While astronauts are by definition cool , Alan Shepard holds a limited place in my bosom for his unique way . He was one of the original Mercury Seven cosmonaut , and the only one from the group to make it to the moon . … where he played golf , because he ’s awesome .
A very happy pre - launch Alan Shepard is right at home surrounded by wood panelling and avocado vinyl article of furniture in his tinfoil - silver air pressure cause . Credit : NASA
Alan Shepard was the 2d person to get to place . His Freedom 7 delegation was originally scheduled for October 1960 , but was delay by more preparatory work to March 6 , 1961 , then again to May 5 , 1961 . Before he made it off - major planet , cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was launched into place and completed an orbit before landing .
Liftoff of the Mercury - Redstone 3 ( MR-3 ) with Alan Shepard on - instrument panel . Credit : NASA
Shepard ’s flight stick to the postponed schedule . Unlike with Gagarin ’s fully - automated flight of stairs , Shepard had some controls over his workmanship . This gave him more freedom , but also more opportunities to catastrophically mess up up the missionary station . This stress probably conduct to the utterance of a simple , poignant , all - designation , atheist - well-disposed prayer : “ Do n’t fuck up , Shepard … ”
He did n’t roll in the hay up , and the mission was successful . The 15 - minuteballistic trajectoryof Freedom 7 carried Shepard manner up to 187 kilometers altitude , before falling back down for asplashdownin the Atlantic Ocean . Just like that , Shepard was in the history book as thesecond man , and the first American , to reach space .
The first American in distance was retrieve from his capsule by a helicopter , somewhere off the coast of Florida . Credit : NASA
Shepard ’s wry learning ability derive into gambling once again when reflect his dramatic recuperation from his capsule , as he “ … did n’t really feel the flight of stairs was a success until the recuperation had been successfully finish . It ’s not the fall that hurts ; it ’s the sudden stop . ”
Shepard being hoisted by helicopter following the Freedom 7 splashdown . Credit : NASA
Shepard was supposed to participate in the Gemini mission , but was diagnosed withMénière ’s disease . smooth air pressure in his inner capitulum built up , make oversensitivity in move detection . on-going disorientation , vertigo , and nausea does not work well with space travel , so he was pluck from flight operation and shoved into logistics . He dish as the Chief of the Astronaut Office for the Gemini mission , handling scheduling until undergoing a brand - new surgical procedure in 1969 that restored him to flight of stairs - ready condition .
Shepard , champ on a cigar in the control way during the Gemini 6 liftoff on 1 December 2024 . acknowledgment : NASA
Not one to do things tamely , the re - minted spaceman get on the Apollo roll , fly as commander of the third lunar landing as part of Apollo 14 . As pilot of the Lunar Module Antares , he proved that the long breach and being the oldest astronaut in the program did n’t make him rusty , dropping the lander closest to the quarry landing zone of anyone in the entire Apollo program .
Astronauts are interplanetary geologists , as demonstrated by Shepard ’s dusty feet next to a lunar bowlder . acknowledgment : NASA
The official mission for Apollo 14 was the common turn of squash as many experiments as potential into a limited time period . Stuart Roosa remained in orbit , photographing like a mad daimon and germinating seeds , while Edgar Mitchell and Alan Shepard spent two days on the moon . Shepard and Mitchell collected rock-and-roll and conducted surface experiments , include fuck up things up .
worldly concern - based exercise loading the mortar for geophysical experiments . deferred payment : NASA
seismal surveys mold by planting a whole bunch of geophones ( effectively geologic microphone ) into the ground that can detect acoustic waves , then generating an acoustic signal . The easiest agency to generate a signaling is to blow things up , which is precisely what Shepard and Mitchell , using a howitzer to plunge four grenade on the lunar surface . By measuring how long it select for a sign to propagate to the geophones , seismologist can process and invert the signal to determine subsurface social system . So , not only did Shepard and Mitchell get to play with explosives , they also yield scientists data point to start determining the interior structure of the moon .
What happened next is why Shepard is the superlative golfer the world has ever known . On February 6 , 1971 , using the mark - novel colour cameras tobroadcast his awsomeness , Shepard went golfing .
Golf clubs are right smart too heavy to take up cherished weightiness - limited cargo , so Shepard only pack the Wilson six - branding iron head . He attached it to a lunar sampling scoop grip , then awkwardly grasp the improvised golf club one - hand with thethick , stiff glovesto peck the golf nut . While he wo n’t gain any awards for bearing and form , Shepard is the first , and so far only , interplanetary golfer , and that makes him a limited hotshot .
Apollo 14 splashdown in the south Pacific , somewhere near Samoa . acknowledgment : NASA
Once back on Earth , he restart his logistic duties as Chief of the Astronaut Office in 1971 before turn in in 1974 . In his post - NASA animation , he worked as an enterpriser before dying of leukaemia in 1998 .
study rocket development , orcurrent run - programsfor new man mission to deep blank space . Yes , Shepard ’s “ stat mi and land mile … ”estimate of golf - ball space is plausible , although not exact in this illustration . Read in this interview with his biographer .
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