Alan Shepard – Spaceflight Now

September 17, 2021

Breaking News

[ September 17, 2021 ] Live coverage: Chinese astronauts return to Earth Mission Reports
[ September 16, 2021 ] Inspiration4 crew chats with Elon Musk, works through first full day in space Mission Reports
[ September 16, 2021 ] Four private citizens ride SpaceX rocket into orbit on historic mission Falcon 9
[ September 16, 2021 ] Shenzhou crew departs Chinese space station, heads for Earth Mission Reports
[ September 15, 2021 ] Photos: Inspiration4’s rocket ready for launch on pad 39A Falcon 9

55 years ago today: America entered human spaceflight arena

May 5, 2016

The U.S. launched its first man into space on this date, May 5, 1961, as Alan Shepard rode the Freedom 7 capsule on a 15-minute suborbital flight to 116.5 miles in altitude and 303 miles downrange to splashdown.