Alan Shepard becomes First American in Space

On this day in US history, Navy Commander Alan Shepard Jr. was launched into space aboard the Freedom 7 space capsule, becoming the first American to travel to space on May 5, 1961. The flight reached a height of 116 miles into the atmosphere and lasted 15 minutes, a major triumph for NASA. Later in Shepard’s career, he would become the fifth US astronaut to walk on the moon.