| THE MERCURY PROGRAM | ||
On May 5, 1961, Mercury astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became the first American to journey into space. He traveled into a suborbital flight aboard Mercury-Redstone, which lifted off from Launch Complex 5/6 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. That history making flight lasted 15 minutes and 28 seconds before splashing down into the Atlantic Ocean near Bermuda. Shepard was hoisted aboard a Marine helicopter and taken to a waiting aircraft carrier for observation. A day later, he was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal by President John F. Kennedy. A ticker tape parade in Washington afterwards drew 250,000 people. It was an important moment in U.S. history. |
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