the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon.

Shepard left NASA in 1974. He died in 1998 at the age of 74.

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This Day in History: Astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space - WESH 2 Orlando