As NASA fought to catch up to the Soviet Union in the space race, they selected a Navy veteran as the first astronaut. But what happened once Alan Shepard stepped into the space capsule?

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. On May 5, 1961, NASA astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American to go to space. [‘On This Day in Space’ Video Series on ...

Those were the words Alan Shepard used 60 years ago Wednesday to note his cockpit timepiece had begun running. This meant his Redstone rocket booster had left the ground sending him and his one-man ...

Fifty-three years ago M0nday, Derry native Alan Shepard walked on the moon while on the Apollo 14 mission on Feb. 5, 1971. Shepard was the commander of the mission that launched on a Saturn V rocket.

Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became America’s first space traveler. Shepard made a 15-minute suborbital flight aboard Mercury capsule Freedom 7. Gray Media, parent company of WDBJ7, is celebrating ...

Some Barrington school students are behind an effort to rename a New Hampshire mountain in honor of America’s first man in space. They should aim higher. The man, of course, was Alan Shepard, although ...

Eighth graders at Barrington Middle School are lobbying New Hampshire legislators to preserve Alan Shepard’s legacy in a mountainous way. Jeff Durell and the students in his civics class drafted, ...

On May 5, 1961, NASA astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American to go to space. [‘On This Day in Space’ Video Series on Space.com] He launched from Cape Canaveral on a Mercury-Redstone rocket in ...