preview

How Did Alan B. Shepard Build Space Essey

Decent Essays

The Cosmos Coincidence
During the 1960’s, President John F. Kennedy proposed a challenge that the United States could get a man on the moon within the decade. On July 17, 1969 NASA launched their Apollo 11 mission, piloted by Michael Collins. The goal was to get man onto the moon. It took the spacecraft 72 hours to enter lunar orbit. On July 20, man landed a spacecraft on the moon. 7 hours later Astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the moon surface. As the now famous statement goes, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” said Armstrong. For the next few hours Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent their time collecting samples and performing tests. On July 21, they launched off the moon and started their trip back home. This …show more content…

Shepard was born. He was born and raised in New Hampshire and attended the Naval Academy, where he earned his Bachelor degree in science. In 1959, Shepard joined the NASA program as an astronaut. On May 5, 1961 Shepard became the first American in space. He rode the Freedom 7 to about 115 miles and then came back down. In 1964 Shepard was also selected to become command pilot for the Gemini 3 mission. Unfortunately, Shepard could not fly because he came down with an ear ailment known as Ménière disease. 5 years later he underwent surgery and returned to full flight status. In 1971, Shepard was selected to be part of the Apollo 14 program. The main goal was to go to the moon was to perform moonwalks and collect rock samples. Bircantica Biographies says, “Shepard—an avid golfer—swung at two golf balls with a makeshift six-iron club as a playful demonstration for live television cameras of the weak lunar gravity.” A couple years after that mission Alan B Shepard retired from the US Navy as Rear Admiral and from the space program; he was headed to Texas to start up his own business. On July 21, 1998 Alan B Shepard passed away. He received many awards including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the Congressional Medal of Honor and will always be remembered for his excellence. (NASA, “Alan B

Get Access