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Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. was an American astronaut. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he became the fifth and oldest person to walk on the Moon, at age 47.
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business · American astronaut (1923–1998) · naval officer · astronaut · aircraft pilot · entrepreneur · also Alan Shepard, Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr., Shepard
Born 18 November 1923 · Died 21 July 1998 · Q174979
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Twenty-three years after his death, Shepard's daughter, Laura Shepard Churchley, also flew in space (suborbitally, above the Karman line) aboard the non-NASA Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft on the NS-19 mission
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NASA honored Shepard with an Ambassador of Exploration Award, consisting of a Moon rock encased in Lucite, for his contributions to the U
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At 17:00, which, coincidentally, was the same time of day at which he had always phoned her when they were apart
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Died 1998-07-21.
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And died from complications of the disease in Pebble Beach, California, on July 21, 1998
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The entirety of I-565 (which passes in front of the U
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Published a book with two journalists, Jay Barbree and Howard Benedict, called Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon
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Together with the other surviving Mercury astronauts and Betty Grissom, Gus Grissom's widow, Shepard founded the Mercury Seven Foundation, which raises money to provide college scholarships to science and engineering stu
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Awarded International Space Hall of Fame (1981).
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Won Congressional Space Medal of Honor (1978).
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Won NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1977).
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Awarded National Aviation Hall of Fame (1977).
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The International Space Hall of Fame in 1981, and the U
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Was promoted to rear admiral, the first astronaut to reach that rank
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And Doctorate of Humanities from Franklin Pierce College in 1972
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Career landmark: Chief of the Astronaut Office (1971–1974).
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“s disease. Shepard flew to Los Angeles, where he met with William F. House. House proposed to open Shepard”
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Stafford went to Shepard's office and told him that an otologist in Los Angeles had developed a cure for Ménière's disease
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And in 1971, Shepard commanded the Apollo 14 mission, piloting the Apollo Lunar Module Antares
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Won Langley Gold Medal (1964).
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Surgeons at Hermann Hospital made an incision on his throat and removed 20 percent of his thyroid
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Career landmark: Chief of the Astronaut Office (1963–1969).
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Won NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1961).
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Shepard piloted the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission and became the second person, and the first American, to travel into space
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Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space, and the first to orbit the Earth
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Gilruth informed the seven astronauts that Shepard had been chosen for the first American crewed mission into space
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In Deerfield, Illinois, was the first building named in his honor
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Became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he became the fifth and oldest person to walk on the Moon, at age 47
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And in May 1961 he made the first crewed Project Mercury flight, Mercury-Redstone 3, in a spacecraft he named Freedom 7
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As a civilian agency to develop space technology
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The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite
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Was project test pilot on the Douglas F5D Skylancer
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And became an Aircraft Readiness Officer on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet
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Raised her five-year-old niece, Judith Williams—whom they renamed Alice to avoid confusion with Julie—as their own, although they never adopted her
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When his oxygen system failed and Shepard talked him through a landing
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During the Korean War, but the Korean Armistice Agreement ended the fighting in July 1953, and Shepard did not see combat
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Shepard was selected to attend the United States Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland with class five, graduating in January 1951
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Ranked 463rd out of 915, and was commissioned as an ensign and awarded a Bachelor of Science degree
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Went to Principia College to be with his sister, who was unable to go home owing to wartime travel restrictions
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But at sixteen was too young to enter that year
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Went to the Pinkerton Academy, a private school in Derry that his father had attended and where his grandfather had been a trustee
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At 64 East Derry Road in Derry, New Hampshire, to Alan Bartlett Shepard Sr
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Born 1923-11-18.
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And served in France with the American Expeditionary Force during World War I
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