On May 5 , 1961 , Alan Shepard launched from Cape Canaveral and into account . As the first American to jaunt in outer space , he energized the U.S. in itsspace competition with the Soviet Unionand showed what was possible . Here are five things you may not know about this modern American hero .
1. He Was Almost the First Man in Space
Just23 daysseparated the historic flights ofYuri Gagarinof Russia ( the first man in place ) and Alan Shepard . The U.S. flight was delayed for technical reasons . Shepard ’s 15 - bit , 28 - s flight achieved an altitude of 116 miles ( 186 kilometers ) and a velocity of 5,134 miles ( 8,262 kilometers ) per hour before coming back down to Earth . But while Gagarin was only a passenger in his vehicle , Shepard could head his spacecraft , the Freedom 7 . Also , unlike Gagarin , 1000000 of people all over the earth watched the whole event . Shepard ’s success allowed President John F. Kennedy to announce in Congress 10 days later the goal of putting a world on the moon by the end of the decade .
2. He Took Off in a Pee-stained Spacesuit
Since the flight was only supposed to be 15 moment , NASA engineers had not made preparations in case Shepard need to go to the bathroom after order on his spacesuit . grown mistake . Delays meant he was in the rocket for over three time of day , and he really had to go . But permission was denied — he already was strapped in and wearing aesculapian sensors . Shepard then threatened to piddle mightily in his spacesuit . Here ’s how writer Ben Evansdescribed the residuum of the storyin AmericaSpace : " Managers wondered if the piddle might unforesightful - circumference the medical wiring and electric thermometers in his courtship . in conclusion , [ Gordon ] Cooper [ another astronaut ] confirmed that the tycoon had been temporarily switched off and , soon thereafter , a drawn - out’Ahhhhhh’emerged from the astronaut in the condensation … The water was absorbed by his long cotton fiber underclothes and quickly evaporated in the 100 - percent pure oxygen atmosphere of the cabin . "
After that flight , NASA got to workon adding a urinary compendium gadget to the spacesuits .
3. He’s the Only Person to Play Golf on the Moon
Shepard contract Ménière ’s disease , an inner ear disorder , which kept him from going back to distance for six years . He eventually had an cognitive operation to recover his equilibrium . After some more setbacks , he buzz off the opportunity to command the Apollo 14 missionary post to the moon . At 47 , he was the oldestastronautin blank space and want to do something memorable . So , he smuggled a makeshift six - atomic number 26 on board the spacecraft and hit two balls during his moonwalk . Shepard estimated that the second onesoared 200 yards , thanks to the moon ’s much lower gravitational force .
“ It was a little fleck of flair and possibly a sign of exuberance , mark his comeback and his successful flight of steps , and he ready things up so that he would only hit the golf balls at the end of the flight of steps if everything went well,”said Neal Thompson , writer of a biography on Shepard .
4. He May Not Have Coined That Famous Prayer or Slogan
In those hours wait for the Freedom 7 to lift off , Shepard was supposed to have uttered what later became known as Shepard ’s Prayer ( or sometimes the Astronaut ’s Prayer ): " Dear Lord , please do n’t let me f— up . " However , Shepard later on saidhe was misquote , and the factual words were , “ Do n’t f— up , Shepard . "
In another piece of misquoting , Shepard supposedly coined the phrase"Everything is A - OK"to describe his successful tax return to Earth after his historic flight . However , years later on when a reporter asked him if had said it , he answer mysteriously , " demand Shorty Powers . " Col . Powers was the insistency officeholder who expire on the quote to the media in the first place .
5. He Was the First Astronaut Millionaire
During the age when Shepard suffer from Ménière ’s disease , which cause vertigo and nausea , he considered pass on NASA , but finish up stay and take a desk job as straits of the spaceman office . He spend his free time investing in bank and real estate and soon became amillionaire . He pull away from NASA in 1974 and became a chairman in Marathon Construction Company , and later President of the United States of a Coors beer statistical distribution fellowship in Houston . In the 1980s , he and the other survive original astronauts created a scholarship understructure for skill and engineering science students . Shepard died in 1998 .
