American astronaut

One of the original seven American astronauts, Alan B. Shepard, Jr. became the first American to venture into space in a suborbital flight aboard the Mercury capsule, Freedom 7. His achievements—including his landmark Freedom 7 flight on May 5, 1961—symbolized the beginning of a technological revolution in the 1960s and marked the onset of "new frontiers" in space. A decade later, he commanded the Apollo 14 lunar mission, becoming the fifth man to step on the Moon's surface and the only one of the original astronauts to make a flight to the Moon. In addition to his space flight accomplishments, Shepard served as Chief of the Astronaut Office and participated in the overall astronaut-training program. He received the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) Distinguished Service Medal from President John F. Kennedy for his Mercury flight. In 1971, appointed by President Nixon, he served as...