First American in Space
At a glance:
- Series: Great Events from History: North American Series
- Categories: Government and Politics, Science, Technology, Inventions, Aviation, Space Exploration
- Subcategories: Astronomy, Astronomers, Cosmology, Cold War, Astronauts, Cosmonauts
- Curriculum: American History 1951-present
- Geographical Location: Florida
- Date: May 5, 1961
Article abstract: Cold War political competition opens a new age of space exploration.
Summary of Event
United States Navy Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr., became the first U.S. citizen in space when he successfully piloted the Freedom 7 spacecraft on May 5, 1961. After a four-hour launch delay, his suborbital flight lasted 15.47 minutes and attained a peak attitude of 116.6 miles, cruising about three hundred miles down the Atlantic Missile Range to a safe splashdown. U.S. national pride and world prestige, badly shaken by a long series of Soviet...
[The entire page is 1728 words long]
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