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Alan Shepard

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Alan Shepard
Shepard stands behind a chair wearing a blue suit. In the background is an American flag.
Shepard in 1971
Born
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr.

(1923-11-18)November 18, 1923
Derry, New Hampshire,U.S.
DiedJuly 21, 1998(1998-07-21)(aged 74)
Pebble Beach, California,U.S.
EducationUnited States Naval Academy(BS)
Naval War College(MA)
Spouse
Louise Brewer
​
(m.1945)​
Children2
Awards
Space career
NASA astronaut
RankRear Admiral,USN
Time in space
9d 0h 57m
SelectionNASA Group 1 (1959)
TotalEVAs
2
Total EVA time
9h 23m
Missions
Mission insignia
The circular patch depicts a Mercury capsule and a map of Florida, indicating the ballistic path of the capsule into the Atlantic Ocean. The words say: "Mercury 3 – Shepard – Freedom 7"The circular patch depicts the Earth and the Moon. An astronaut lapel pin leaves a comet trail from the liftoff point on Earth. Around it is the logo "Apollo 14 – Shepard Roosa Mitchell"
RetirementJuly 31, 1974

Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr.(November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an Americanastronaut.In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he became thefifth and oldest person to walk on the Moon,at age 47.

A graduate of theUnited States Naval AcademyatAnnapolis,Shepard saw action with the surface navy duringWorld War II.He became a naval aviator in 1947, and a test pilot in 1950. He was selected as one of the originalNASAMercury Sevenastronauts in 1959, and in May 1961 he made the first crewedProject Mercuryflight,Mercury-Redstone 3,in a spacecraft he namedFreedom 7.His craft entered space, but was not capable of achievingorbit.He became the second person, and the first American, to travel into space. In the final stages ofProject Mercury,Shepard was scheduled to pilot theMercury-Atlas 10(MA-10), which was planned as a three-day mission. He named Mercury Spacecraft 15BFreedom 7 IIin honor of his first spacecraft, but the mission was canceled.

Shepard was designated as the commander of the first crewedProject Geminimission, but was grounded in October 1963 due toMénière's disease,an inner-ear ailment that caused episodes of extreme dizziness and nausea. This was surgically corrected in 1968, and in 1971, Shepard commanded theApollo 14mission, piloting theApollo Lunar ModuleAntares.He was the only one of the Mercury Seven astronauts to walk on the Moon. During the mission, he hit twogolf ballson thelunar surface.

Shepard wasChief of the Astronaut Officefrom November 1963 to August 1969 (the approximate period of his grounding), and from June 1971 until April 30, 1974. On August 25, 1971, he was promoted torear admiral,the first astronaut to reach that rank. He retired from theUnited States NavyandNASAon July 31, 1974.

Early life[edit]

Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. was born on November 18, 1923, at 64 East Derry Road inDerry, New Hampshire,[1]to Alan Bartlett Shepard Sr. and Pauline Renza Shepard (néeEmerson).[2]He had a younger sister, Pauline, who was known as Polly.[3]The two were descendants ofMayflowerpassengerRichard Warren,[2]and were related toScottishemigrants fromBernerayin theOuter Hebrides,through the Shepard line.[4]Alan Bartlett Shepard Sr., known as Bart, worked in the Derry National Bank, owned by Shepard's grandfather. Bart joined theNational Guardin 1915 and served in France with theAmerican Expeditionary ForceduringWorld War I.[5]He remained in the National Guard between the wars, and was recalled to active duty duringWorld War II,rising to the rank oflieutenant colonel.[6]

Shepard attended Adams School in Derry, where his academic performance impressed his teachers. He skipped the sixth grade[7]and proceeded tomiddle schoolat Oak Street School in Derry,[6]where he also skipped the eighth grade.[7]He achieved theBoy Scouts of Americarank ofFirst Class Scout.[8]In 1936, he went to thePinkerton Academy,a private school in Derry that his father had attended and where his grandfather had been a trustee.[9]He completed grades 9 to 12 there.[7]Fascinated by flight, he created a model airplane club at the academy and his Christmas present in 1938 was a flight in aDouglas DC-3.[10]The following year he began cycling toManchester Airfield,where he would do odd jobs in exchange for the occasional ride in an airplane or informal flying lesson.[11][12]

Shepard graduated from Pinkerton Academy in 1940. Because World War II was already raging in Europe, his father wanted him to join the Army. Shepard chose the Navy instead. He easily passed the entrance exam to theUnited States Naval AcademyatAnnapolisin 1940 but at sixteen was too young to enter that year. The Navy sent him to theAdmiral Farragut Academy,aprep schoolfor the Naval Academy from which he graduated with the Class of 1941.[13]Tests administered at Farragut indicated anIQof 145 but his grades were mediocre.[14]

At the Naval Academy, Shepard enjoyedaquatic sports.He was a keen and competitive sailor, winning several races, including aregattaheld by the Annapolis Yacht Club. He learned to sail all the types of boats the academy owned, up to and includingUSSFreedom,a 90-foot (27 m)schooner.He also participated in swimming and rowed with theeight.[14]During his Christmas break in 1942, he went toPrincipia Collegeto be with his sister, who was unable to go home owing to wartime travel restrictions. There he met Louise Brewer, whose parents were pensioners on thedu Pont familyestate and like Renza Shepard, were devoutChristian Scientists.[15][16]Owing to the war, the usual four-year course at Annapolis was cut short by a year. He graduated with the Class of 1945 on June 6, 1944, ranked 463rd out of 915, and was commissioned as anensignand awarded aBachelor of Sciencedegree. The following month he became secretly engaged to Louise.[17][18]

Naval service[edit]

"You know, being a test pilot isn't always the healthiest business in the world."

—Shepard quoted at the New Mexico Museum of Space History[19]

After a month of classroom instruction in aviation, Shepard was posted to adestroyer,USSCogswell,in August 1944;[20]it was US Navy policy that aviation candidates should first have some service at sea.[11]At the time the destroyer was deployed on active service in the Pacific Ocean. Shepard joined it when it returned to thenaval base at Ulithion October 30.[21]After just two days at seaCogswellhelped rescue 172 sailors from thecruiserUSSReno,which had been torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, then escorted the crippled ship back to Ulithi. The ship was buffeted byTyphoon Cobrain December 1944, a storm in which three other destroyers went down, and battledkamikazesin theinvasion of Lingayen Gulfin January 1945.[22]

A ship plows through the water. It has two guns forward, and two aft.
USSCogswellin 1945

Cogswellreturned to the United States for an overhaul in February 1945. Shepard was given three weeks' leave, in which time he and Louise decided to marry. The ceremony took place on March 3, 1945, in St. Stephen's Lutheran Church inWilmington, Delaware.His father, Bart, served as his best man. The newlyweds had only a brief time together before Shepard rejoinedCogswellat theLong Beach Navy Yardon April 5, 1945.[23]After the war, they had two children, both daughters: Laura, born in 1947,[24]and Julie, born in 1951.[25]Following the death of Louise's sister in 1956, they 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.[26][27]They eventually had six grandchildren.[28]

On Shepard's second cruise withCogswell,he was appointed a gunnery officer, responsible for the 20 mm and 40 mm antiaircraft guns on the ship's bow. They engaged kamikazes in theBattle of Okinawa,where the ship served in the dangerous role of aradar picket.The job of the radar pickets was to warn the fleet of incoming kamikazes, but because they were often the first ships sighted by incoming Japanese aircraft, they were also the most likely ships to be attacked.Cogswellperformed this duty from May 27 until June 26, 1945, when it rejoinedTask Force 38.The ship also participated in theAllied naval bombardments of Japan,and was present inTokyo Bayfor theSurrender of Japanin September 1945. Shepard returned to the United States later that month.[21][29]

Shepard, in Navy uniform short and tie, stands before a blackboard on which is stencilled "Student aviator USN – 8-19-1946 class. Above that is written in chalk: "Lt (jg) Shepard, Alan B. Jr"
Shepard as a student aviator in 1946

In November 1945, Shepard arrived atNaval Air Station Corpus ChristiinTexas,where he commenced basic flight training on January 7, 1946.[30]He was an average student, and for a time faced being "bilged" (dropped) from flight training and reassigned to the surface navy. To make up for this, he took private lessons at a local civilian flying school—something the Navy frowned on—earning a civil pilot's license.[31]His flying skills gradually improved, and by early 1947 his instructors rated him above average. He was sent toNaval Air Station Pensacolain Florida for advanced training. His final test was six perfect landings on the carrierUSSSaipan.The following day, he received hisnaval aviatorwings,which his father pinned on his chest.[32]

Shepard was assigned toFighter Squadron 42(VF-42), flying theVought F4U Corsair.The squadron was nominally based on theaircraft carrierUSSFranklin D. Roosevelt,but the ship was being overhauled at the time Shepard arrived, and in the meantime the squadron was based atNaval Air Station NorfolkinVirginia.He departed on his first cruise, of theCaribbean,onFranklin D. Rooseveltwith VF-42 in 1948. Most of the aviators were, like Shepard, on their first assignment. Those who were not were given the opportunity to qualify for night landings on a carrier, a dangerous maneuver, especially in a Corsair, which had to bank sharply on approach. Shepard managed to persuade his squadron commander to allow him to qualify as well. After briefly returning to Norfolk, the carrier set out on a nine-month tour of theMediterranean Sea.He earned a reputation for carousing and chasing women. He also instituted a ritual of, whenever he could, calling Louise at 17:00 (her time) each day.[33]

Normally sea duty alternated with periods of duty ashore. In 1950, Shepard was selected to attend theUnited States Naval Test Pilot SchoolatNaval Air Station Patuxent RiverinMarylandwith class five, graduating in January 1951.[34][35]As a test pilot he conducted high-altitude tests to obtain information about the light and air masses at different altitudes over North America; carrier suitability certification of theMcDonnell F2H Banshee;experiments with the Navy's new in-flight refueling system; and tests of theangled flight deck.[18]He narrowly avoided beingcourt-martialedby the station commander,Rear AdmiralAlfred M. Pride,after looping theChesapeake Bay Bridgeand making low passes over the beach atOcean City, Maryland,and the base; but Shepard's superiors,John Hylandand Robert M. Elder, interceded on his behalf.[36]

A Corsair on deck. A man stands nearby with fist upraised, giving a signal. There is another Corsair in the air above.
Shepard's 105th F4U sortie onUSSFranklin D. Roosevelt

Shepard's next assignment was toVF-193,anight fightersquadron flying the Banshee, that was based atNaval Air Station Moffett Field,California. The squadron was part of CommanderJames D. "Jig Dog" Ramage's Air Group 19. Naval aviators with experience in jet aircraft were still relatively rare, and Ramage specifically requested Shepard's assignment on the advice of Elder, who commanded VF-193's sister squadron,VF-191.Ramage made Shepard his ownwingman,[37]a decision that would save Ramage's life in 1954, when his oxygen system failed and Shepard talked him through a landing.[38]As squadron operations officer, Shepard's most important task was imparting his knowledge of flying jets to his fellow aviators to keep them alive. He served two tours on the aircraft carrierUSSOriskanyin the western Pacific. It set out on a combat tour off Korea in 1953, during theKorean War,but theKorean Armistice Agreementended the fighting in July 1953, and Shepard did not see combat.[39]

Rear AdmiralJohn P. Whitneyrequested Shepard's services as anaide de camp,but Shepard wanted to fly. Therefore, at Shepard's request, Ramage spoke to the admiral on his behalf, and Shepard was instead sent back to Patuxent.[40]He flight tested theMcDonnell F3H Demon,Vought F-8 Crusader,Douglas F4D SkyrayandGrumman F-11 Tiger.[41]TheVought F7U Cutlasstended to go into an inverted spin during a snap roll. This was not unusual; many aircraft did this, but normally if the pilot let go of the stick the aircraft would correct itself. When he attempted this in the F7U, Shepard found this was not the case. He was unable to break out of the spin and was forced to eject. In 1957, he was project test pilot on theDouglas F5D Skylancer.Shepard did not like the plane, and gave it an unfavorable report. The Navy canceled orders for it, buying the F8U instead. He also filed an unfavorable report on the F11F after a harrowing incident in which the engine failed on him during a high-speed dive. He managed to restart the engine and avoid a fatal crash.[42]

Shepard was aninstructorat the Test Pilot School, and then entered theNaval War CollegeatNewport, Rhode Island.[43]He graduated in 1957, and became an Aircraft Readiness Officer on the staff of theCommander-in-Chief,Atlantic Fleet.[44]By this time he had logged more than 3,600 hours of flying time, including 1,700 hours in jets.[45]

NASA career[edit]

Mercury Seven[edit]

Main article:Mercury Seven
The astronauts pose in front of a delta-winged light blue-gray jet aircraft, holding their flight helmets under their arms. The three Navy aviators wear orange flight suits; the Air Force and Marine ones are green.
The Mercury Seven astronauts with a USAFF-106.From left to right:Scott Carpenter,Gordon Cooper,John Glenn,Gus Grissom,Wally Schirra,Alan B. Shepard andDeke Slayton.
Shepard in 1960

On October 4, 1957, theSoviet UnionlaunchedSputnik 1,the first artificialsatellite.This shattered American confidence in its technological superiority, creating a wave of anxiety known as theSputnik crisis.Among his responses, PresidentDwight D. Eisenhowerlaunched theSpace Race.TheNational Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) was established on October 1, 1958, as a civilian agency to develop space technology. One of its first initiatives was publicly announced on December 17, 1958. This wasProject Mercury,[46]which aimed to launch a man intoEarth orbit,return him safely to the Earth, and evaluate his capabilities in space.[47]

NASA received permission from Eisenhower to recruit its firstastronautsfrom the ranks of military test pilots. The service records of 508 graduates of test pilot schools were obtained from theUnited States Department of Defense.From these, 110 were found that matched the minimum standards:[48]the candidates had to be younger than 40, possess a bachelor's degree or equivalent and to be 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) or less. While these were not all strictly enforced, the height requirement was firm, owing to the size of the Project Mercury spacecraft.[49]The 110 were then split into three groups, with the most promising in the first group.[50]

The first group of 35, which included Shepard, assembled atthe Pentagonon February 2, 1959. The Navy andMarine Corpsofficers were welcomed by theChief of Naval Operations,AdmiralArleigh Burke,while theUnited States Air Forceofficers were addressed by theChief of Staff of the United States Air Force,GeneralThomas D. White.Both pledged their support to the Space Program, and promised that the careers of volunteers would not be adversely affected. NASA officials then briefed them on Project Mercury. They conceded that it would be a hazardous undertaking, but emphasized that it was of great national importance. That evening, Shepard discussed the day's events with fellow naval aviatorsJim Lovell,Pete ConradandWally Schirra,all of whom would eventually become astronauts. They were concerned about their careers, but decided to volunteer.[51][52]

The briefing process was repeated with a second group of 34 candidates a week later. Of the 69, six were found to be over the height limit, 15 were eliminated for other reasons, and 16 declined. This left NASA with 32 candidates. Since this was more than expected, NASA decided not to bother with the remaining 41 candidates, as 32 candidates seemed a more than adequate number from which to select 12 astronauts as planned. The degree of interest also indicated that far fewer would drop out during training than anticipated, which would result in training astronauts who would not be required to fly Project Mercury missions. It was therefore decided to cut the number of astronauts selected to just six.[53]Then came a grueling series of physical and psychological tests at theLovelace Clinicand theWright Aerospace Medical Laboratory.[54]Only one candidate, Lovell, was eliminated on medical grounds at this stage, and the diagnosis was later found to be in error;[55]thirteen others were recommended with reservations. The director of the NASASpace Task Group,Robert R. Gilruth,found himself unable to select only six from the remaining eighteen, and ultimately seven were chosen.[55]

Shepard was informed of his selection on April 1, 1959. Two days later he traveled to Boston with Louise for the wedding of his cousin Anne, and was able to break the news to his parents and sister.[56][57]The identities of the seven were announced at a press conference atDolley Madison Housein Washington, D.C., on April 9, 1959:[58]Scott Carpenter,Gordon Cooper,John Glenn,Gus Grissom,Wally Schirra,Alan Shepard, andDeke Slayton.[59]The magnitude of the challenge ahead of them was made clear a few weeks later, on the night of May 18, 1959, when the seven astronauts gathered atCape Canaveralto watch their first rocket launch, of anSM-65D Atlas,which was similar to the one that was to carry them into orbit. A few minutes after liftoff, it spectacularly exploded, lighting up the night sky. The astronauts were stunned. Shepard turned to Glenn and said: "Well, I'm glad they got that out of the way."[60]

Freedom 7[edit]

Main article:Mercury-Redstone 3
Shepard in his Mercury space suit and helmet, with tubes connected.
Shepard in theFreedom 7capsule before launch

Faced with intense competition from the other astronauts, particularlyJohn Glenn,Shepard quit smoking and adopted Glenn's habit of taking a morning jog.[61]On January 19, 1961, Gilruth informed the seven astronauts that Shepard had been chosen for the first American crewed mission into space.[62]Shepard later recalled Louise's response when he told her that she had her arms around the man who would be the first man in space: "Who let a Russian in here?"[63]During training he flew 120 simulated flights.[64]Although this flight was originally scheduled for April 26, 1960,[65]it was postponed several times by unplanned preparatory work, initially to December 5, 1960, then mid-January 1961,[66]March 6, 1961,[67]April 25, 1961,[68]May 2, 1961, and finally to May 5, 1961.[69]On April 12, 1961, SovietcosmonautYuri Gagarinbecame the first person in space, and the first to orbit the Earth.[70]It was another body blow to American pride.[67]When Shepard heard the news he slammed his fist down on a table so hard a NASA public relations officer feared he might have broken his hand.[71]

On May 5, 1961, Shepard piloted theMercury-Redstone 3mission and became the second person, and the first American, to travel into space.[72]He named his spacecraft, Mercury Spacecraft 7,Freedom 7.[67]He awoke at 01:10, and had breakfast consisting of orange juice, a filet mignon wrapped in bacon, and scrambled eggs with his backup,John Glenn,and flight surgeonWilliam K. Douglas.He was helped into his space suit by suit technicianJoseph W. Schmitt,and boarded the transfer van at 03:55. He ascended the gantry at 05:15, and entered the spacecraft five minutes later. It was expected that liftoff would occur in another two hours and five minutes,[73]so Shepard's suit did not have any provision for elimination of bodily wastes, but after being strapped into the capsule's seat, launch delays kept him in that suit for over four hours.[74]Shepard's endurance gave out before launch, and he was forced toempty his bladderinto the suit. Medical sensors attached to it to track the astronaut's condition in flight were turned off to avoid shorting them out. The urine pooled in the small of his back, where it was absorbed by his undergarment.[75][76]After Shepard's flight, the space suit was modified, and by the time ofGus Grissom'sMercury-Redstone 4suborbital flight in July, a liquid waste collection feature had been built into the suit.[77]

Unlike Gagarin's 108-minuteorbital flightin aVostokspacecraft three times the size ofFreedom 7,[70]Shepard stayed on asuborbitaltrajectory for the 15-minute flight, which reached an altitude of 101.2 nautical miles (116.5 statute miles; 187.4 kilometers), and then fell to asplashdown263.1 nautical miles (302.8 statute miles; 487.3 kilometers) down theAtlantic Missile Range.[78]Unlike Gagarin, whose flight was strictly automatic, Shepard had some control ofFreedom 7,spacecraftattitudein particular.[79]Shepard's launch was seen live on television by millions.[80]It was launched atop aRedstone rocket.According toGene Kranzin his 2000 bookFailure Is Not an Option,"When reporters asked Shepard what he thought about as he sat atop the Redstone rocket, waiting for liftoff, he had replied, 'The fact that every part of this ship was built by the lowest bidder.'"[81]

A green helicopter hovers low over the water, with the Mercury capsule suspended below. The helicopter has "Marines" written on it, and the number "44"
Marine CorpsHUS-1helicopter fromHMR-262retrievesFreedom 7from the Atlantic.

After a dramatic Atlantic Ocean recovery, Shepard observed that he "didn't really feel the flight was a success until the recovery had been successfully completed. It's not the fall that hurts; it's the sudden stop."[82]Splashdown occurred with an impact comparable to landing a jet aircraft on an aircraft carrier. A recovery helicopter arrived after a few minutes, and the capsule was lifted partly out of the water to allow Shepard to leave by the main hatch. He squeezed out of the door and into a sling hoist, and was pulled into the helicopter, which flew both the astronaut and spacecraft to the aircraft carrierUSSLake Champlain.The whole recovery process took just eleven minutes.[83]Shepard was celebrated as a national hero, honored with ticker-tape parades in Washington, New York and Los Angeles, and received theNASA Distinguished Service Medalfrom PresidentJohn F. Kennedy.[84]He was also awarded theDistinguished Flying Cross.[85]

Shepard served ascapsule communicator(CAPCOM) for Glenn'sMercury-Atlas 6orbital flight, which he had also been considered for,[86]and Carpenter'sMercury-Atlas 7.[87]He was the backup pilot for Cooper for theMercury-Atlas 9mission,[88]nearly replacing Cooper after Cooper flew low over the NASA administration building at Cape Canaveral in anF-102.[89]In the final stages of Project Mercury, Shepard was scheduled to pilot theMercury-Atlas 10(MA-10), which was planned as a three-day mission.[90]He named Mercury Spacecraft 15BFreedom 7 IIin honor of his first spacecraft, and had the name painted on it,[91]but on June 12, 1963, NASA AdministratorJames E. Webbannounced that Mercury had accomplished all its goals and no more missions would be flown.[90]Shepard went as far as making a personal appeal to President Kennedy, but to no avail.[92]

Project Gemini; Chief Astronaut[edit]

The men wear dark suits. A Naval officer in khaki stands behind them. The White House is in the background.
Shepard and his wife Louise meet First LadyJacqueline Kennedy,PresidentJohn F. Kennedyand Vice PresidentLyndon B. Johnsonat the South Portico of theWhite House,prior to his receiving theNASA Distinguished Service Medalon May 8, 1961.

Project Gemini,with a crew of two, followed on from Project Mercury.[93]After the Mercury-Atlas 10 mission was canceled, Shepard was designated as the commander of the first crewed Gemini mission, withThomas P. Staffordchosen as his pilot.[94]In late 1963, Shepard began to experience episodes of extreme dizziness and nausea, accompanied by a loud, clanging noise in the left ear. He tried to keep it secret, fearing that he would lose his flight status, but was aware that if an episode occurred in the air or in space it could be fatal. Following an episode during a lecture in Houston, where he had recently moved fromVirginia Beach, Virginia,Shepard was forced to confess his ailment to Slayton, who was now Director of Flight Operations, and seek help from NASA's doctors.[95]

The doctors diagnosedMénière's disease,a condition in which fluid pressure builds up in the inner ear. This syndrome causes the semicircular canals and motion detectors to become extremely sensitive, resulting in disorientation, dizziness, and nausea. There was no known cure, but in about 20 percent of cases the condition goes away by itself. They prescribeddiureticsin an attempt to drain the fluid from the ear. They also diagnosedglaucoma.An X-ray found a lump on histhyroid,and on January 17, 1964, surgeons atHermann Hospitalmade an incision on his throat and removed 20 percent of his thyroid.[96][97]The condition caused Shepard to be removed from flight status. Grissom andJohn YoungflewGemini 3instead.[98]

Shepard was designatedChief of the Astronaut Officein November 1963, receiving the title of Chief Astronaut.[99]He thereby became responsible for NASA astronaut training. This involved the development of appropriate training programs for all astronauts and the scheduling of training of individual astronauts for specific missions and roles. He provided and coordinated astronaut input into mission planning and the design of spacecraft and other equipment to be used by astronauts on space missions.[91]He also was on the selection panel for theNASA Astronaut Group 5in 1966.[100]He spent much of his time investing in banks,wildcatting,and real estate. He became part owner and vice president of Baytown National Bank and would spend hours on the phone in his NASA office overseeing it. He also bought a partnership in a ranch inWeatherford, Texas,that raised horses and cattle.[101]During this period, his secretary Gaye Alford had two "mood-of-the-day" photographs taken of Shepard, one of a smilingAlShepard, and the other of a grim-lookingCommanderShepard. To warn visitors of Shepard's mood, she would hang the appropriate photograph on the door of her Boss 's private office.[102]Tom Wolfecharacterized Shepard's dual personalities as "Smilin' Al" and the "Icy Commander".[103]

Apollo program[edit]

Main article:Apollo 14
Mitchell, a smiling Shepard and Roosa wearing their Apollo space suits without the helmets. Their suits sport their names, the mission patch on the left breast and NASA patch on the right. The wear the American flag on their left sleeve. Shepard has red rings in his arms. In the background is a giant mission patch, surrounded by black space and stars.
The crew of Apollo 14:Edgar Mitchell,Shepard andStuart Roosa

In 1968, Stafford went to Shepard's office and told him that anotologistin Los Angeles had developed a cure for Ménière's disease. Shepard flew to Los Angeles, where he met withWilliam F. House.House proposed to open Shepard'smastoid boneand make a tiny hole in theendolymphatic sac.A small tube (endolymphatic-subarachnoid shunt) was inserted to drain excess fluid. The surgery was conducted on May 14, 1968, atSt. Vincent's Hospitalin Los Angeles, where Shepard checked in under the pseudonym of Victor Poulos.[91][104]The surgery was successful, and he was restored to full flight status on May 7, 1969.[91]

Slayton put Shepard down to command the next available Moon mission, which wasApollo 13in 1970. Under normal circumstances, this assignment would have gone to Cooper, as the backup commander ofApollo 10,but Cooper was not given it. A rookie,Stuart Roosa,was designated theCommand ModulePilot. Shepard asked forJim McDivittas hisLunar ModulePilot, but McDivitt, who had already commanded theApollo 9mission, balked at the prospect, arguing that Shepard did not have sufficient Apollo training to command a Moon mission. A rookie,Edgar Mitchell,was designated the Lunar Module Pilot instead.[105][106]

Shepard stands in a white flight suit in front of a vehicle made of tubing, with two metal spheres and a small cabin
Shepard in front of theLunar Landing Research Vehicleduring training for Apollo 14

When Slayton submitted the proposed crew assignments to NASA headquarters,George Muellerturned them down on the grounds that the crew was too inexperienced. So Slayton asked Jim Lovell, who had been the backup commander forApollo 11,and was slated to commandApollo 14,if his crew would be willing to fly Apollo 13 instead. He agreed to do so, and Shepard's crew was assigned to Apollo 14.[105][106]

Neither Shepard nor Lovell expected there would be much difference between Apollo 13 and Apollo 14,[105]but Apollo 13 went disastrously wrong. An oxygen tank explosion caused the Moon landing to be aborted and nearly resulted in the loss of the crew. It became a joke between Shepard and Lovell, who would offer to give Shepard back the mission each time they bumped into each other. The failure of Apollo 13 delayed Apollo 14 until 1971 so that modifications could be made to the spacecraft. The target of the Apollo 14 mission was switched to theFra Mauro formation,the intended destination of Apollo 13.[107]

Shepard made his second space flight as commander of Apollo 14 from January 31 to February 9, 1971. It was America's third successfullunar landing mission.Shepard piloted the Lunar ModuleAntares.[108]He became the fifth and, at the age of 47, the oldest man to walk on the Moon, and the only one of the Mercury Seven astronauts to do so.[109][110]

This was the first mission to broadcast extensive color television coverage from the lunar surface, using theWestinghouse Lunar Color Camera.(The same color camera model was used onApollo 12and provided about 30 minutes of color telecasting before it was inadvertently pointed at the Sun, ending its usefulness.) While on the Moon, Shepard used a Wilson six-iron head attached to a lunar sample scoop handle to drive golf balls.[108]Despite thick gloves and a stiff space suit, which forced him to swing the club with one hand, Shepard struck two golf balls, driving the second, as he jokingly put it, "miles and miles and miles".[111]Analysis of high-resolution film scans of the event determined the distance to be about 24 yards (22 m) for the first shot and 40 yards (37 m) for the second.[112][113]

An astronaut in an Apollo space suit with red stripes on the arms and legs and down the helmet stands amid gray dust, grasping the pole of an American flag
Shepard poses next to theAmerican flagon the Moon during Apollo 14.

For this mission Shepard was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal[114]and theNavy Distinguished Service Medal.His citation read:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Captain Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. (NSN: 0-389998), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States, as Spacecraft Commander for the Apollo 14 flight to the Fra-Mauro area of the Moon during the period 31 January 1971 to 9 February 1971. Responsible for the on-board control of the spacecraft command moduleKittyhawkand the lunar moduleAntaresin the gathering of scientific data involving complex and difficult instrumentation positing and sample gathering, including a hazardous two-mile traverse of the lunar surface, Captain Shepard, by his brilliant performance, contributed essentially to the success of this vital scientific Moon mission. As a result of his skillful leadership, professional competence and dedication, the Apollo 14 mission, with its numerous tasks and vital scientific experiments, was accomplished in an outstanding manner, enabling scientists to determine more precisely the Moon's original formation and further forecast man's proper role in the exploration of his Universe. By his courageous and determined devotion to duty, Captain Shepard rendered valuable and distinguished service and contributed greatly to the success of the United States Space Program, thereby upholding the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.[85]

Following Apollo 14, Shepard returned to his position as Chief of the Astronaut Office in June 1971. In July 1971 PresidentRichard Nixonappointed him as a delegate to the 26thUnited Nations General Assembly,a position in which he served from September to December 1971.[91]He was promoted torear admiralby Nixon on August 26, 1971, the first astronaut to reach this rank.[115][116]He was succeeded as Chief of the Astronaut Office by John Young on April 30, 1974.[117]Shepard retired from both NASA and the Navy on July 31, 1974.[91]

Later years[edit]

Shepard in 1995

Shepard was devoted to his children. Frequently, Julie, Laura and Alice were the only astronauts' children at NASA events. He taught them to ski and took them skiing inColorado.He once rented a small plane to fly them and their friends from Texas to asummer campin Maine. He doted on his six grandchildren as well. After Apollo 14, he began to spend more time with Louise and started taking her with him on trips to theParis Air Showevery other year and to Asia.[118]Louise heard rumors of his affairs.[119]The publication of Tom Wolfe's 1979 bookThe Right Stuffmade them public knowledge but she never confronted him about it[120]nor did she ever contemplate leaving him.[118]

After Shepard left NASA, he served on the boards of many corporations. He also served as president of hisumbrella companyfor several business enterprises, Seven Fourteen Enterprises, Inc. (named for his two flights,Freedom 7and Apollo 14).[121]He made a fortune in banking and real estate.[122]He was afellowof theAmerican Astronautical Societyand theSociety of Experimental Test Pilots,a member ofRotary,Kiwanis,theMayflower Society,theOrder of the Cincinnatiand the American Fighter Aces, an honorary member of the board of directors for the Houston School for Deaf Children, and adirectorof theNational Space Instituteand the Los Angeles Ear Research Institute.[91]In 1984, 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 students. It was renamed the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation in 1995. Shepard was elected its first president and chairman, positions he held until October 1997, when he was succeeded by former astronaut Jim Lovell. As of 2022, daughter Laura Churchley leads the foundation's board of trustees.[91]

In 1994, he published a book with two journalists,Jay Barbreeand Howard Benedict, calledMoon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon.Fellow Mercury astronaut Deke Slayton is also named as an author. The book included a composite photograph showing Shepard hitting a golf ball on the Moon. There are no still images of this event, the only record is TV footage.[111]The book was turned into a TVminiseriesin 1994.[123]

Shepard was diagnosed withchronic lymphocytic leukemiain 1996 and died from complications of the disease inPebble Beach, California,on July 21, 1998.[124][125][109]Shepard's widow Louise had planned to cremate his remains and scatter the ashes, but before she was able to do that, she died from a heart attack—on August 25, 1998, at 17:00, which, coincidentally, was the same time of day at which he had always phoned her when they were apart. They had been married for 53 years. Their family decided to cremate them both so their ashes were scattered, together, from a Navy helicopter over Stillwater Cove in front of their Pebble Beach home.[126][127]

On December 11, 2021, twenty-three years after his death, Shepard's daughter, Laura Shepard Churchley, also flew in space (suborbitally, above theKarman line) aboard the non-NASABlue Origin'sNew Shepardspacecraft on theNS-19mission.[128][129]

Awards and honors[edit]

Shepard was awarded theCongressional Space Medal of Honorby PresidentJimmy Carteron October 1, 1978.[130]He also received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievementin 1981;[131]theLangley Gold Medalon May 5, 1964; theJohn J. Montgomery Awardin 1963; the Lambert trophy; theSETPIven C. Kincheloe Award;[132]theCabot Award;theCollier Trophy;[133]and the City of New York City Gold Medal for 1971.[91]He was awarded honorary degrees of Master of Arts fromDartmouth Collegein 1962,D.Sc.fromMiami Universityin 1971, andDoctorate of HumanitiesfromFranklin Pierce Collegein 1972.[91]He was inducted into theNational Aviation Hall of Famein 1977,[134]theInternational Space Hall of Famein 1981,[19][135]and theU.S. Astronaut Hall of Fameon May 11, 1990.[121][136]

A stone memorial plaque that reads: "Love is Eternal – RADM Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr * US Navy * America's First man in Space 1998 – His loving wife Louise Brewer Shepard 1998"
Shepard's memorial stone inDerry,New Hampshire. His ashes were scattered at sea.

The Navy named a supply ship,USNSAlan Shepard(T-AKE-3),for him in 2006.[137]TheMcAuliffe-Shepard Discovery CenterinConcord,New Hampshire, is named after Shepard andChrista McAuliffe.[138]In 1996, the entirety of I-565 (which passes in front of theU.S. Space & Rocket Center,home to both theSaturn V Dynamic Test Vehicleand a full-scale vertical Saturn V replica) was designated the "Admiral Alan B. Shepard Highway" in his honor.[139]Interstate 93in New Hampshire, from theMassachusettsborder toHooksett,is designated the Alan B. Shepard Highway,[140]and inHampton, Virginia,a road is named Commander Shepard Boulevard in his honor.[141]His hometown of Derry has the nickname Space Town in honor of his career as an astronaut.[142]Following an act of Congress, the post office in Derry was designated the Alan B. Shepard Jr. Post Office Building.[143]Alan Shepard Park inCocoa Beach, Florida,a beach-side park south of Cape Canaveral, is named in his honor.[144]The City of Virginia Beach renamed its convention center, with its integralgeodesic dome,theAlan B. Shepard Convention Center.The building was later renamed theAlan B. Shepard Civic Center,and was razed in 1994.[145]At the time of theFreedom 7launch, Shepard lived in Virginia Beach.[146]

Shepard's high school alma mater in Derry, Pinkerton Academy, has a building named after him, and the school team is called the Astros after his career as an astronaut.[147]Alan B. Shepard High School,inPalos Heights, Illinois,which opened in 1976, was named in his honor. Framed newspapers throughout the school depict various accomplishments and milestones in Shepard's life. Additionally, an autographed plaque commemorates the dedication of the building. The school newspaper is namedFreedom 7and the yearbook is entitledOdyssey.[148]Blue Origin's suborbital space tourism rocket, theNew Shepard,is named after Shepard.[149]

In a 2010Space Foundationsurvey, Shepard was ranked as the ninth most popular space hero (tied with astronautsBuzz Aldrinand Gus Grissom).[150]In 2011, NASA honored Shepard with an Ambassador of Exploration Award, consisting of aMoon rockencased inLucite,for his contributions to the U.S. space program. His family members accepted the award on his behalf during a ceremony on April 28 at theU.S. Naval Academy MuseuminAnnapolis, Maryland,where it is on permanent display.[151]On May 4, 2011, theU.S. Postal Serviceissued a first-class stamp in Shepard's honor, the first U.S. stamp to depict a specific astronaut. The first day of issue ceremony was held at NASA'sKennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.[152]

Each year, the Space Foundation, in partnership with the Astronauts Memorial Foundation and NASA, present theAlan Shepard Technology in Education Awardfor outstanding contributions by K–12 educators or district-level administrators to educational technology. The award recognizes excellence in the development and application of technology in the classroom or to the professional development of teachers. The recipient demonstrates exemplary use of technology either to foster lifelong learners or to make the learning process easier.[153]

In popular culture[edit]

As a key figure in the American space program, Shepard's life has been depicted in many biographical and historical works of fiction. In film, Shepard's selection for the Mercury program was covered in 1983'sThe Right Stuff(where he was played byScott Glenn),[154]while 2002'sRace to Spaceand 2016'sHidden Figuresfeature him in a minor role, played byMark Moses,[155]and Dane Davenport, respectively.[156]TheHBOminiseriesFrom the Earth to the MoonstarredTed Levineas Shepard and covered not only his Mercury training but also his involvement in the Apollo missions.[157]Jake McDormanplayed Shepard in the 2020 TV adaptation ofThe Right Stuff,[158]whileDesmond Harringtonplayed him in the 2015 period dramaThe Astronaut Wives Club.[159]

Archive footage of Shepard is used in the opening credits montage ofStar Trek: Enterprise,as part of a sequence displaying the history of human exploration,[160]while other science fiction works have named characters in a tribute to Shepard – including both the character ofAlan Tracy,in the 1960s British seriesThunderbirds,[161]andCommander Shepard,the main protagonist of the 2007–2012BioWarevideo game seriesMass Effect.[162]

British singer-songwriterDarren Hayman'sconcept album12 Astronautsincludes a song for each man who has walked on the Moon. The lyrics ofDon't Clip My Wings (Alan Shepard),sung in the first person, reflect on how Shepard "feared he would never fly again" after his Ménière's diagnosis.[163]

"Shepard's Prayer" is attributed to Shepard, with the phrase supposed to have been uttered by him while he awaited liftoff aboard theFreedom 7.It is usually quoted as "Dear Lord, please don't let me fuck up", although Shepard claimed the words to be "Don't fuck up, Shepard".[164]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Thompson 2004,p. 7.
  2. ^abBurgess 2014,p. 69.
  3. ^Thompson 2004,p. 8.
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  6. ^abBurgess 2014,p. 70.
  7. ^abcThompson 2004,pp. 16–18.
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  11. ^abShepard et al. 2010,p. 64.
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  13. ^Thompson 2004,pp. 27–29.
  14. ^abThompson 2004,pp. 36–37.
  15. ^Thompson 2004,pp. 40–42.
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  35. ^Naval Test Pilot School 1984,pp. 14–19.
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  38. ^Thompson 2004,pp. 167–169.
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  55. ^abBurgess 2011,pp. 234–237.
  56. ^Thompson 2004,pp. 196–197.
  57. ^Shepard et al. 2010,p. 67.
  58. ^Burgess 2011,pp. 274–275.
  59. ^Atkinson & Shafritz 1985,pp. 42–47.
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  67. ^abcSwenson, Grimwood & Alexander 1966,p. 342.
  68. ^Swenson, Grimwood & Alexander 1966,p. 324.
  69. ^Swenson, Grimwood & Alexander 1966,p. 350.
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  76. ^Shepard & Slayton 1994,p. 107.
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References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAlan Shepard.
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Preceded by
Office created (informally:Deke Slayton)
 Chief of the Astronaut Office
1963–1974 		Succeeded by
Previous:
Yuri Gagarin 		Man in Space
May 5, 1961 		Next:
Gus Grissom
Previous:
Alan Bean 		Moonwalker
February 5, 1971 		Next:
Edgar Mitchell
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