Alan Shepard - first man to play golf on the moon

November 11, 10:25 AMSpace Education ExaminerBarbara Malone

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Alan B. Shepard November 18, 1923 - July 21, 1998

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Alan B. Shepard

Born in East Derry, New Hampshire
Bachelor of Science from U.S. Naval Academy

About the Man:
Alan Shepard attended primary school in East Derry and graduated in 1940 from the Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1944, Shepard served on the destroyer Cogswell in the final year of WWII.

After the war, Shepard received naval flight training at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, Texas, and Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida. So eager to fly, Shepard received a pilot's license at a civilian flying school before winning his Navy wings in March 1947. In 1950, Shepard went to the US Navy Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland. There, he served two tours in flight test work.

When NASA sent out invitations to 110 of the top test pilots to join its newly formed manned space program in 1959, Shepard was disappointed because he did not receive one. It turned out that his invitation was misplaced. NASA re-invited Shepard and chose him to become one of America's first astronauts.

Thank you Alan, for starting it all!

About the Spaceflights:

Mercury 3 (Freedom)

May 5, 1961

The 15-minute suborbital flight of Mercury 3 launched at 9:34 am and reached an altitude of over 116 miles. Although Gagarin, the Russian cosmonaut, was the first man in space, his flight shrouded in secrecy, millions worldwide saw Alan Shepard launch into space. The world also witnessed his return from space, and the recovery of man and capsule.

Alan Shepard was the first of the Original 7 to fly into space, and his "15 minutes of Fame" prompted celebrations and parades in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington in his honor. Shepard holds the distinction of being the first American in space, only 23 days after Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight.

His sub-orbital flight lasted 15 minutes, and 22 seconds.
 

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For more info on Shepard's Mercury 3 spaceflight, visit: NASA's Mercury 3 site

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Apollo 14

Jan. 31-Feb. 9, 1971

Alan Shepard commanded the Apollo 14 mission and was the fifth man to walk on the Moon. Apollo 14 was the third mission to achieve a lunar landing. The area chosen for the Apollo 14 lunar landing was very close to the area planned for the Apollo 13 mission, which failed to land because of an explosion in the Apollo 13's service module. 

The crew of Apollo 14 collected a significantly larger amount of lunar material and scientific data than in previous lunar landing missions. The crew of Apollo 14 carried with them, a collapsible, two-wheeled cart, called the modular equipment transporter, (MET). The Apollo 14 astronauts used the MET to carry tools, cameras, a portable magnetometer, and lunar samples.

The astronauts performed two extravehicular activities on the moon's surface, totaling 9 hours and 21 minutes. In addition, Alan Shepard became the first person to hit a golf ball on the surface of the moon.

The Apollo 14 Spaceflight lasted for 9 days, 1 hour, and 58 seconds
 

For more info on Shepard's Apollo 14 spaceflight, visit: NASA's Apollo 14 site

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After his Mercury spaceflight, becoming the first American in space, NASA made Alan Shepard the Chief of the Astronaut Office when an inner ear disorder grounded him for future flights.

Shepard was an established engineer and a top-notch pilot. For his share of the technical work among the Original 7, Shepard took on the task of focusing on the tracking range and recovery teams needed to pull the astronauts and their spacecrafts out of the water after their spaceflight.

After corrective surgery, NASA returned Shepard to full flight status, and appointed commander of the Apollo 14 spaceflight, where he became the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon.

Alan B. Shepard passed away on July 21, 1998, after a long illness. His wife, Louise passed away one month later on August 25, 1998. NASA credits Alan Shepard for starting human space exploration.

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