Alan shepard astronaut biography kids

He named his spacecraft, Mercury Spacecraft 7, Freedom 7. He awoke atand had breakfast consisting of orange juice, a filet mignon wrapped in bacon, and scrambled eggs with his backup, John Glennand flight surgeon William K. He was helped into his space suit by suit technician Joseph W. Schmitt, and boarded the transfer van at He ascended the gantry atand entered the spacecraft five minutes later.

It was expected that lift off would occur in another two hours and five minutes, so Shepard's suit did not have any provision for elimination of bodily wastes, but after being strapped into the capsule's seat, launch delays kept him in that suit for over four hours.

Alan shepard astronaut biography kids: Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November

Shepard's endurance gave out before launch, and he was forced to empty his bladder into the suit. Medical sensors attached to it to track the astronaut's condition in flight were turned off to avoid shorting them out. The urine pooled in the small of his back, where it was absorbed by his undergarment. After Shepard's flight, the space suit was modified, and by the time of Gus Grissom 's Mercury-Redstone 4 suborbital flight in July, a liquid waste collection feature had been built into the suit.

Unlike Gagarin's minute orbital flight in a Vostok spacecraft three times the size of Freedom 7Shepard stayed on a suborbital trajectory for the minute flight, which reached an altitude of Unlike Gagarin, whose flight was strictly automatic, Shepard had some control of Freedom 7spacecraft attitude in particular. Shepard's launch was seen live on television by millions.

It was launched atop a Redstone rocket. According to Gene Kranz in his book Failure Is Not an Option"When reporters asked Shepard what he thought about as he sat atop the Redstone rocket, waiting for liftoff, he had replied, 'The fact that every part of this ship was built by the lowest bidder. After a dramatic Atlantic Ocean recovery, Shepard observed that he "didn't really feel the flight was a success until the recovery had been successfully completed.

It's not the fall that hurts; it's the sudden stop. A recovery helicopter arrived after a few minutes, and the capsule was lifted partly out of the water to allow Shepard to leave by the main hatch. He squeezed out of the door and into a sling hoist, and was pulled into the helicopter, which flew both the astronaut and spacecraft to the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain.

The whole recovery process took just eleven minutes. He was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Webb announced that Mercury had accomplished all its goals and no more missions would be flown. Shepard went as far as making a personal appeal to President Kennedy, but to no avail. Project Gemini followed on from Project Mercury. After the Mercury-Atlas 10 mission was canceled, Shepard was designated as the commander of the first crewed Gemini mission, with Thomas P.

Stafford chosen as his pilot. In lateShepard began to experience episodes of extreme dizziness and nausea, accompanied by a loud, clanging noise in the left ear. He tried to keep it secret, fearing that he would lose his flight status, but was aware that if an episode occurred in the air or in space it could be fatal. Following an episode during a lecture in Houston, where he had recently moved from Virginia Beach, VirginiaShepard was forced to confess his ailment to Slayton, who was now Director of Flight Operations, and seek help from NASA's doctors.

This syndrome causes the semicircular canals and motion detectors to become extremely sensitive, resulting in disorientation, dizziness, and nausea. There was no known cure, but in about 20 percent of cases the condition went away by itself.

Alan shepard astronaut biography kids: Alan Shepard was the first

They prescribed diuretics in an attempt to drain the fluid from the ear. They also diagnosed glaucoma. An X-ray found a lump on his thyroidand on January 17,surgeons at Hermann Hospital made an incision on his throat and removed 20 percent of his thyroid. The condition caused Shepard to be removed from flight status. Grissom and John Young flew Gemini 3 instead.

He thereby became responsible for NASA astronaut training. This involved the development of appropriate training programs for all astronauts and the scheduling of training of individual astronauts for specific missions and roles. He provided and coordinated astronaut input into mission planning and the design of spacecraft and other equipment to be used by astronauts on space missions.

He spent much of his time investing in banks, wildcatting, and real estate. He also bought a partnership in a ranch in Weatherford, Texasthat raised horses and cattle. During this period, his secretary Gaye Alford had two "mood-of-the-day" photographs taken of Shepard, one of a smiling Al Shepard, and the other of a grim-looking Commander Shepard.

To warn visitors of Shepard's mood, she would hang the appropriate photograph on the door of her boss's private office. Shepard flew to Los Angeles, where he met with William F. House proposed to open Shepard's mastoid bone and make a tiny hole in the endolymphatic sac. A small tube was inserted to drain excess fluid. The alan shepard astronaut biography kids was conducted on May 14, at St.

The surgery was successful, and he was restored to full flight status on May 7, Slayton put Shepard alan shepard astronaut biography kids to command the next available Moon mission, which was Apollo 13 in Under normal circumstances, this assignment would have gone to Cooper, as the backup commander of Apollo 10but Cooper was not given it.

Shepard asked for Jim McDivitt as his Lunar Module Pilot, but McDivitt, who had already commanded the Apollo 9 mission, balked at the prospect, arguing that Shepard did not have sufficient Apollo training to command a Moon mission. When Slayton submitted the proposed crew assignments to NASA headquarters, George Mueller turned them down on the grounds that the crew was too inexperienced.

So Slayton asked Jim Lovell, who had been the backup commander for Apollo 11and was slated to command Apollo 14if his crew would be willing to fly Apollo 13 instead. He agreed to do so, and Shepard's crew was assigned to Apollo Neither Shepard nor Lovell expected there would be much difference between Apollo 13 and Apollo 14, but Apollo 13 went disastrously wrong.

An oxygen tank explosion caused the Moon landing to be aborted and nearly resulted in the loss of the crew. It became a joke between Shepard and Lovell, who would offer to give Shepard back the mission each time they bumped into each other. The failure of Apollo 13 delayed Apollo 14 until so that modifications could be made to the spacecraft.

The target of the Apollo 14 mission was switched to the Fra Mauro formation, the intended destination of Apollo Shepard made his second space flight as commander of Apollo 14 from January 31 to February 9, It was America's third successful lunar landing mission. Shepard piloted the Lunar Module Antares. He became the fifth and, at the age of 47, the oldest man to walk on the Moon, and the only one of the Mercury Seven astronauts to do so.

This was the first mission to broadcast extensive color television coverage from the lunar surface, using the Westinghouse Lunar Color Camera. The same color camera model was used on Apollo 12 and provided about 30 minutes of color telecasting before it was inadvertently pointed at the Sun, ending its usefulness. While on the Moon, Shepard used a Wilson six-iron head attached to a lunar sample scoop handle to drive golf balls.

His citation read:. NSN:United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States, as Spacecraft Commander for the Apollo 14 flight to the Fra-Mauro area of the Moon during the period 31 January to 9 February Responsible for the on-board control of the spacecraft command module Kittyhawk and the lunar module Antares in the gathering of scientific data involving complex and difficult instrumentation positing and sample gathering, including a hazardous two-mile traverse of the lunar surface, Captain Shepard, by his brilliant performance, contributed essentially to the success of this vital scientific Moon mission.

As a result of his skillful leadership, professional competence and dedication, the Apollo 14 mission, with its numerous tasks and vital scientific experiments, was accomplished in an outstanding manner, enabling scientists to determine more precisely the Moon's original formation and further forecast man's proper role in the exploration of his Universe.

By his courageous and determined devotion to duty, Captain Shepard rendered valuable and distinguished service and contributed greatly to the success of the United States Space Program, thereby upholding the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. Shepard was devoted to his children. He taught them to ski and took them skiing in Colorado.

He once rented a small plane to fly them and their friends from Texas to a summer camp in Maine. He doted on his six grandchildren as well. After Apollo 14, he began to spend more time with Louise and started taking her with him on trips to the Paris Air Show every other year and to Asia. He also served as president of his umbrella company for several business enterprises, Seven Fourteen Enterprises, Inc.

It was renamed the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation in Shepard was elected its first president and chairman, positions he held until Octoberwhen he was succeeded by former astronaut Jim Lovell. As ofdaughter Laura Churchley leads the foundation's board of trustees. Fellow Mercury astronaut Deke Slayton is also named as an author. The book included a composite photograph showing Shepard hitting a golf ball on the Moon.

There are no still images of this event, the only record is TV footage. Shepard was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in and died from complications of the disease in Pebble Beach, Californiaon July 21, They had been married for 53 years. Their family decided to cremate them both so their ashes were scattered, together, from a Navy helicopter over Stillwater Cove in front of their Pebble Beach home.

Astronaut Hall of Fame on May 11, Shepard Highway" in his honor. Shepard Jr. Post Office Building. Shepard Convention Center. The building was later renamed the Alan B. Shepard Civic Centerand was razed in Shepard's high school alma mater in Derry, Pinkerton Academy, has a building named after him, and the school team is called the Astros after his career as an astronaut.

Framed newspapers throughout the school depict various accomplishments and milestones in Shepard's life. Additionally, an autographed plaque commemorates the dedication of the building. The school newspaper is named Freedom 7 and the yearbook is entitled Odyssey. In a Space Foundation survey, Shepard was ranked as the ninth most popular space hero tied with astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Gus Grissom.

His family members accepted the award on his behalf during a ceremony on April 28 at the U. Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Marylandwhere it is on permanent display. Postal Service issued a first-class stamp in Shepard's honor, the first U. The award recognizes excellence in the development and application of technology in the classroom or to the professional development of teachers.

The recipient demonstrates exemplary use of technology either to foster lifelong learners or to make the learning process easier. As he was a key figure in the American space program, Shepard's life has been depicted in many biographical and historical works of fiction. In film, Shepard's selection for the Mercury program was covered in 's The Right Stuff where he was played by Scott Glenn[ ] while 's Race to Space and 's Hidden Figures feature him in a minor role, played by Mark Moses[ ] and Dane Davenport, respectively.

Archive footage of Shepard is used in the opening credits montage of Star Trek: Enterprise ,as part of a sequence displaying the history of human exploration, [ ] while other science fiction works have named characters in a tribute to Shepard — including both the character of Alan Tracyin the s British series Thunderbirds[ ] and Commander Shepardthe main protagonist of the — BioWare video game series Mass Effect.

British singer-songwriter Darren Hayman 's concept album 12 Astronauts includes a song for each man who has walked on the Moon. It is usually quoted as "Dear Lord, please don't let me fuck up", although Shepard claimed the words to be "Don't fuck up, Shepard". He was a guest alongside Danny Kaye and Drew Barrymore. Contents move to sidebar hide.

Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item. American astronaut and lunar explorer — For other uses, see Alan Shepard disambiguation. Derry, New HampshireU. Pebble Beach, CaliforniaU. Louise Brewer. Total EVAs. Mercury-Redstone 3 Apollo Early life [ edit ].

Naval service [ edit ]. NASA career [ edit ]. Mercury Seven [ edit ]. Main article: Mercury Seven.

Alan shepard astronaut biography kids: The first US astronaut to

Freedom 7 [ edit ]. Main article: Mercury-Redstone 3. Project Gemini; chief astronaut [ edit ]. Apollo program [ edit ]. Main article: Apollo Later years [ edit ]. Awards and honors [ edit ]. In popular culture [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ]. Tobar an Dualchais in Scottish Gaelic. Archived from the original on October 29, Retrieved April 27, Scarecrow Press.

ISBN Scouting Service Project. Archived from the original on May 1, Retrieved May 1, Pinkerton Academy. Retrieved November 18, Eugene Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. Associated Press. October 28, Archived from the original on March 27, Retrieved April 22, Shepard, Jr. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. September Archived PDF from the original on July 20, Retrieved June 2, New Mexico Museum of Space History.

Archived from the original on February 27, Retrieved March 4, Naval History and Heritage Command. Archived from the original on June 12, Retrieved March 2, May 5, Archived PDF from the original on March 10, Retrieved February 13, The Salt Lake Tribune. April 10, Archived from the original on August 13, American Heritage. ISSN Archived from the original on November 7, Retrieved March 6, United Press International.

Archived from the original on August 11, Retrieved April 18, Spaceman Hailed After U. Universal-International Newsreel. OCLC Retrieved February 20, Military Times. This sample is exclusively for KidsKonnect members! To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup for free it only takes a minute and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download!

He became the first American to fly into space in and he went to the Moon in See the fact file below for more information on the Alan Shepard or alternatively, you can download our page Alan Shepard worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment. This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Alan Shepard across 19 in-depth pages.

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Sign Up Already a member? Not ready to purchase a subscription? The Apollo spacecraft launched on a Saturn V rocket. On Feb. Roosa stayed in the crew capsule. It stayed in orbit around the moon. Shepard and Mitchell went on two moonwalks. They collected more than pounds of moon rocks. They did science experiments on the lunar surface. Shepard had some fun, too.

He became the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon. So that was science, too. Alan Shepard had flown on two space missions. He also worked as the head of the Astronaut Office.