Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space, and in 1971, he walked on the Moon. He was born on November 18, 1923, and died on July 21, 1998.
Alan Shepard was the first American in space. He was one of NASA’s first seven astronauts. He also walked on the moon.
Alan Shepard Space Missions
Alan Shepard had flown on two space missions. He also worked as the head of the Astronaut Office. He left NASA in 1974. Shepard still worked to support space exploration. He also helped students. He died in 1998.
Alan Shepard Education
Alan Shepard attended middle school at Oak Street School in Derry. In 1936, he went to the Pinkerton Academy, a private school in Derry that his father had attended and where his grandfather had been a trustee.
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 the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1940, but at sixteen was too young to enter that year. The Navy sent him to the Admiral Farragut Academy, a prep school for the Naval Academy, from which he graduated with the Class of 1941. Tests administered at Farragut indicated an IQ of 145, but his grades were mediocre.
Alan Shepard Golf Ball
On February 6, 1971, Apollo 14 commander Alan Shepard hit two golf balls across the lunar surface. The head traveled to the Moon in a sock. Once Shepard assembled his club, it wasn’t exactly plain sailing. 2 balls received a low gravity whack.
And Shepard had trouble swinging in the first place. A bulky spacesuit affected the Commander’s technique, putting it mildly. Shepard was left with no option but to wield the club with one hand. Plus the restrictive visor wasn’t player-friendly.
Alan Shepard Golf On Moon
Apollo 14 commander Alan B. Shepard hit two golf balls on the surface of the Moon on Feb. 6, 1971. Shepard talked to the United States Golf Association (USGA) about those infamous shots.
Alan Shepard Vertigo
Mr. Shepherd dealt with a particularly debilitating cause of vertigo called Meniere’s disease in 1964. This is a condition that not only causes severe bouts of vertigo but also tinnitus (ringing in the ear), a feeling of fullness in the ear, and even fluctuating hearing loss that can become permeant as the condition progresses.
Alan Shepard Family
Alan Shepard was born to Alan B. Shepard Sr. and Pauline Renza Shepard (née Emerson). He had a younger sister, Pauline, who was known as Polly. He was one of many famous descendants of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren.
Alan Shepard’s children are Laura Shepard, Alice Wackerman, and Juliana Jenkins. His current wife is Louise Shepard