At a time when space flights garner little attention and are back-page news, it is easy to forget the drama and daring of America's first venture into the forbidding final frontier. Alan Shepard, who died Tuesday at age 74, merits memory as a courageous pioneer who paved the way for today's astronauts as the first American in space.
The late flyer was one of the original seven Mercury astronauts named by NASA in April 1959. On May 5, 1961, he took a 15-minute suborbital flight in Freedom 7, with five of those minutes in space. He flew heavenward at a time when scientists questioned man's ability to survive the forces of liftoff and the absence of earth's gravitational pull. Courage, a cool head and competence were requisites for such an adventure - characteristics embodied by Shepard.While Sen. John Glen, D-Ohio, is getting headlines now and may be better remembered as the first American to orbit earth in February 1962, it was Shepard who jump-started NASA's program and intensified the space race with the Soviet Union.
He was known for his confidence and burning desire to be selected for that first mission. His successful venture followed that of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin by 23 days. It was, he acknowledged, "the first baby step, aiming for bigger and better things." Those anticipated results followed as predicted, including moon landings, shuttle flights and extended stays on the space station Mir.
His commitment and resolve were tested by a serious ear infection that lasted six years. But Shepard finally overcame it and returned to space in January 1971 as commander of Apollo 14, which took him to the moon, making him one of a dozen men to have that privilege. He is remembered as the best - and only - lunar golfer after he playfully smacked golf balls on the lunar surface with a six-iron.
But it was that initial flight, 116 miles high and 302 miles downrange from Cape Canaveral, for which he is primarily honored at his passing. Eyes of a fretful nation and even the world were upon him as he blasted off and reached speeds of 5,100 miles per hour before dropping into the Atlantic Ocean.
"Everything is A-OK!" was his excited response from the capsule bobbing in the waves. With the indomitable spirit of Alan Shepard, it always was and no-doubt still is.