Alan Shepard

Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) (Rear Admiral, USN, Ret.) was the second person and the first American in space. He later commanded the Apollo 14 mission, and was the fifth person to walk on the moon.

Sourced

• There's no question that all the generations got excited about the first flights, with Kennedy's inspiration to go to the moon, leaving the planet for the first time, and fortunately coming back.
  • Richard Louv (August 2, 1995) "The thrill of space? Let's ask Alan Shepard", The San Diego Union-Tribune, p. A-2.

• I know you're all saying I can go to the moon but I can't find Pasadena.
  • When Shepard arrived a half-hour late to a book signing of Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon — reported in Sun-Sentinel wire services (June 19, 1995) "Astronaut Late to Signing", Sun-Sentinel, p. 2A.

• There were similarities between these two incidents. The similarity was too much success ... over-confidence and complacency, quite frankly.
  • Discussing the 1967 Apollo 1 fire and 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster incidents — reported in The Deseret News staff (May 7, 1995) "Even Cosmos Is Aghast at Size of Earthly Egos", The Deseret News, p. A2.

• I realized up there that our planet is not infinite. It's fragile. That may not be obvious to a lot of folks, and it's tough that people are fighting each other here on Earth instead of trying to get together and live on this planet. We look pretty vulnerable in the darkness of space.
  • Josh Getlin, Los Angeles Times (July 19, 1994) "What Does Moon Flight Mean Now", The Seattle Times, p. A10.

• I guess those of us who have been with NASA ... kind of understand the tremendous excitement and thrills and celebrations and national pride that went with the Apollo program is just something you're not going to create again, probably until we go to Mars.
  • James Endrst (July 8, 1994) "It's Been 25 Years Since We Took That Giant Leap For Mankind - Moon Odyssey", The Hartford Courant, p. B1.

• We need a continuing presence in space.
  • Bill Kaczor, Associated Press (May 8, 1993) "Astronauts advocate return to the moon, space flights beyond", The Tampa Tribune, p. 7.

• The first one I hit pretty flush with one hand - went about 200 yards. And the second one I shanked, and it rolled into a crater about 40 yards away.
  • Describing his golf shots made on the Moon — reported in Philip Morgan (April 4, 1993) "'Boy, what a ride!' - On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard went from being a mere Navy commander to an American icon - the country's first man in space. That 15-minute, 28-second flight on Freedom 7 catapulted him into fame, searing his name and face into the collective imagination of a generation", The Tampa Tribune, p. 1.

• I think about the personal accomplishment, but there's more of a sense of the grand achievement by all the people who could put this man on the moon.
  • The Denver Post staff (September 29, 1992) "Shepard still shoots for moon", The Denver Post, p. 1D.

• I can hit it farther on the moon. But actually, my swing is better here on Earth.
  • The Orlando Sentinel staff (August 13, 1992) "Lunar-Golfer Shepard Takes Swings In Tourney", The Orlando Sentinel, p. A2.

• If we had said 30 years ago that we were going to have only two incidents with casualties, we would have thought, 'Boy, that's great. To me, that indicates that the program has really exceeded what the early expectations were.
  • Beth Dickey, Reuters (May 5, 1991) "First American in Space Marks 30th Anniversary", The Commercial Appeal, p. A2.

• No way that any astronaut worth his salt volunteered for the space program to become a hero. You don't select astronauts who want fame and fortune. You select them because they're the best test pilots in the world, they know it, and it's a personal challenge for them. And the astronauts of today are exactly the same.
  • Roxanne Roberts (May 4, 1991) "Blastoff to the Past - Tribute to America's First Men in Space", The Washington Post, p. D1.

• I just wanted to be the first one to fly for America, not because I'd end up in the pages of history books.
  • Marcia Dunn, Associated Press Aerospace Writer (May 1, 1991) "Ex-Astronaut Recalls Thrill of 1st U.S. Space Flight", The Deseret News, p. A1.

• This is the first time that astronauts of the first group have exhibited things that are personal and sentimental to them. We hope it will encourage youngsters to follow in our footsteps.
  • On dedicating the Astronaut Hall of Fame — reported in Associated Press (May 12, 1990) "Five of Mercury Seven return to the Cape, Launch Hall of Fame - Astronauts hope exhibits will inspire youths to learn", The Gazette, p. A2.

• The same way people are now paying a couple thousand dollars to fly to other parts of the world, people will be paying $50,000 to spend a weekend on a space station.
  • Malcolm Howard (April 30, 1987) "The Day the Earth Stood Still - On Film, Anyway", The Record, p. B08.

• We had some adverse conditions in the '60s, in the '70s and the '80s. The agency has risen above that in the past and will rise above that again.
  • Elizabeth Kastor (February 21, 1987) "The Flight of Memory - Mercury Reunion Honors Glenn's Voyage", The Washington Post, p. G1.

• We're going to see passengers in space stations in 15 years, who will be able to buy a ticket and spend a weekend in space.
  • The Dallas Morning News staff (July 28, 1986) "People", The Dallas Morning News, p. 2A.

About

• Now that we've lost Alan Shepard, I can't help feeling that something is wrong with this picture; astronauts aren't supposed to grow old and leave this Earth forever. In our memories, they remain as Shepard was on that sunny Friday morning in May 1961, when he lay inside a tiny Mercury capsule ready to be hurled into space atop a Redstone booster.
  • Andrew Chaikin (August 2, 1998) "Real American heroes: Shepard pushed our frontiers", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, p. 3.

• With the passing of Alan Shepard, our nation has lost an outstanding patriot, one of its finest pilots -and I have lost a very close friend.
  • Senator John Glenn — reported in Nicole Koch (July 24, 1998) "The man who played golf on the Moon", The Daily Telegraph (Australia), p. 035.

• His service will always loom large in America's history. He is one of the great heroes of modern America.
  • President Bill Clinton — reported in Seth Borenstein (July 23, 1998) "Astronaut Filled America's Need for a Space Hero", Detroit Free Press, p. 1A.

• His flight was a tremendous statement about tenacity, courage and brilliance. He crawled on top of that rocket that had never before flown into space with a person aboard, and he did it. That was an unbelievable act of courage.
  • NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin — reported in Mark Carreau (July 23, 1998) "Alan Shepard, first American in space, is dead at 74 - Space Age pioneer succumbs to lengthy illness in California", Houston Chronicle, p. A1.

• One can make the argument that the success of the Shepard flight enabled the decision to go to the moon.
  • John Logsdon — reported in John Noble Wilford, The New York Times (July 23, 1998) "Alan Shepard 1923-1998 One of 7 Original Astronauts, He was First American in Space", The Plain Dealer, p. 1A.

• Alan Shepard was a great man, a great leader. We were pioneers. If you are an explorer, what more can you ask than to travel into space.
  • Edgar Mitchell — reported in St. Petersburg Times staff (July 23, 1998) "Alan Shepard Jr. 1923-1998 - Space pioneer", St. Petersburg Times, p. 1A.

• Certainly Shepard's flight was a major moment in American history and it clearly showed we were going to respond to the Soviet challenge.
  • Louis Friedman — reported in David Montero (July 23, 1998) "Alan B. Shepard: 1923-1998 - A man of the heavens First American in space, moon golfer dies in sleep", Ventura County Star, p. A01.