For many, the most famous personalities in space exploration are Yuri Gagarin and Neil Armstrong. The representative of the Soviet Union first flew into space and returned alive, and the United States landed on the moon.
However, Armstrong is not the first American astronaut. They are considered a completely different person. His biography, career and mission will be discussed in the article.
Preparing for the selection of astronauts
It's no secret that both powers were the main competitors in the issue of space exploration. In the USA, this problem was de alt with at the Langley Research Center (Virginia). However, in addition to the design and commissioning of the spacecraft, it was necessary to form a detachment of astronauts.
Preparation for this began in November 1958. The first detachment of US astronauts had to be selected in several stages. At first, they wanted to choose one hundred and fifty candidates, gradually weeding out people from this group according toresults of medical and psychological tests, as well as nine months of training. As a result of the selection, six astronauts should have remained.
A significant interference in the search for candidates was the decision of President Dwight Eisenhower, who saw the best applicants only among test pilots. From among them, they began to choose.
Astronauts Choice
By the beginning of 1959, the selection began. Experts were guided by the following criteria:
- height - up to 180 cm;
- ideal physical condition;
- age - up to forty;
- education - technical (bachelor);
- special education - test pilot;
- flight experience - at least one and a half thousand hours.
According to these criteria, NASA representatives selected 110 applicants, of which a group of 36 people was selected for further tests. Thirty-two candidates agreed to undergo a thorough medical and psychological examination. One of them was eliminated, so 31 pilots arrived at the Research Center. The next choice turned out to be very difficult. In the end, the experts selected not six, but seven people for the flight.
The pilots were named astronauts, and their names were officially announced on 1959-09-04. Among them was the first American astronaut.
The first seven with Alan Shepard
The astronauts were all family men with engineering backgrounds, in excellent physical shape. Their ages ranged from 32 to 37.
List of the first seven with the military title:
- John Glenn - lieutenant colonel.
- Gordon Cooper, Virgil Grissom, Donald Slayton are captains.
- Alan Shepard, W alter Schirra - senior lieutenants.
- Scott Carpenter - Lt.
Among them was the one who will be awarded the title of "the first American astronaut." Men began to prepare for the flight, first at the Research Center in Virginia, then in Houston (Texas). Each representative of the seven had its own specialization. The protagonist of the article was trained to work in rescue and tracking systems.
Shepard's education
Alan was born on 1923-18-11 in the city of Derry. At the age of 36, he became one of seven astronauts chosen by NASA to fly into space. This was largely due to the education he received.
Future astronaut Alan Shepard graduated from Admiral Farragut Academy College, Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree, Naval College.
Aviation career
After receiving a bachelor's degree, Alan Shepard became a Navy officer. At this time, the Second World War was still going on, so he was assigned to the destroyer and sent to the Pacific Ocean.
In 1947, he received the rank of pilot and was sent to serve in a fighter squadron. In 1950, the pilot entered the test school. After completing his training, he took part in flight tests, including experiments to develop an aerial refueling system. For five months, the future cosmonaut was an instructor for test pilots.
Beforebecome an astronaut, Shepard has logged over 8,000 flight hours, of which 3,700 were spent in jet aircraft.
Astronaut career
The first American astronaut was one of the seven applicants who were chosen by NASA in 1959. They were preparing for the Mercury program. His professionalism and high personal qualities allowed him to be the first of the US representatives to reach space and fly to the moon.
He made his first flight in 1961. The journey was short, but so necessary for the United States of America. The capsule ship was called "Freedom-7".
Later, the astronaut was trained as an understudy for G. Cooper on the Atlas-9 mission. In 1963, he was supposed to fly on the Atlas-10. The flight was supposed to last three days, but it was cancelled. After that, the astronaut was chosen as the first pilot on the Gemini spacecraft. Having started training, he underwent a medical examination, as a result of which he was diagnosed with an ear disease that disrupted the activity of the vestibular apparatus. Due to Meniere's illness, he was suspended from flying for several years.
In order to return to flight training, Shepard had to undergo ear surgery. She was successful, and the astronaut returned to active work.
As a forty-seven-year-old pilot, NASA's oldest astronaut at the time, Alan made his second space flight. He was appointed commander of Apollo 14. He made the third successful US expedition to the moon. It happened inthe period from January 31 to February 9, 1971.
"Mercury-Redstone" with Alan Shepard
Under the Mercury program, Alan Shepard's flight was the first successful launch of a manned spacecraft. It was launched by the Redstone-3 launch vehicle. The capsule was able to rise to a height of 186 km and sank into the waters of the Atlantic polygon of the United States. This place turned out to be at a distance of 486 km from the original starting point.
Unlike the flight of Yuri Gagarin, who managed to orbit the Earth, on May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard only reached space, spending just over fifteen minutes in flight. He became the second person in the world to reach such heights.
Flight targets
The main task of the United States was to get ahead of other countries in space exploration, especially the USSR. The Mercury program assumed the fulfillment of certain goals. The launch of the Mercury-Redstone-3 system, on which Shepard was located, was successful.
Main flight targets:
- Experience manned spacecraft during launch, active flight, weightlessness, re-entry and landing.
- Assessing the pilot's ability to control the spacecraft, voice communication during flight.
- Study of human response to flight in space, primarily physiological.
- The possibility of landing an astronaut and a ship.
The life of an astronaut after retirement
At the end of his flightcareer Alan Shepard, whose biography is discussed in the article, was engaged in social activities. In 1971 he became a delegate to the UN Assembly. At the same time, he received his doctorate in natural sciences and humanities.
At the end of the 20th century, together with two journalists, the famous astronaut published the book Flight to the Moon. Based on her motives, a television series was immediately created.
Shepard died on July 21, 1998 at the age of seventy-five. The cause of death was a long-term illness - leukemia. Five weeks later, his wife Louise also died. Their bodies were cremated and their ashes scattered over the sea.
Interesting facts about the astronaut and his flight
The project Alan took part in was named "Mercury". The name was chosen in honor of the ancient Roman mythological creature, who was the messenger of the gods and the patron of trade. In Washington, the name of the project was approved on 1958-10-12.
The applicants selected for space flights were called astronauts. The name was chosen by analogy with the Argonauts, who in ancient Greek mythology swam for the Golden Fleece, and aeronauts, that is, aeronauts.
Before the flight, Alan was put on a strict diet. He was prepared by a personal chef. For example, breakfast consisted of orange juice, semolina, scrambled eggs, strawberry jam, coffee with sugar. The list of dishes has changed. The chef prepared one portion for the astronaut, and kept the second in the refrigerator for a day in case he had problems with the digestive tract.
One day beforeflight coffee was removed from the menu due to its diuretic and stimulant effects.
Before launch, the astronaut said to himself, "Don't screw it up, Shepard." The media supplemented it a little by mentioning the words about God. Since that time, many pilots have said this "prayer".
The pilot boarded the capsule ship at 5:15, but the flight took place only two and a half hours later. The reasons for the delay were technical hitches and cloudiness that appeared, due to which good pictures of the Earth from space would not have been obtained. The ship started at 09:34. It was watched by 45 million viewers in the United States of America.
The first attempts to reach space were not always successful. It is very difficult to foresee all the nuances. So, NASA, selecting the most worthy candidates for the flight, did not take into account their normal physiological needs. That is, in the spaceship there was no way to relieve the need. Because of this, Shepard had to do it in a suit during the flight.
