Alan shepard jr biography
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Alan Shepard
American astronaut and lunar explorer (1923–1998)
For other uses, see Alan Shepard (disambiguation).
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) 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 individ to walk on the måne, at age 47.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Shepard saw action with the surface navy during World War II. He became a naval aviator in 1947, and a test pilot in 1950. He was selected as one of the original NASAMercury Seven astronauts in 1959, and in May 1961 he made the first crewed planerat arbete Mercury flight, Mercury-Redstone 3, in a spacecraft he named Freedom 7. His craft entered space, but was not capable of achieving orbit. He became the second person, and the first American, to travel into space. In the final stages of Project Mercury, Shepard was scheduled to pilot the Mercury-Atlas 10
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Admiral Alan B. Shepard, Jr., USN
Admiral Shepard, when did you first become interested in aviation? When was your first plane ride?
Alan Shepard: The first plane ride was in a homemade glider my buddy and I built. Unfortunately we didn’t get more than four feet off the ground, because it crashed. But the first legitimate airplane ride was when I was working at the local airport. And as a reward, partial reward for my activities, was given a ride as a passenger. And after two or three of those, the same pilot, he gave me a chance to play with the controls. And that’s when it really all started.
What inspired this interest in planes? Who were your heroes?
Alan Shepard: In those days, talking in terms of a hero — it had to be Charles Lindbergh. I was very young when he flew across the Atlantic, and very impressed.
I think my interest in aviation goes back to grade school, nine, ten, early teens. When Lindbergh made his flight. He was the big hero. I started buildi
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Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
bygd Tara Gray
Alan B. Shepard, Jr. (RADM, USN, Ret.), was born on November 18, 1923, in East Derry, New Hampshire, to parents Lt. Col. Alan B. Shepard (USA, Ret.) and Renza (Emerson) Shepard.1 He attended primary school in East Derry and was graduated from the Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire, in 1940.2 He studied one year at Admiral Farragut Academy, Toms River, New Jersey, and then entered the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. He was graduated from the Naval Academy on June 7, 1944.3 After graduation, Shepard was commissioned as an ensign and during the final year of World War II he served on the destroyer Cogswell deployed in the Pacific.4 At war's end, on March 3, 1945, Shepard married the former Louise Brewer, of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, whom he had met while he was a midshipman at the Naval Academy.5
After the war, he underwent naval flygning