ALANSHEPARD

SHEPARD, Alan Bartlett, Jr. (1923-98), American astronaut, born in East Derry, N.H., and educated at the U.S. Naval Academy. After his graduation and commission as an ensign in 1944, Shepard's naval duties included service on a destroyer during World War II; he graduated from the Navy Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Md., and also from the Naval War College, Newport, R.I.

In 1959 Shepard was chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as one of the first seven astronauts. On May 5, 1961, he became the first American in space, riding the tiny Freedom 7 capsule to an altitude of 185 km (115 mi) during a 15-minute suborbital flight. Two years later, however, he was grounded with a serious ear condition. An operation in 1969 proved successful and in February 1971, as commander of the Apollo 14 moon mission, he and Comdr. Edgar D. Mitchell (1930- ) spent a record 33.5 hours on the surface of the moon.

Shepard resigned his commission with the navy with the rank of rear admiral and retired from NASA in 1974. He was awarded (1978) the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, and was one of the founders of the Mercury Seven Foundation, which funds scholarships for science and engineering students. Shepard and fellow astronaut Donald K. (Deke) Slayton (1924–93) wrote Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon (1994).